The birth of the Owls Head ‘Four-Pack’ adventure

Author creates his own hiking challenge, complete with sticker for finishers

By Tom French

Between the Lake Placid 9er, the Saranac Lake 6er, the Tupper Lake Triad (there’s even a patch for dogs), the growing Fire Tower Challenge list, and Tim Rowland’s attempts to clarify the various Buck Mountains of the Adirondacks, Doug and I knew it was time for a new Adirondack List Challenge which Doug dubbed the Owls Head Four-Pack.

Doug suggested we do it in one day, but fortunately he was joking. And with the waning days of fall and the vagaries of age, we decided three days would be easier – nonconsecutive, of course.

First up was the longest, the Owl’s Head of Long Lake which can also double as part of your Fire Tower Challenge. Located in the Sargent Ponds Wild Forest, the trailhead is 1.5 miles from Route 30 on Endion Lane on the west side of the lake. For those who have attempted the Ninety-Miler, the start location for Day Two and erst home of a potbelly pig is nearby.

We arrived to an empty trailhead on a beautiful October Thursday. The trail rises quickly (180 feet in the first quarter mile), and when I commented to Doug that it was starting straight up, he said, “Oh, yeah, it’s a climb.” But after the junction with the Lake Eaton Snowmobile Trail (stay left and follow the red markers), it levels out for the next mile as it passes through a second-growth forest that includes several large yellow birches.

For the last mile, the trail ascends at a moderate pace before crossing a col between two knobs. The trail descends eighty feet in 300 yards to a basin before a steep push to the summit. The top is clearly in sight, straight up. After passing the remains of the fire observer’s cabin, the trail climbs 180 feet in .1 miles – a throwback to the days when the observers took the shortest route to the top. This one has deteriorated into an erosional gully in places.

The first of four summits

The thirty-five foot tower was erected in 1919, replacing a log structure built in 1911 in response to the destruction of Long Lake West (Sabattis).  Restored in 2004, the tower offers a 360-degree view that spans nine other towers, including one of Rowland’s Bucks, if you know where to look.   

As soon as we reached the summit, we climbed the tower and were quickly in awe of the snow-covered high peaks with Marcy looking like Mount Fuji rising above the plains of Japan.

Our second day of the four-pack was a twofer beginning at the Owls Head along Route 73 below the Cascade Lakes. The trailhead is on Owl’s Head Lane off the downhill side of the highway. As soon as you turn onto the drive, you will see signs announcing the trail is closed from Fridays at 4:00 PM until Monday at 7:00 AM. 

The trail is on private property. Overuse and disrespect in the mid-twenty-teens led to an owner revolt and the trail may have been closed “permanently” for a time before the accommodation was arranged. Parking is limited, so don’t block driveways or park where signs clearly say not to.  If no obvious parking spaces are available, I suggest you pick a different Owls Head. Another one is only ten miles away (see below).

Snowcapped peaks had given way to temperatures in the seventies.  Doug’s wife, Susan, joined us for the short, half-mile climb to the summit. It begins with a series of short switchbacks. Outlooks appear to the right, and it levels off for a time on a hogsback with downward slopes on both sides. The most distinctive feature in my mind was an arid aspect with stunted pines – I suspect the result of a lack of soil.

Small mountain, big views

We reached the top in less than a half hour and enjoyed what Barbara McMartin described as “one of the smallest mountains with one of the biggest views.” A significant cliff with a history as a training ground for novice rock climbers faces south. Cascade and Porter dominate the vista as views expand up Cascade Pass. Three bolts and a non-USGS copper disk can be found on an eastern lookout. 

After returning to the car, we parted with Susan and traveled the ten miles to the Owl Head of Elizabethtown. Note the spelling – according to McMartin’s Discover the Northeastern Adirondacks, “tradition makes this peak singular to differentiate it from other similarly named peaks.” Official USGS topo maps actually identify this one as Owls Head Lookout. All the Owls Heads of the Adirondacks have an S according to the USGS. None have an apostrophe, though I’ve spelled them for this article as they appear in the local vernacular.

The E-town Owl Head trail begins on the south side of 9N, 2.25 miles east of the Hurricane Mountain trailhead. A DEC road sign (with the “traditional” name) clearly marks the parking lot.

Except for the last push, the 2.6-mile trail to the summit is a steady twenty-five degrees. I measured the angle on Doug’s geotracker.  After the first mile, it follows an unnamed stream through a dramatic notch with rocky cliffs on both sides. It then swings almost 180 degrees for a half-mile traverse to a junction. A weathered and faded sign points the way for the last .2 miles that did not seem like one lap around the track. We summited in one hour and forty-five minutes.

The E-town Owl Head offers a stunning view of Giant’s backside, Rocky Peak Ridge, Hurricane and Nun-da-ga-o Ridge. Vermont and the floodplain of Lake Champlain can be seen to the east. Two buttresses jut out from the summit making this exciting for those who wish to venture out to feel the air from all sides with little beneath your feet. One prominence even has a saddle and looks like the neck of a dragon for those who have always wanted to take one for a ride.

A ‘go-to climb’

The last destination for our Owls Head Four-Pack was in Franklin County, ten miles south of Malone as the crow flies. This one has a smile – a vein of iron ore that smirks across the bottom of the rock face along with other features that could be contrived as eyes. The ore was enough incentive for Sidney Gillett to “sink a fortune” in the 1870s. But the vein “proved shallow” and was abandoned, but not until after a cart path was carved up the slope – a single switchback that provides an easy one-mile hike up 675 feet to a spectacular view “startling in its breadth. So marvelous a span of valley and mountain,” as described by McMartin.  

This is a go-to climb for our family when guests want an easy Adirondack experience. It even sports history with its 35-foot, nineteenth-century, vertical mine shaft into the mountain. Bring a flashlight (or your phone).

We parked along Station Road which parallels the New York Central railbed, now a powerline corridor, and walked the 300 yards to where the trail enters the forest. You can also approach from the Brown-Benoit Road.

A trail register is found a quarter mile into the woods after passing Owls Head Pond. On private land for decades, the DEC obtained access to the property in 2005. The Student Conservation Association (SCA) Adirondack Corps has been upgrading and rerouting the trail.  

Winter was teasing us with three to five inches on the ground. After nearly 1.5 miles, the mouth of the mine appeared. The steepest hundred yards to the top skirts the side of the mine.

A hiker’s reward

To commemorate this prestigious feat and new Adirondack Challenge, I asked my daughter to design a patch. Alas, low-quantity custom work is too pricy, so it’s a sticker. If you complete the Owls Head Four-Pack, you can find it here.  It’s an honor system. I’ve also made certificates for Doug and myself. We’re fighting over who gets number one and two. It depends on how you time and tally. Regardless, if you reach out to me after you’ve completed the challenge, I’ll let you know your number. You can make your own certificate.

Not counting a small hill called Owls Head Pinnacle opposite the Owls Head Owls Head, at least two other Owls Heads exist in the Adirondack Park – one in the McKenzie Mountain Wilderness and the other near Schroon Lake. As soon as they have trails, Doug and I will commence the Owls Head Six-Pack.