DSettahr
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Went up to climb this fire tower mountain on Saturday, about an hours drive northeast of Paul Smiths. When the guidebook describes this peak as massive, it isn't kidding. At 3830 feet, it's only a couple hundred feet shy of being a high peak, and its higher than Couch as well. Not to mention it's the only peak of its size in the area. As you drive closer it dominates the landscape.
Finding the trailhead was a bit difficult, as it's not marked. It's at the end of a road that is marked on the main road with a seasonal highway sign. I had to park on the main road and hike in a mile to the trailhead on the dirt road, as it wasn't plowed. Perhaps in another week the dirt road will be drivable, the snow wasn't very deep and there were patches of open ground.
This is a very steep mountain, but wasn't too technically challenging. The trail never stops going uphill. It was very well packed down, it appears as if this mountain receives a fair amount of winter traffic. The trail leads more or less straight uphill through birches and pin cherry, then an older hardwood forest of maples and beech, and finally into sub-alpine firs and spruces. There are some very steep pitches near the summit, but I didn't encounter any ice. The trail also is not marked, contrary to what the guidebook says, other than the occasional splash of spray paint. and one solitary red coffee can marker that I saw near the summit. It is very easy to follow though- a couple of times, side trails split off but they rejoin the main trail after a couple of hundred feet. I used snowshoes from the main road all the way to the summit.
The guidebook says that the tower is unclimbable, but someone has done a fair amount of work to make it safe again. All the steps as well as the floor of the tower have been replaced. It looked like the entire staircase had also been wrapped in chicken fencing for safety, but most of this blew off during the winter. The steps were very sturdy though. There was also a new repeater and solar panel attached to the tower.
I only got about 5 minutes of the view, which is amazing, the high peaks as well as the green mountains and peaks in canada are visible, before the clouds rolled in and it began to snow. There is some alpine tundra on the summit, its in pretty good shape too.
Overall, this hike took me about 3.5 to 4 hours, even given the extra 2 miles added to the hike by having to walk in along the road. It is steep, but the view is worth it.
Finding the trailhead was a bit difficult, as it's not marked. It's at the end of a road that is marked on the main road with a seasonal highway sign. I had to park on the main road and hike in a mile to the trailhead on the dirt road, as it wasn't plowed. Perhaps in another week the dirt road will be drivable, the snow wasn't very deep and there were patches of open ground.
This is a very steep mountain, but wasn't too technically challenging. The trail never stops going uphill. It was very well packed down, it appears as if this mountain receives a fair amount of winter traffic. The trail leads more or less straight uphill through birches and pin cherry, then an older hardwood forest of maples and beech, and finally into sub-alpine firs and spruces. There are some very steep pitches near the summit, but I didn't encounter any ice. The trail also is not marked, contrary to what the guidebook says, other than the occasional splash of spray paint. and one solitary red coffee can marker that I saw near the summit. It is very easy to follow though- a couple of times, side trails split off but they rejoin the main trail after a couple of hundred feet. I used snowshoes from the main road all the way to the summit.
The guidebook says that the tower is unclimbable, but someone has done a fair amount of work to make it safe again. All the steps as well as the floor of the tower have been replaced. It looked like the entire staircase had also been wrapped in chicken fencing for safety, but most of this blew off during the winter. The steps were very sturdy though. There was also a new repeater and solar panel attached to the tower.
I only got about 5 minutes of the view, which is amazing, the high peaks as well as the green mountains and peaks in canada are visible, before the clouds rolled in and it began to snow. There is some alpine tundra on the summit, its in pretty good shape too.
Overall, this hike took me about 3.5 to 4 hours, even given the extra 2 miles added to the hike by having to walk in along the road. It is steep, but the view is worth it.
