Balsam Lake Mountain

Unfortunately blog and life are asynchronous due to procrastination; we climbed Balsam Lake Mountain on August 21st, 2010, our destination the fire tower at its summit. It was an overcast day with rain threatening, but we remained dry for the duration of the hike. The inclement weather waited until we were safe in our tents at Alder Lake. Well, most of us were safe.

We parked on Mill Brook Road, one of three trail heads leading up to the fire tower, and, after a detour on the wrong trail, headed south. An old ATV track, the trail was a mostly boring 3 miles, save the stretch after the split near the summit (markers change from blue to red).

Once at the top we lounged about for a bit. Unlike the last time I was here, the tower’s cab was open and a volunteer was answering questions about the local peaks. There’s an interesting map table up there that lets you determine direction and distance to various other landmarks in the region. Slide and Hunter, the tallest and penultimate peaks respectively, were both visible despite the day’s gloom.

We took the Mill Brook Ridge trail back, 6.8 miles, headed west towards Alder Lake. Not including our ill-advised start to the trip, it was a 9.8 mile hike from the Mill Brook parking lot to the Alder Lake trail head, with 0.5 miles tacked on to skirt the lake to our camp site. We picked up the cars before dark; Cross Mountain Road is a steep, windy, packed-clay road I am glad my Echo did not have to navigate during rain, particularly with the cliff on one side.

There is one semi-obscured vista on the Mill Brook Ridge trail, but otherwise the trip is through dense forest. There were a lot of down trees and undergrowth obscures the trail in several areas, particularly the ascents. I wish I’d worn long pants; by the end of day my shins were scratched and burning! 3 of 18.

Snowy Mountain

Attempting Snowy Mountain after a successful ascent of Blue Mountain was painful given my lack of hiking (and general fitness) this summer. We started late at around 2:30pm, leaving our Lewey Lake camp and arriving at the trail head after a 5 minute drive on 30N. Our late afternoon hike was remarked upon by most who passed us in descent; “Hope you’re fast hikers”, etc..

The trail to the summit is 3.4 miles long. For the first 2 miles or so it's a pleasant packed-dirt trail that crosses several small streams. Wood planks have been laid down for crossing most of the muddy areas. Highlights included the bole of a massive tree that looked like it was struck by lightning, a shelf fungus the size of a beach ball, and hopping on rocks to cross water.

About two thirds of the way through the trail gets really difficult (60 degrees+). I imagine it is quite dangerous in the spring, as we were frequently slipping in mud on the ascent. I put my camera away at this point and had to rely on my hands for balance. The last gasp before the summit is a steep, muddy incline beside a vertical rock face, but the reward for a grueling quarter mile is a beautiful view of Indian Lake to the east.

The summit is covered in trees, with the fire tower rising above them and affording the only 360 degree view of the surrounding countryside. In addition to the large open area at the top of the trail, there is one smaller open area on the western side. There may have been more, but given the hour we didn't explore past the fire tower.

We descended as quickly as we could given how tired we were and made it back to the car at 7:15pm; 6.8 miles in ~4.5 hours. And despite our haste we found a toad! Snowy was a really nice hike, and one I'd like to try again with more time to kill at the summit. I'll have to head back to the area for Pillsbury Mountain, anyway. 2 of 18.

(pics later)

Blue Mountain

Camped at Lewey Lake, we drove up 30N to the Blue Mountain trail head at 9am on August 7th, 2010. I was surprised by the number of cars in the grass and gravel lot, but I should not have been given the conditions; about 60 degrees and only a few puffy clouds in the sky. We made quick work of the first quarter mile, eagerly pressing upward.

I read that the trail was “moderate-difficult” online, but that fact was not made apparent until around three-quarters of a mile in, when I realized that my calves would not be allowed a rest from climbing. It's nearly 1.7 miles of constant elevation gain, with some parts as steep as 45 degrees. The trail was also very rocky, particularly near the summit.

We didn't see any wildlife before the summit, probably due to the number of people on the trail. All told we saw at least 40 people hiking or relaxing near the fire tower. There were a couple of chipmunks eager to inspect our food and that's about it.

There were a lot of different kinds of mushrooms, though, and some smaller white plants which I think are called indian pipe (monotropa uniflora).

The summit affords a great view of Blue Mountain Lake and the surrounding area, but large antennas mar the horizon in two directions; it was the only place I had more than a bar of service in the Adirondacks. The cab is open on the fire tower, but without trees -- not that there were many at its base -- to break the wind it was quite cold.

All told the hike was 3 hours with frequent stops for water and a nice lunch break at the top. Blue Mountain is the first of at least 18 I must climb for the Fire Tower Challenge, which I expect to take several years to complete.

(pics later)