Azure Mountain

Ever since climbing Hadley a few weeks back, Frankie has been begging for another fire tower hike, asking to go even on days when common sense would indicate it was not very likely (e.g., on days I had to work).  Yesterday we went for a hike with Erin and Alden, taking them to Hemlock Glen and the USGS benchmark on Morgan Hill, a longer training hike for Alden in preparation for the High Peaks later this summer.  When we got home, Erwin had dinner waiting.  Immediately after eating, Frankie dashed out for some basketball with his neighborhood pals, but he didn't wait for me to call him in... he turned up at a reasonable time, saying he wanted to get to bed early so we could hike a fire tower today. Then he proceeded to set the alarm on his watch to make sure we were up in time for a long drive.

I couldn't say no to all that!  So this morning after breakfast, we jumped in the car and drove up to Azure Mountain.  This peak is maybe not ideal for a day hike, because it is located north of the main Adirondack peaks and is hence a long drive for us, more driving than hiking.  But why not?  We were both into it.  I love a good day trip.  We arrived at the trailhead before noon, and easily secured a space.  I wasn't worried about running out of daylight because it is only 1 mile to the top.  The first quarter mile or so is completely flat, then there is a trail register and the climbing begins.  Grades are mild at first, but it eventually gets fairly steep, gaining over 800 feet in maybe 0.7 miles. 

Frankie was in the lead, of course, and he just charged right up that mountain.  We were in long pants out of concern about bugs, but it was hot and humid and we were both overheating (me especially).  We discussed unzipping our pants into shorts, and I opened up the zippers for ventilation, but Frankie was all in favor of powering forward given how short the climb is.  And boom!  There it was.

The fire tower was occupied when we arrived at the summit, so we went down to the rocky ledge to take in the 180 degree views available to the south.  Really nice!  We could pick out some of the High Peaks with recognizable profiles.  When I showed Frankie what I believed to be Whiteface and Esther, which he'd climbed last summer, he pulled out his binoculars and was able to confirm it by identifying the weather station atop Whiteface. 

I wandered west a bit along the rock ledges, admiring the different views, but Frankie wasn't budging.  He was 100% focused on getting into that tower.  I returned to where he was waiting, and we chatted with a family visiting from Virginia, and then zoom!  As soon as the tower was free, we had to get that boy up there.

The tower had a map with a spinning pointer, which was fun, and no other hikers came along for a long time, so we were actually able to eat out sandwiches in the cab -- which is always what Frankie wants to do, and I always prepare him for the fact that if it's busy, we'll have to descend so other hikers get a turn in the tower.  He is always thrilled by the towers and wants to spend as long as possible in them. 

Eventually another family arrived and went down to enjoy the view from the rock ledges.  I convinced a somewhat reluctant Frankie that we should descend so they could check out the tower.

Then we explored the herd paths around the summit area, and I took him back out along the southern ledge to see the views and glacial erratic he'd missed while waiting to get in the tower. 

The descent was very quick, and we were back at the car within half an hour, even with our normal distractions.  The trail is posted as 1 mile each way, which is exactly what MapMyRide tracked, but our total round trip mileage for the out-and-back was 2.6 miles with all the extra exploring on the summit.  MapMyRide tracked the ascent at 841 feet, and you definitely know you're going UP.  We had one group of 20-somethings pass us as we climbed and then run out of steam; we passed them gassed on the side of the trail and they never made it to the summit.  

Summary review: Short and sweet, with a side of steep. Great views!

view of Azure Mountain from Blue Mountain Road