Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest
Distance: 5.12 Miles
Elevation Gain: 1179 feet
I read about this mountain and added it to my list of mountains to get to. My list is long, longer that I’ll ever get to. However, the last time I lead a hike there were many on the hike that said they would want to climb Moxham. All had heard, as I did, that the views were insane. There were many views to be had, for not a lot of work.
My only detraction is that I though the mosquitoes at the trailhead were going to carry me off. After the hike I changed out of my boots while in the car.
But the views. Wow. The views were insane. There are multiple view points and overlooks on the way up. I timed my hike perfectly (by luck) in that I didn’t get any rain. I heard the rain on the way down, and it didn’t start pouring until the drive home.
Going up, there was a steep climb to the top of a hill after signing the trail register. After that, there was nothing to really write home about except for the views. While there were some rocks, there were no scrambles. From the last iconic viewpoint to the top was more noticeably steep than the rest of the hike, but it was certainly manageable. Did I mention the views?
A couple of facts I learned about Moxham Mountain:
- Moxham mountain was surveyed by Robert Moxham as he was surveying a 12600-acre tract as part of “Dominick’s Patent” in 1798. It is said (I’m not sure by whom) that he died by slipping off one of the cliffs.
- In the late 1800s, Verplanck Colvin had a wood signal tower installed at the summit. The iron rings used to secure the tower are still in the rock (and visible) today.
- The geological survey marker (benchmark) has the name of the mountain misspelled as “Maxam”, Maxam being the name of the survey tower/station, not the mountain.
