Snowy Mountain Fire Tower

INDIAN LAKE-Snowy Mountain just got a little higher.

The 3,899-foot mountain, the highest in Hamilton County and higher than two of the so-called 46 highest mountains in the Adirondack Park, gained about 50 feet in elevation when the fire tower on it was recently refurbished and reopened to the public.

For 17 years, Forest Ranger Greg George has been asking the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to fix and reopen the fire tower on top of Snowy. He was instrumental in getting the fire tower on top of Blue Mountain repaired and reopened.

Now a longer dream of his and those who hike up Snowy has been fulfilled. His argument for this and other towers still standing is that they are part of the Adirondack heritage and should be preserved.

Further, he says, they help promote hiking on mountains that are below the tree line. 'With a tower, one can have a 360 degree view above the tree line,' he said while proudly showing photographs of the tower and the work that went into making it safe.

The job was no small task. Besides George and other rangers from the area, there were six student conservation associates from AmeriCorps, the pilots who flew the DEC and New York State Police choppers and members of the maintenance department at the Indian Lake DEC station who labored on the project.

Hand tools, power tools, a generator for the power tools and materials were flown up by chopper July 5. Then, from July 10-13, the workers were flown up to work and camp out on the mountain.

Wind, rain and even snow made the task more difficult. But all persevered in good spirits to get the job done.

George reminisced about how back in 1917 when the tower was first put up, men and horses had to lug everything up to the top. He said, 'We only had to hike down after our work was done.'

Why fire towers? Between 1903 and 1908 over one million acres, a sixth of the Adirondack forests, were burned. In response to this devastation, the state began to build wooden platforms on top of the mountains and staff them with fire observers.

These were rickety affairs that didn't offer much of a view. A few years later, the state contracted with a Midwestern firm which built windmills for farms. The towers were made taller, steps were added and an observation hut was added at their tops.

Soon there were steel towers throughout the state, from the Adirondacks to the Catskills and the Southern Tier. The greatest number in the state was reached in 1960, when there were 158; 52 were in the Adirondacks.

After that, their numbers declined. By 1980, 90% of forest fires were reported by citizens on the ground or in the air. Closure began in earnest and dismantling soon followed.

Today there remain but five fire towers in Hamilton County, on Blue, Owls Head, Pillsbury, Snowy and Wakely mountains. The future looks bright for all to remain in repair, except there is a question about the tower on Wakely.

The Wakely tower is possibly the highest tower in the Adirondacks at 90 feet. A problem might arise when the DEC does the unit management plan for the Blue Ridge Wilderness.

This is because when the original lines were drawn, Wakely Mountain was intentionally excluded from the Blue Ridge Wilderness and placed under Primitive classification instead, so the tower could stay. But this was done when fire towers were still used to help spot forest fires.

With that need gone, Wakely Mountain could be swallowed into the Blue Ridge Wilderness and, under the law, its tower would have to come down.

George and Regional Forester Tom Martin don't wish to see this happen and both hope the public will voice support for the 'King of Fire Towers' that sits on top of Wakely.

Besides, as George noted, there isn't much of a view from the top of Wakely without the fire tower.

In the meantime, the tower on Wakely is open and the newly refurbished tower on Snowy await hikers who are willing to lose a few calories getting to them. The views are fantastic and highly recommended.

If you hike up Snowy to the fire tower, give thanks to those who labored hard to give you the great view. They include: DEC Operations out of the Indian Lake Shop; the DEC forester out of Northville who got permission and the money from the state; Greg George and other rangers from the surrounding area; the DEC and State Police helicopter units; AmeriCorps students Nicole, Megan, Courtney, Ralph, Jack and Josh; and Ray Sweet, Mike Hall and Bruce.