Five-Star Trails: Adirondacks: Your Guide to 46 Spectacular Hikes

by Tim Starmer

Overview

The Adirondack Park is an immense wilderness encompassing more than 9,375 square miles. Within its boundaries are rugged mountains, countless pristine lakes and ponds, seemingly endless forests, and thousands of miles of wild rivers, providing an infinite number of outdoor adventures. The revised edition of Five-Star Trails: Adirondacks, by Tim Starmer, features six new popular trails and provides a detailed guide to some of the most stunning views found across the Adirondacks. Included are rugged and steep ascents up Snowy Mountain in the Central Adirondacks, which many consider the 47th high peak, and isolated Debar Mountain in the northern Adirondack region. Distance hikers will love the long trek into the High Peak Wilderness to see the amazing Hanging Spear Falls along the Opalescent River.

Also new to this edition is the less difficult but equally scenic vistas of the Eastern Adirondacks and Lake George described along the Black Mountain trail. And delve back into the remote depths of the High Peaks region to explore some of the most unique trails with descriptions of Wright Peak, Avalanche Pass, and the second highest mountain in New York, Algonquin Mountain.

Each hike features an individual trail map, elevation profile, and at-a-glance information.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781634040532
Publisher:	Menasha Ridge Press
Publication date:	04/17/2017
Series:	Five-Star Trails
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	23 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Kathleen Dodge first shouldered a backpack at the tender age of 10, when her dad forced her to walk around the neighborhood with a pack full of encyclopedias to prepare for an overnight outing in Yosemite. From the first heavily-laden step, a love affair was born. A thirst for backcountry adventure has led Kathleen to decades of starry nights in her native California’s Sierra Nevada mountains.

When not hitting the trail, Kathleen can be found leading hiking and biking trips around the globe, travel writing, or holed up in an Oakland café with a great book. She has written for Fodor's, Lonely Planet, and Moon, among other publications.

Jordan Summers, a native of North Carolina, grew up in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Moving to La Jolla, California, as a teen in the 1960s opened up new terrain to hike in and became the stage for his introduction to the Sierra Club. Settling into a hi-tech career in southern California, Jordan sought the mountains for hikes of all kinds at every opportunity: day hikes, ultralight, or weeklong. As friends asked Jordan to arrange and guide them on trips, it seemed like an appropriate time to take on some new skills. A monthlong expedition in Wyoming’s Wind River Range with the National Outdoor Leadership School not only enhanced those skills but also taught Jordan how to safely share the outdoors experience using Leave No Trace practices. By 1991, Summers Trails was leading clients on treks into wilderness areas of Oregon and California using a string of trail-friendly llamas to transport gear. Leading treks, Jordan enjoyed introducing novices to the outdoors in a way that made it accessible. He served as a local Chapter President of the Sierra Club, returning the favor of its earlier outdoors introduction. Sacramento has been Jordan's gateway to the Sierra and coast ranges for 10 years.

Read an Excerpt

Hadley Mountain

At-a-Glance Information
Scenery: 4 stars
Trail Condition: 3 stars
Children: 4 stars
Difficulty: 2 stars
Solitude: 1 star
Distance: 3.6 miles
Hiking Time: 2-3 hours
Outstanding Features: Panoramic views, fire tower

In Brief
A short and steady climb to the top of this 2680-foot bald summit provides great views of the southern Adirondacks. With a climbable fire tower, summertime summit steward and a broad open mountaintop that makes an ideal picnicking, Hadley Mountain is an excellent choice for family outings.

Description
The trailhead parking area will accommodate dozens of hikers but the popularity of this trail will likely mean that you will have to park on the side of the dirt access road. The trailhead is clearly marked with a painted DEC sign as well as a historic marker describing the history of the fire tower. Several fires at the opening of the twentieth century had swept the area and most of the forest, including the top soil, was burnt off. A wooden tower was erected in 1916 according to a placard but other sources place its erection in 1917. After blowing over in severe winds, a steel tower was re-erected with guy wires in 1920. Since the risk of forest fires in the Adirondacks is generally negligible, the use of fire towers for fire suppression has given way to aerial observation and consequently the tower, cabin, and trail fell into disrepair, through lack of use. However, within the past couple of decades, the tower, cabin and trail have been restored by the Hadley Mountain Fire Tower committee and the old observer's cabin is now manned daily by a tower steward from the fourth of July until Labor Day. According to the DEC Unit management plan the steward is also available on weekends through Columbus day.

The beginning of the trail is surrounded by a thick stand of hemlocks that continues to shade the trail up to the trail register where the evergreens give way to a mainly beech and birch forest that is thick with saplings and shades the trail for most of the climb. The trail, marked by red DEC trail markers, begins to ascend immediately and continues steadily uphill for nearly one mile where it levels off for a while before the final climb to the summit. Over this first section of the trail, large rocks and cobbles are strewn across many portions of the trail, while other parts proceed up bare bedrock. Chances are that you will need to stop off the trail frequently as many hikers will either be ascending or descending. The trail is so clear that directions are hardly needed.

Upon reaching the ridgeline, views to the southeast can be glimpsed through the canopy that hint at the truly panoramic views that await you shortly ahead. Along the ridgeline, the flora is mostly scrubby trees or saplings and the trail is mostly clear of the rocks and cobbles that covered the path previously. You will pass through a small notch in the bedrock followed by a sharp turn left before the last climb to the summit. The mountaintop is almost entirely exposed bedrock with many places to sit and enjoy the views. In fact, when I reached the summit there were well over a dozen families or groups with ample room for people to spread out to enjoy an afternoon picnic. Panoramic views in all directions are available and you can see even further into the surrounding country if you climb the fire tower. To the southwest, you can see Great Sacandaga Lake, to the north some of the famous high peaks, to the south glimpses of the Catskills, in the east the foothills surrounding Lake George and even the Green Mountains of Vermont or the Berkshires in Massachusetts. A steady breeze helps to keep the infamous black flies at bay, and combined with the spectacular views, it is clear why this is a popular picnic spot for families.

Directions
Heading North on NY 9N cross the Sacandaga River and turn left on School St. Continue Straight onto Bridge Street. Cross the Hudson River and keep left onto CR 4/Rockwell St. Turn Right onto CR 1 Stony Creek Road; approximately a half mile from your turn onto School Street. Head North on and keep left at 3.1 miles onto Hadley Hill Road. Continue along Hadley Hill Road for 2.66 miles and turn right on Eddy Road. Keep left on Tower Road (dirt road) at 0.84 miles. Tower Road heads north, swings west and then curves back south. At 1.7 miles, the trailhead parking area is on the right.

GPS Trailhead Coordinates (WGS 84)
UTM Zone 18T
Easting 0585018
Northing 4802848

Latitude/Longitude
North 43° 22' 25.27"
West 73° 57' 2.00"

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

West Central
Gleasman Falls
Black Bear Mountain
Cascade Lake
Sis&Bubb Lakes
Baby Lake Falls
Gull Lake Loop
Woodhull Overnight
Ha-De-Ron Overnight

Central
Auger Falls
Castle Rock
Blue Ledges
Hoffman Notch
Hewitt Pond&Stony Pond
Peaked Mountain Pond
Chimney Mountain
NPT Section Overnight

Eastern
Shelving Rock Falls
Tongue Mountain Range
Split Rock Mountain Loop
Pharaoh Lake Overnight

Southern
Hadley Mountain
Crane Mountain
Tenant Falls
Stewart&Indian Lakes
Pine Orchard&Murphy Lake Overnight

Northern
Lampson Falls&Grass River
Balancing Rock Loop
Dog Pond Loop
Floodwood Loop
St. Regis Mountain
Owls Head Mountain
High Falls Overnight

High Peaks
Ampersand Mountain
Haystack Mountain via Gothics
Pitchoff Mountain
Indian&Avalanche Pass
Crow Mountains Loop
Ausable River Loop
Mount Marcy
Newcomb Lake to Long Lake Overnight