Hadley Mountain: 06/15/2013

Lately it's been impossible to string together two days of decent weather, so when last weekend's forecast called for sunny skies on Saturday and rain on Sunday, we scheduled our Fathers' Day hike to take place a day early. The overflowing parking lot at the trailhead confirmed that we weren’t the only ones looking to take advantage of the beautiful weather, and served as a reminder that Hadley is one of the most popular hikes in the southern Adirondacks.

Hadley Mountain and its firetower have an interesting history. The tower was constructed in 1917 and was among the first to be built of steel. Aerial surveillance eventually made the firetower obsolete, and by the 1980s the Hadley tower and dozens like it throughout the Adirondacks were slated for removal as non-conforming structures.

View to the north from Hadley's summit

While many towers were ultimately removed, local grass-roots support groups formed to save some of the firetowers as historic and educational resources. The Hadley Mountain Fire Tower Committee was among the earliest groups to organize, and in the mid- ‘90s the fire tower was restored. In recent summers the fire tower committee has co-sponsored a summit steward with the DEC.

Trail running

I've got a short piece on the Times Union's Runners Blog today with some local suggestions for trail running.

You can read my post here.

Hiking at Moreau Lake State Park, 05/18/2013

I was so impressed with Moreau Lake State Park on my first mountain bike ride there a few weeks ago that I brought my family back to hike the very next weekend. Overshadowed by the limitless hiking opportunities in the nearby Adirondacks, Moreau Lake State Park would certainly be more widely regarded as a hiking destination if it was located elsewhere in the state. I'm almost embarassed to admit that despite living in Saratoga County for more than 20 years, I never bothered to explore Moreau Lake State Park's 4,000 + acres beyond the heavily used beach and campground area.