Mt. Arab - July 28, 2011

Okay. We were hiking the fourth mountain in four days. We were tired and pretty much worn out. But, we wanted to do Mt. Arab as long as we were in the Tupper Lake area. So we did it. It was well worth the trek. We met Janelle, our "Summit Guide" at the top. She answered all of our questions and it was a great trek to great views. Life is good! At the top we wondered how a giant boulder could hve been set on this mountain top summit. Y'all draw your own conclusions. Thanks for checking in. Roger

Azure Mountain - July 27, 2011

This was supposed to be an "easy" trail. It would be - for a MOUNTAIN GOAT!!! :-) It was a nearly 900 foot ascent over just .8 miles. That's steep by most people's standard. But it was well worth the climb when we reached the top with fantastic views of the Adirondack Mountains. After three mountains in three days - we're beat! One more tomoorow before a few days of rest.

St. Regis Mountain - July 26, 2011

We hiked up 3 miles on a strenuous climb. 4 1/2 hours round trip. Lightning and thunder actually drove us off the summit. Great day, great climb, great views. But this tower has not yet been renovated so this sign was a bummer. However there is hope. There is a Friends of St. Regis Firetower. They could use some financial and volunteer help. http://www.friendsofstregis.org/

Cathedral Rock - July 25, 2011

It only took us 6 miles of hiking to do this less than 2 mile trail. Along the way we survived incredibly bad directions, torrential downpours, mud and cloudy views, but we conquered the Latham Trail up to Cathedral Rock. It's an easy trail - once you find it - (Now you can with OUR directions). The trail is easy, but not without its hazards as exhibited by this warning sign. Maybe we should apply for combat pay from my publisher.

Vanderwhacker Mountain - July 14, 2011

"Level over the first half, then relentlessly steep." That's the billing we found in Freeman's firetower book about this hike. And this one is only considered "strenuous", not "difficult." So after 1.22 miles of deadfalls and mud, it was only then that we started up the next mile and the climb of more than 1500 feet to the top. About half way up we asked, "Why are we doing this?" The answer came at the top with this view of the Adirondack Mountains from above the trees. :-)

Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain - July 12, 2011

We took the new trail up to the top of the mountain to find the "cab" of the firetower draped in Old Glory. Co-author Mike Carpenter climbed the 2 mile, 1250 foot ascent with us. He thoroughly irritated us by not breathing hard, and looking as fresh AFTER the hike as he did before the hike. We'll get even with him; somehow. But it was a great, albeit HOT, day on the mountain and a good time was had by all! And, we have now completed #12 of 28 firetower mountains. Stay tuned for more.

Belfry Mountain - July 7, 2011

Okay, it's a mountain at 1820 feet. But you can drive to it at the 1700 feet level. That makes it a climb of only 120 feet and probably, by far, the easiest firetower climb in the "challenge." That's okay. There is a firetower and a great view at the top, all the way to Lake Champlain and Vermont.

But the kinda weird thing is that we did Goodnow Mountain on July 4th. While on top a couple and a young boy arrived while we were there. Three days later, in the afternoon, we met the same couple coming DOWN from Belfry, just as we were headed UP! We had a nice chat about, "What are the chances" of such a meetup? Guess we're all having fun and on the same schedule!

Goodnow Mountain - July 4th, 2011

We celebrated the 4th of July by climbing up Goodnow Mountain near Newcomb, NY. A day trip from Glens Falls, it was 1 1/2 hours to the trail, and just over a three hour trip up and back. A little tough, but listed as a "moderate" trail in Freeman's book. We were seriously disagreeing with Freeman's definition of "not steep", but reasonable people can disagree. Overall it was a great day - hot, humid and "steep" by our standards; not Freeman's. :-) But we survived, just fine.