[Journal entry for January 27, 2013; Breakneck Pond, Harriman State Park, NY] I parked at the hiker’s lot on Lake Sebago, off of Seven Lakes Drive. I walked down to the lake shore and out onto the dock by the public boat launch. The lake was frozen and mostly covered with snow, though I could see big cracks in the ice in places where it had blown off. The day is sunny, with an unusually clear blue sky.

I crossed Seven Lakes Drive and took the Seven Hills Trail (blazed in blue) up onto Conklin Mountain. The first part of the trail is steep and rocky. I passed one bush, of a type that I did not recognize (so not which hazel), that was in bloom with small yellow-green flowers. I joined the Buck Trail (blazed in yellow) at the hill top, and took it northeast. I stopped to examine a little wetland, set in a hollow at the hilltop. It has bushes and hummocks of grass and moss, sparsely spaced. Some animal, a coyote perhaps, had left a track crossing the snow-covered ice. Continuing on, I eventually joined Pine Meadow Road, an unblazed one lane woods road, and took it in the general direction of Breakneck Pond. It is long and narrow pond, about three quarters of a mile long and a quarter mile wide. When I reached a spot where I could see the pond through the woods, I bushwhacked over to its southwest shore, through a rather annoying laurel grove. I was surprised not to find a trail around the lake; the laurel extends right to the water’s edge. I had to hunt around for a rock near the shore that I could stand upon. I had a good view down the long axis of the lake from this vantage, although I could not see Camp Lanowa, located at its northern tip. I then followed the lakeshore southward and crossed the boulders that mark its inlet stream. Signs of beaver abound here. From there I picked up an unblazed trail that followed the southeastern shore of the lake, again through laurel groves. Views of the lake were mostly blocked by the laurel, but I did find a spot where I could walk out past the lakeshore on the trunk of a fallen tree, a vantage that was fine.

I then bushwhacked through the laurel up the hill beside the lake, joined Breakneck Mountain Trail (blazed in white) at the ridge crest, and later the Tuxedo – Mount Ivy Trail (blazed in red) and walked them back. I found this part of the park to be much more interesting in winter than on my previous summer visit. The views were quite a bit better, owing to the bare trees, and the boulders and rock ledges along the trail were quite a bit more beautiful when draped in snow. I passed two very large glacial boulders and many smaller ones with interesting shapes, several of which were precariously-perched on rock ledges. The terrain proved to be more irregular than I remembered, and I was huffing by the time I rejoined the Seven Hills Trail. This intersection is near Monitor Rock, a dramatic overhanging cliff, complete with a precariously-perched boulder on top. I did not have time to explore it in any detail, but made a mental note to return to it again. The trail intersection is also nearby a small waterfall on Diamond Creek. I climbed down into the valley below the falls and viewed the ice formations, now lit up by the late afternoon sun.

A few minutes later, I had crossed Conklin Mountain and was back at my car at Lake Sebago. The sun was still a few minutes from setting and a sun dog was visible in the sky to the sun’s left. I passed a White Tail Deer by the roadside as I drove along.

About two hours and forty five minutes.