Mount Gilligan 10/9/2017

Mount Gilligan wasn't on the radar for our planned hike on Indigenous Peoples Day (that's Columbus Day for you old folks!). Kailee and I were set to do a big loop at Round and Noonmark mountains...

Then Hurricane Nate hit the radar and was on a collision course with the Northeast. Round and Noonmark were out.

But, we held out hope that maybe we could hike a smaller mountain in the rain. That's where Gilligan came into play.

Mount Gilligan is a owned and cared for by the Champlain Area Trail (CAT Trail) land trust. The trail is only a mile long and the Summit is only a mere 1200'+ above sea level.

We were pretty confidant that we could throw on our rain gear, face the elements, and get to the top of the "little buddy."

And, we did!

We began our trek at a quick pace. There was a very tiny scramble near the start of the trail but that ended up being it. The rest of the trail is mostly a straight shot to the viewing area. There's a number of ledges that would offer views in better weather but all we could see was clouds.

We boogied through the heavy rain over a false Summit. Fortunately, it was pretty warm out and the precipitation didn't stop Kailee from filling her pockets with acorn souvenirs.

"Summit Viewing Area."

CATs has done a nice job of marking and maintaining the trail on Gilligan which was greatly appreciated on a day like this. We held hands to navigate through some of the wetter areas and made it to the "Summit Viewing area" in less than an hour.

Gilligan's true Summit.

The maintained trail ends at the viewing area but we took a herd path to the tree covered true Summit just to be perfectionists.




Obviously, we weren't going to be afforded any majestic views due to the conditions. So, unfortunately Gilligan goes in the books as the mountain we spent the least amount of time on top of this year.

We briskly -but safely- descended it's trail. Once again holding hands during the tricky and wetter portions of it.

The entire hike out and back took just under two hours. It was fun challenging the elements but we were also happy to be back at the car and slipping into warm clothes.

We were both bummed that our Noonmark/Round plan had to be scrapped. But we're glad that we made the best out of a soggy situation at Mount Gilligan!

Mount Gilligan is a nice place for families with little ones to enjoy. I wouldn't suggest hiking it in a tropical depression like we did. That being said, I wouldn't mind revisiting this trail on a nicer day and seeing how expansive it's views really are.


Mount Gilligan is a two mile round trip hike and it's trailhead is located on Scriver Road off Route 9 in New Russia.