Camping on Long Island

Last weekend K and I went camping at Wildwood State Park out on Long Island. It was mostly a relaxing camping weekend, including beach time and an incredibly large tent. But we did do a couple of hikes.

One was the Red Trail at the campground. It's a short loop, 1.8 miles, and it leaves from the campground. It's a pleasant wooded stroll.

The other was 3 miles on the Paumanok Path (1.5 each out and back). The entire thing is 125 miles long, and this section was in the pine barrens, which I rather like.

Pillsbury, last of the Hamilton towers

On the final day of my trip, I faced overcast conditions and a need to return my rental car. So I tackled Pillsbury, the last peak I needed for the Hamilton County Fire Tower Challenge.

This trail could use a little TLC. Especially near the top, it was overgrown, and I got slapped around by wet branches. The tower itself is missing a few railings, and the cab is closed. I don't have much fear of heights, but even I stopped when it got to wet, rail-less boards thirty feet off the ground ...

In good news, I ran into some DEC and SCA folks near the trailhead, as they were there to plan out some work. And next weekend, volunteers are working on the tower.

Another tower double-header

I started the day off with Owls Head, a longish but less difficult hike. It has nice views from the base of the tower, for folks who don't like heights. Of course, at the top you get the full 360 panorama.

Then I made a spontaneous decision to go hike Cathedral Rock. It's one of the easiest towers, but it isn't near anything. Owls Head was as close as I was going to get, as I had already done Mount Arab, which is its closest neighbor. I wasn't in the mood for a hard hike, but a long drive sounded fine. So I headed out to SUNY ESF to bag Cathedral Rock.

The views from it reminded me of Spruce, somewhat removed from the high peaks, albeit in a different direction. But it was a nice "bonus" tower I hadn't planned to do. 

Hiking Snowy Mountain

My next hike was the longest of the trip, at nearly eight miles round-trip. Snowy Mountain is one of the more challenging of the Adirondack fire towers. But at least I had a beautiful day for it!

This hike is another one with a long warm-up, then a steep, rocky, wet ascent. However, there was an added wrinkle - there were several unbridged stream crossings in the first half that could not be done drily. (Short of wearing waders, I suppose!) I quickly found out it was irrelevant that my boots hadn't dried out from the previous day.

Not long after beginning the ascent, I met another solo hiker, and we hiked together for the rest of it. It was nice to have company for a change. 

Near the top, there is a nice, open view. Then the trail plunges back into the woods. The fire tower itself is in the woods, with no view unless you climb it. But once you do, it's spectacular.

Then it was back down again, down the wet rocks, across the rushing streams. By the time I was done, I was really excited to take off my wet socks and shoes! 

A cloudy tower hike

The next day's weather wasn't very promising, with the forecast calling for afternoon thunderstorms, so I hoped the morning would be no more than damp. I can handle getting wet, but I'd rather not be struck by lightning!

After a night of bad sleep, thanks to a leaky tent, I got up early in order to beat the storms. I headed over to Wakely, which is a very typical Adirondacks fire tower trail. It starts with an easy two miles on a logging road, followed by a steep, rocky mile. With all the rain, all these steep, rocky trails were essentially streambeds, increasing the challenge level.

My feet weren't my only wet part. While it didn't rain while I was hiking, the air was humid and the trees were quite wet, so the effect was the same.

The view from the top were not much, because of the clouds. I'm sure they're much nicer in better weather. 

As it turned out, there were afternoon showers but not storms. Still, I had to rest up and try to dry my boots out for the next day's adventure.

Hiking a tower double-header

The fourth day was overcast, but it looked like the rain might hold off. So I made the long drive to Stillwater Mountain. It was long mostly because the road to the trailhead is eight miles of dirt, and I wasn't driving any kind of high-clearance vehicle. 

I had the trail to myself. It's another relatively easy hike, much like Spruce - nothing tricky. 

Since it was still dry, I headed over to Bald. It has even less elevation gain, so it's quite popular. I managed to get off-trail early on, along with a group of young folk, but somehow we always managed to find a way back. The trail itself is quite fun, since much of it follows a rock spine. This means a lot of great views on the way up, and at the base of the tower. (And from the tower, too, of course!)

Hiking Blue Mountain and Watch Hill

The weather was nice again on the morning of day three, and I woke up even earlier than I intended, so I headed out to Blue Mountain early. This turned out to be a great strategy, as it's a popular hike. I had it all to myself on the way up and at the tower, but on the way down, lots of folks passed me going up. It's a pretty rocky hike, so I was cautious, particularly on the way down.

While I was in the neighborhood, I visited the Adirondack Experience Museum, which was quite nice. It had turned overcast - truly, I hit Blue at just the right time! - but a little drizzle is okay. So since I still had time left in the day, I headed to Watch Hill, another Indian Lake hike. It's close to Snowy Mountain, and it features excellent views of it. (Of course, you can also get excellent view of Snowy from the Watch Hill parking lot.)

Indian Lake hikes

On my second day of the trip, it was supposed to be wet all day. I didn't want to "waste" a tower on a cloudy day, so I decided to do a bunch of hikes towards the Indian Lake Challenge. First up was Sawyer Mountain:

Followed by Rock Lake:

Secret/Death Brook Falls:

Buttermilk Falls (so short that it isn't really a hike):

And finally, Castle Rock:

Up to the Adirondacks

I finally got to take a substantive vacation, spending eight days in the Adirondacks. While I was there, I hiked a bunch of fire towers, completing the Hamilton County Fire Tower challenge and the Indian Lake 4-3-2-1 challenge.

On my first day, I did Spruce Mountain, in the southern Adirondacks, to break up the drive. It's a relatively easy mountain, even though it has a good elevation gain; there isn't any scrambling or anything tricky. The views from the top are nice, although not as dramatic as the mountains farther north, where you can see the high peaks. 

Then, after checking in to my campsite, I did one of the Indian Lake hikes, to Bullhead Pond. It's quite short, and the pond looks pleasant, but it wasn't a show-stopper. It was also a little hard to find - farther up the road than I expected.