"Headed out of Tupper Lake to get Loon Lake in the 3-season hoping to find parking despite my casually late departure. Surprisingly the lot was empty. Nice easy hike to some broad views that i didn’t get in the winter due to low clouds. Also found the 3 benchmarks that were hidden under the snow. Next up was to be Jenkins mountain out of the Paul Smiths VIC but I arrived too late to get the hike in before they close. The VIC itself looked poorly maintained outside almost deserted looking short of the most geriatric crowd wandering around. Plan B became Big Crow for the LP-9 challenge. All the way down to Keene for the short hike out and back to Big Crow and it’s little brother since it was right there. First though I had to wait for some returning hikers to leave so I could poach their spot. Another fine Fall day of sun, clouds, colors and no wetness from the sky. Big Crow gets hammered more times with the Little one as the trail conditions change dramatically as you beyond Big Crow. A lot of “Cat scratches” on the exposed rock on either side of Big Crow." — Nimblefoot • Oct 4, 2022

"Tom and I left the trailhead at 7:27 am under blue skies at a cool 45 degrees. 1st half of the hike was on and off various old logging roads. Then the climb up. Trail was dry for the most part and no bugs. Summited at 8:53. Summit was empty but for us for about 30 minutes. Didn't scale the tower as the first set of stairs had been removed. None the less beautiful views were enjoyed. A gorgeous cool morning for hiking. Left the summit at 9:29 and returned to car at 10:29." — garyogden • Aug 14, 2022

"It was just what the doctor ordered as I only saw five other hikers and had the summit to myself for nearly an hour! Well, that’s not entirely true. There were two chipmunks harassing me for some of my trail mix during my lunch break. Misty and overcast. No view whatsoever but still relaxing and beautiful on the summit. It’s a shame the fire tower is dilapidated and unsafe to climb (although today it wouldn’t have improved the view). Good hike despite the less than stellar weather." — BuggysBoy • Sep 10, 2020

"A two for one special today...30/30 for the ADK Fire Towers and the Adirondack Blue Challenge completed. A blue bird day and a winter wonderland atop the summit. Couldn’t ask for a better day. Many goals still ahead, one at a time. " — scottturner • Nov 16, 2019

"Decided to take care of another northern fire tower. Unable to go up the tower because of the bottom set of stairs missing. The tower was in rough shape. Nice directional views. 5.4 miles." — newenglandwarrior • Jun 26, 2019

"Another great climb on the "Day After" an epic climb,, Legs are definitely busted but I tread on to bag one more fire tower on this blustery Sunday Morning. Snowshoes most of the way to the summit and back Thanks to Matt Topgun Peacock for putting me on this trail!" — ramjet1963 • Mar 10, 2019

"Very remote mountain with a tower in complete disrepair. One would hope a group will adopt this tower & give it much needed love. Cold & overcast day with very limited views from the summit. Enjoyed the hike though as I had not been to this part of the ADK park before." — billsussdorff • Dec 4, 2016

"One of the longer hikes in the fire tower challenge, but certainly not difficult. Very enjoyable! Unfortunately the fire tower was not climbable, but the views from the summit are great regardless." — RangersApprentice • May 14, 2016

"Thought this would take longer than it did, took us a little over 1.5hrs to the summit. Long and flat to start off, then got a bit steeper. Black flies were out in full force !!!" — HikingViking • May 14, 2016

"Solo. Started out early in the morning & unfortunately missed the couple of hours of blue sky that I could've gotten in the afternoon. The trail was dry and easy at the start, with small patches of ice. About a mile in, it turned to boot-sucking, ankle deep mud, and maybe a mile from the summit, the snow was about knee deep, and extremely wet and awful- one step forward, and sliding 3 steps back. It was very disconcerting to hear running water under the snow, and after breaking through a few times, I did some creative bush whacking on the side of the trail to avoid getting wet feet. The sky was completely grey at the summit with swift winds & no view, but I hung out for awhile anyway. The removal of the first set of stairs onto the tower kind of sucks, but maybe if it is repaired in the future I will make a return trip on a sunnier day. " — kellieirene • Mar 16, 2016