DEC sticks by tower decision

The Hurricane Mountain fire tower. Photo by Phil Brown.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation is standing by its decision that the fire tower on Hurricane Mountain should be torn down to comply with the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan.

DEC’s recommendation apparently is at odds with the wishes of the Adirondack Park Agency board, whose members indicated last month that they’d like the tower to stay. The APA commissioners directed the agency’s staff to explore the legal and fiscal ramifications of keeping the fire towers on both Hurricane and St. Regis mountains.

The APA will discuss the towers again at next Thursday’s meeting. In keeping with the board’s request, the staff is seeking authorization to reclassify land or amend the State Land Master Plan to allow the structures to remain.

The towers are located in the Hurricane Mountain Primitive Area and the St. Regis Canoe Area. Both tracts are managed essentially as Wilderness, where fire towers are not allowed.

In its proposed final management plan for the Hurricane tract, posted on the APA website today, DEC proposes removing the Hurricane tower and reclassifying the land as Wilderness.

DEC acknowledges that most people who have voiced an opinion have supported keeping the tower, but the department insists that would violate the State Land Master Plan.

Late Friday afternoon, DEC spokeswoman Lori Severino said she didn’t know if the department has finalized its stance on the St. Regis tower. However, the department initially made a similar argument against that tower as well.

One alternative proposed by the APA is to reclassify the land under both towers as Historic. Under another alternative, the State Land Master Plan would be amended to permit towers in Primitive and/or Canoe Areas.

 You can read the Hurricane  management plan and the APA alternatives on the APA’s website.

Nun-da-ga-o Ridge

Alan Wechsler, Phil Brown, and Rick Karlin take in the views of the High Peaks from Nun-da-ga-o Ridge

Lost Pond, with Hurricane Mountain in the background. Photo by Ken Aaron.

 The ridge trail affords many different views of the High Peaks as you scramble over open ledges. People differ over which direction is the better way to travel. I like hiking the loop clockwise. This way you get to the ridge and the views quickly. After a series of ups and downs, you reach the ridge’s high point, Weston Mountain (elevation 3,100+ feet), after 3.4 miles. After this climax, you descend first to Lost Pond, then to a lean-to on Gulf Brook. The hike ends with a mile-long walk on the flat, a nice cool-down after a strenuous outing. Of course, those who prefer hiking the loop counterclockwise say the flat is a nice warm-up. Whichever way you go, you should consider taking a short side trip up Big Crow. If you want a bigger day, you can hike up Hurricane Mountain from the Gulf Brook lean-to. If you just do the loop, you’ll ascend about 1,600 feet, with all the ups and downs.

 Incidentally, we did the hike on May 2, and there was no snow and little mud on the route. We didn’t run into anybody until the very end, when we encountered Pete Fish, the retired forest ranger, who was walking along the flat part with his wife and young grandson. Nun-da-ga-o Ridge is one of Pete’s favorite hikes, and he helps maintain the trail.

Thanks to Ken Aaron, the communications director at Paul Smith’s College, for letting us use the accompanying photos. Alan wrote a story about the hike for the Times Union.

Alan summits a large boulder along the trail. Photo by Ken Aaron.