Hadley Mountain

Frankie has been begging to hike another fire tower, but I was unsure whether he would enjoy black fly season in the Adirondacks.  Things can get pretty dire up there and trip reports suggested thick swarms had been descending.  However, the weather seemed favorable.  We had a cold snap, and cold temperatures can set the bugs back markedly.  Knowing it would be even colder up there, I decided it was worth the trip up.  And the gamble paid off: we saw not one biting insect on the entire hike.

The trailhead parking lot was full when we arrived, but we must have just narrowly missed getting a spot because several parties were gearing up.  I had read that parking was allowed on the road, and there were no signs prohibiting it, so I snagged a wide spot on the shoulder and felt just fine about it.  We entered the hemlocks at the back side of the parking lot, and soon after paused to sign the register.  Soon after, we were hiking on slab rock.  Apparently there were several forest fires in this area in the early 20th century that burned away much of the topsoil, making the trail very rocky -- perfect for mud season.  And very charming, too!  Frankie climbed on some of the boulders on the way up, and saved some for the hike back down.

The trail climbs steadily for the first mile, then levels off briefly.  After passing the rocky outcrop pictured below, the climbing starts again, but it's not far to the summit from here, about half a mile. 

At an unmarked trail junction, we explored both options, heading straight/right first to check out the observer's cabin, but we didn't linger here -- the tower was calling!  Back to the split, from which it was a very short distance to the summit.  There was a party descending the tower, and no one else waiting to climb up, so we were able to head up almost immediately. 

The cab on the Hadley fire tower is enclosed.  I will confess that this is not my preference, as the window panes tend to be grubby, obstructing the views.  The clear photo above, looking north, was taken out the one window that opened. 

The views to the south, toward Great Sacandaga Lake, were pretty gunked up.  Compare the two photos below, the first taken through the window and the second from the first landing.  The rocky summit provides pretty good views in that direction also.   

After we poked around in the summit a bit, we entered the woods on the opposite side the summit area from where we'd entered.  I had read that there was a second summit area with some (non-LNT compliant) animals built from rocks, which I thought Frankie might enjoy.  I looked at the topo maps and determined it wouldn't be too far and would be worth checking out.  There were various braided herd paths in the woods, but I had no trouble getting us to the northern summit area. 

pink lady's slipper (Cypripedium acaule)

We explored there a bit, admiring the turtles, alligator, and other animal sculptures, then headed back towards the fire tower and main summit area.  When we were almost back to the tower, we found a second benchmark in the woods. 

A few more pictures on the summit, and then we started our descent.  Couldn't help peeking out on a few more ledges, and of course Frankie climbed a few more boulders on the way back down.  He even convinced me to join him in clambering up onto the big one below.  

MapMyRide tracked this hiked at 4.8 miles with about 1,500 feet elevation gain (including the extra exploration over to the northern summit).  We really enjoyed this little excursion, and were so happy to have a cold snap to make it even more enjoyable.