Woke up to a beautiful day. For my 60th birthday, May 22, rather than presents I asked Paul to climb a fire tower or two. I researched the likely candidates, there are 23 in the high peaks area and 5 in the Catskills so I had plenty to choose from. We are still trying to get our hiking legs in shape so I put two smaller ones together with the idea we would climb the tougher one first.
We picked Bald Mountain and Pillsbury Mountain. Pillsbury Moutain is described as a strenuous climb over a moderate distance, is a 3.2 miler with an elevation change of 1337. Bald Mountain is described as a short hike with only one minor steep spot, is a 2 miler with an elevation change of 390 feet. Paul, Foster and I chose to do Pillsbury first.
The drive was pretty. We drove through Tupper Lake and Long Lake and almost made it to Spectacular but were instructed to turn off onto this 6.3-mile logging road. The directions said the first 5 miles would be easy for most cars but the last mile needs a truck or a car with high clearance. We passed a logging operation and many campsites. Subi 1 made it to the parking lot with no trouble and parked next to many pickups but no other cars. The drive took over two ours, we arrived around 10:45 and by the time we loaded up with gear it was 11 am. The first part of the trip was downhill to a creek, over a bridge, flat for a little bit and then consistently up with no flats for about a mile. I thought I was gonna die. Climbing straight up is not easy. I was constantly having to lift my body up, not an easy feat. After about a mile or so we started to get some flatter areas between the steep, this was much easier. The trees are just starting to bud and there were some beautiful flowers and black flies along the way. We did bathe ourselves in OFF before starting so the flies were mostly an annoyance. There were not many views except through the trees on this hike. Near the top, it felt like we were walking across the mountain in search of the fire tower. Finally at about 12:15 pm we saw the fire tower and a dilapidated cabin near its base. The guide book said the top of the tower wasn't available but we could climb up to just below the lookout area. Although it was an overcast day, the views were spectacular but the fire tower was in questionable shape. The chicken wire around the stairs was missing on quite a few landings and I was worried about Foster. Unlike most dogs that don't like to climb open stairs, Foster is fine with it and will climb to the top of any fire tower. He doesn't like to be left alone either so keeping him off the tower while Paul and I went up was an impossible task. Paul made it to the top but I took Foster down after 4 flights. Don't feel bad for me, I was just as happy to return to the ground. This fire tower made me nervous. Near the base of the fire tower was a bench and an area for campfires had been set up. We sat on the bench to eat our PB&J sandwiches. That is where we saw the marker and we took the required photograph.
Going down the mountain was much easier. On the way up we needed to climb up some big rocks that had water and moss and I had been worried about climbing down those same rocks. No need for the worry, my "sticky' soles made me sure-footed over the rocks. The tree roots were the most slippery but we returned to the bottom with nary a scratch.
This mountain had been a bit more challenging than we had anticipated so we talked about skipping Bald Mountain. We had a 30-mile drive before we had to make a decision as the turn off to Bald Mountain was on the way back to Lake Placid. Once at the turn-off, we decided to go for it. We were already on the far side of the High Peaks and the guide book said this was an easy hike with only one steep part. We still had 30 miles to go to get to Bald Mountain thus giving us a bit more rest. We drove along RT 28 and found the lake names had lost some imagination. We were passing the chain of lakes known as the Fulton Chain of Lakes. The first one we came to was called 8, the next 7 and so on. I think we were near 4 when we finally came to Bald Mtn.
Bald Mountain is near a populous area. The parking lot was filled with cars and people of all ages were there to enjoy the hike. We felt silly breaking out our backpacks and walking sticks but we learned well during our skills course. It is better to be prepared. The book was right when it described this walk, other than one steep climb and the fact that we were on rock the whole time it was an easy climb. Because it was mostly large boulders it was hard to see the path and we took one unplanned detour but it led us to a different view of the lake. A pleasant surprise. We arrived at the top around 4:15 pm. The fire tower was well maintained but due to the large number of people we took turns with Foster at the bottom. He was fine with that. There were lots of people and dropped food that kept him entertained. The sky here was overcast but the view was not impaired. The way down was uneventful. Foster weaved himself in between a large group of people taking a break. I think he was looking for handouts. The people loved him and all reached in to pet him. Surprisingly Foster seemed to like this attention even with no food being offered.
By now we were glad to be heading back home. Other than PB&J sandwiches we had had nothing to eat. We knew of a brewery in Tupper Lake, Raquette River Brewery that would have a food truck outside. We arrived around 6:30 on a Saturday night. They were closed. So we knew the IGA in town had great sandwiches at their deli. Deli was closed. So we headed to Saranac Lake but then decided to just drive home so Foster could get fed too. All in all a very good day to celebrate the last day of being 59!
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