"A short hangover hike today and ran into Dave and his wife in the parking lot! I’ve been stalking his hikes on Peakery for a while and BAM - here he was. So great to meet a fellow mountain enthusiast in real life. " — climbmtnsdmg • Jan 18, 2026

"Finally, 31/31 Swede Mountain, After an amazing 5 years chasing the ADK fire towers, I can finally say I've been there done that! But in all seriousness, it was my first love in the Adirondac park, which kept me coming back for more. Todays trail took me to the Brant Lake area with beautiful southern views of the high peaks. Trail was hard crust snow, which allowed me to bare boot to the summit with ease and without causing any damage to the existing trail, 7hrs on the road for this short 1.5hr scoot to the top and back with a short snack break on the summit. Do what you love!" — ramjet1963 • Apr 8, 2023

"Tom, Black and I left the trailhead at 8:57 am under partly cloudy skies @ 68 degrees. Swede is the latest fire tower to be added to the challenge making it the 31st. This is Black's 1st hike since March 3rd after having injured himself on some ice. He did fine. No views along the trail and only a view of about 120 degrees from the tower cabin. A pretty under whelming hike but it fit the bill for a short holiday hike. Returned to car in 1 hour." — garyogden • May 30, 2022

"So, a few years ago, my Son and I completed all 30 Firetowers on Woodhull. During the pandemic (Whilst borders were closed so we couldn't cross the border into the U.S.) Swede was re-opened, so set us another task. I had total hip replacement surgery last year, so it's been a while since I did anything serious, and a long hard road back to mountain hiking/climbing. Today was the first time in over 2yrs that we returned to the Adirondacks, and what better peak to get back into it. Nice easy going trail to our 31st and (again) final Firetower." — HikingViking • May 28, 2022

"Due to a long illness, this was my first hike in 10 months. The newly constructed trail from Rt. 8 is well-marked and leads to nice views from the newly refurbished summit fire tower." — billsussdorff • May 14, 2022

"Parking was close to the trailhead which makes it nice. Hiked across a stream with great stepping stones which made it easy. Although the beaver dam just above was scary. Some muddy spots along the way but not terrible. The trail was well maintained. The views at the top were beautiful from the fire tower." — sarahlaustrup • Apr 11, 2022

"Got on trail just after 8am today after a long hiatus of not hiking. Had to hop a rope guard rail. Temperature according to my car was 33°, but with full sunshine and bright blue skies, it felt much warmer. There is an impressive beaver dam right out the gate but a nice rock wall on the right hand side of it with some engineered steps as well. No log book for entries or kiosk. The low temperatures last night helped me today as the trail was pretty well set up, only encountered one nasty mud bog I sunk into more than ankle deep, a light dusting of snow was no issue with bare boots- only one patch of ice in the woods. Lots of clear cut on the sides of trail, and many signs advising hikers to stay on the trail (which is nicely marked with blue reflective diamond shaped markers.) No major up or down in the single mile, got up to the decrepit rangers cabin & recently rehabbed tower very quickly. Nice views from the cab (zero from ground level), no hatch, and only a partial roof. Lots of very old (from the 50’s) graffiti in the cab. Had my summit beer and enjoyed the view. Headed back down & as I exited the trail a vehicle pulled up & a trio of hikers started gearing up. Other than ..." — kellieirene • Apr 4, 2022

"End of year Winter hike up to a Fire Tower we have not had a chance to visit. Not much snow just needed micro-spikes. Weather was great, views from the tower were great! My wife, myself and Max enjoyed the trip." — hbotc • Dec 31, 2021

"2nd fire tower after Goodnow Mt. Easy 2.2 mile RT. Stay on trail or stay home! Signs on trail. Cabin was a mess. Huge winds prevented us from climbing into the cab. Easy elevation. " — lfrancois • Dec 22, 2021

"Managed to complete Swede just a couple days before it closes for hunting season on a rainy day. Short hike but very steep & slippery with wet mud at the beginning—slid on my butt the last section of the descent! We got poured on at the summit, & had minimal views due to clouds, but I’ve seen other peoples’ photos from clear days & it looks like it’s normally a great view!" — EmilyDoucet729 • Sep 6, 2021