Coon Mountain
N 44° 13.634 W 073° 25.239
18T E 626139 N 4898324
Climbed Coon Mountain on August 17, 2005.
Waymark Code: WM1W8
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 09/24/2005
Views: 64
COON MOUNTAIN: Drive north on Lakeshore Road out of Westport for about 3 miles, turning left onto Halds Road. There is a parking area maintained by the Adirondack Nature Conservancy on the right side of the road about 0.75 miles after you turn. The hike to this rocky ridge will take about a half-hour.
William Gilliand, one of the area’s first settlers and namesake of the Town of Willsboro, died on Coon Mountain. Gillian had originally purchased huge tracts of lakeside property to establish an estate, but his early settlements were sacked by the British and Indians during the Revolutionary War. In February 1796, friendless and alone, he became lost on the rough and broken summit of Coon Mountain and died of exposure.
According to legend, the Coon Mountain panther, which cries like a damsel in distress, would lure men into the deep woods where the giant cat then sprang at its victim. Many good dogs were lost to the panther in attempts to hunt it. During one such hunt, however, the panther was shot in mid-leap and crashed down a cliff, sinking into one of the mysterious tarns that dot of the summit’s ridge. The body of the panther was never found, leaving the legend of the panther intact.
Altitude in Feet: 1020
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