Today we partially repeated a hike that we did back in January of 2012, when we climbed Kanouse Mountain. Back then we did an out-and-back. This time we expanded into a lollipop. We parked at the Watershed Headquarters on Echo Lake Road and headed north on the Highlands Trail. At about 2/3rds of the way along the western bank, we made a sharp left on a well-defined woods road and took that south all the way to where it crosses Kanouse Brook. But we didn't cross the brook, instead we continued on a muddier woods road south, climbing Kanouse Mountain steeply until we reached the magnficient view at the flagpole (the flag was at half-staff) and the electric star. The view of Charlotteburg Reservoir, Route 23 and the Manhattan skyline are amazing. After taking in the views, we continued north on the woods road (which formed a circuit), finding a trace of another path which eventually brought us back to the Highlands trail on the western bank of Echo Lake. We retraced our steps back to the car, first having lunch at a picnic table at the windy southern tip of the lake.

Total distance hiked today was 6.6 miles in three hours and 45 minutes. You can see our track by clicking here. A permit is required for hiking in this area, which can be purchased at the office on Echo Lake Road.