Catching up on missed peaks after a lifetime of Adirondack adventures
By Tom French
The problem with taking 40 years to hike the 46 High Peaks is that you miss out on all the lower peaks and places of the Adirondacks. Such it is that I never climbed Blue Mountain or Debar until my sixth decade.
If you enjoy climbing and haven’t experienced Blue, you should. Hiking partner Doug Miller and I ascended the 3.759-foot peak on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend and had the fire tower to ourselves. It was very windy, which mitigated the bugs.
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We met members of a track and field team coming down while we were going up. Doug told them we were part of the “Crawl and Stumble Team.” And we happened upon a just engaged couple at the summit, but they quickly departed for some alone time.
A surprise visitor on Blue Mountain
The biggest surprise (besides the lack of a crowd) was witnessing a truck arriving up the access road. Kurt Lanning, Radio Bob’s successor at North Country Public Radio, was fixing a transmitter that was on the fritz. He told us the road is steep in places, requires four-wheel drive, and you don’t want to stop. It’s also off-limits to the public.
Blue Mountain has an interesting history. After first being ascended by Verplanck Colvin in the early 1870s, primitive trails were established by local guides, and Colvin’s signal station tower became an observation platform for guests from local hotels. It was so popular, a second tower, paid for by subscription, was built to replace Colvin’s after his fell into disrepair. The current 35-foot Aermotor tower was built 1917.
The summit was the site of a Cold War era radar station which is when the road to the top was built. Like many Adirondack Cold War relics, it was obsolete by the time construction was finished in 1961. A cement foundation and some anchors are all that remain.
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The 2.4-mile trail to the top gains steady elevation for most of its distance.
Unfinished planning for Debar Mountain
Debar also has an intriguing history starting with the fact that it has never had a final Unit Management Plan (UMP). A DEC document says it’s “been under development for more than 17 years.” The latest draft is dated 2020.
The area was the site of an “enclosed elk herd” beginning in the 1930s. The attempt to reestablish elk in the area was successful at first, but the population was decimated by poachers by the 1960s. Barbara McMartin in “Discover the Northern Adirondacks” describes a network of roads, loops, and side paths that “radiate” near possible artifacts.
Debar Mountain was named after a Canadian fur trapper who traipsed through the area in 1817 and is credited with “discovering” the pond. A wooden fire tower was established in 1912 after a 1908 fire consumed 6,000 acres on the mountain. A 35-foot Aermotor tower was built in 1918. It served until 1970 and was removed in 1979.
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Debar is a well-known destination of the Northern Adirondacks, with a trailhead inside the DEC’s Meacham Lake Campground (expect to pay a day-use fee when the campground is open). It has a reputation for a long approach and headwall near the top. Doug and I solved the first problem by biking the first mile.
We spent the night before at the campground. Named after an early 19th-century hunter credited with taking thousands of deer, hundreds of bears and wolves, and “77 panthers,” we were treated to the echos of barred owls, screech owls, and of course, loons.
We thought an early start would help us avoid the later heat of the day, though as members of the Crawl and Stumble Team in the last quarter of the game, the trek did take longer than anticipated. Signage along the way also caused confusion. The sign near the Meacham Lake Beach says 4.1 mile, while the one at the register says 3.7. I suspect they should be switched.
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Biking was a breeze, though the section from the campground to the official trailhead is a bit sandy. I wouldn’t recommend it for low-clearance cars either – the center mound between tire ruts is a small range at times. Once past the gate, the old woods road becomes a mostly wide, single track as it passes beautiful fern meadows and hard woods. The trail to Debar veers left 1.25 miles from the trailhead. Although within Wild Forest where bikes are allowed, the draft UMP says bikes are prohibited beyond this point. You could bike further along the Debar Meadows trail, but I’ve heard reports that it might be flooded in places.
From the junction, the trail continues to be remarkably flat as it proceeds up a series of “steps” and rises over a shoulder of Black Peak. It descends ninety feet, passing a lean-to and the moss-covered foundation of the observer’s cabin. Lore has it that at least one observer arrived here by Jeep. We spotted an abundance of frogs, toads, swallowtails and at least a half-dozen fern varieties.
Confusion from the signage made us think we were within a quarter mile of the top, but when Doug checked our altitude, we both knew we had 700 feet left, so it didn’t matter how far it was.
Fire tower observers often took the straightest route from their abode to the tower, which explains why so many fire tower peaks have such steep trails to the top (see Adams). The Debar cabin is in a glen at the base of what looks like a vertical wall – an elevator to the 3,305-foot summit.
Remnants of the crank telephone system to the cab can be seen upslope from the cabin. Several rock faces adjacent to the trail tease the headwall. The real one eventually appears. Steps to the left have been built into the mountainside at an angle more reminiscent of a ladder. Avoid the dike to the right as you climb. If you can touch the coil of old telephone wire, you’re off trail.
Eventually, the ascent moderates and a large outcrop, the summit, appears on the left. Scramble up or continue past where a number of herd paths take a gentler route. Eroded footings and guide-wire bolts dot the anorthosite. Beginning with the Sewards, views extend to the west and north – Azure rises in the distance behind Meacham Lake. We believe we identified the Pinnacle and the Mutton Range near the Deer River Flow. On a day without haze, I believe you could spot the blue of the St. Lawrence River. The shadow of the northern upslope of the St. Lawrence River Valley was visible along the horizon.
Choose your next Adirondack adventure
If poaching caused the failure of the elk reintroduction, and it took a long time to fail, why hasn’t another attempt been made?
At the intersection of State highways #37 and 56 in my hometown of Massena, Debar dominates the SE horizon. Despite a distance of 41 air miles. Hence, many in flat Massena are tempted. Alas, unless the view has opened considerably since my own hike, there are many lesser hills and peaks with better views. Aside from Lake Meacham, Debar is surrounded by an dull ocean of trees. Your recent post on Low’s Ridge? Here is better scenery for less effort. I was never in the ‘it’s the journey, not the destination’ camp.