Vanderwhacker Mountain

"Left the sun at home for Rain most of the day 😜 a small break at the peak but No view. Bugs were at bay most of the time . Not too bad despite the muddy conditions . We enjoyed the hike!" — andrewbearjustin • Jun 16, 2019

"5 happy hikers and 5 pups enjoyed a quick hike up Vanderwhacker - a nice easy hike of ~ 6 miles RT with a gain of ~1700 - most of which is during the last 1.2 miles. The fire tower offers a commanding view of the High Peaks." — deb-and-rob • Dec 2, 2017

"Beautiful Day - probably the nicest hiking day I've had all year. About 34 degrees at the 8:30 am start, brilliant sunshine for the entire hike. Nice trail. Excellent views of the High Peaks. My 18th Adirondack Fire Tower. Enjoyed some quiet time at the summit, lots of people heading up as we were heading down. AWD/4 wheel drive with high clearance recommended for the drive in from 28N." — PJSelmer • Sep 2, 2017

"We parked just off the 28N, So we did the whole 11 Miles. That road is loooooooooooong on the way back, I'm sure someone stretched it why we were at the summit. All in all a great, not too difficult hike, but a very long one. My car is low clearance so didn't want to risk driving up Moose Pond club road. I still can't believe that's an actual "road". But, job done......Fire Tower #13 bagged." — UK-Ranger • Jun 25, 2016

"This was a very long hike and I struggled on it.. taking a good 20-30 minutes longer than I would have expected. The views are enjoyable, but there is a huge effort required to get to them - except for those with a truck that can drive along Moose Pond Club road to the trailhead. For those that don't have a high-clearance vehicle, there are other mountains with shorter hikes that have better views than Vanderwhacker." — RangersApprentice • Jun 25, 2016

"Hiked with my sister. Moose Pond Road isn't plowed in the winter, so we had to start from Rt.28N. Made quick work of the undulating road walk to the main trailhead. Signed in and noticed nobody had been there in a couple weeks. Had to break trail all the way to the summit. Startled a deer that was bedding down at the summit about 20 feet away from the base of the tower. 7 degrees at the start of the hike. With the elevation gain and wind chill factor it was well below zero at the summit." — LGH-Tom • Jan 19, 2016

"Hiked with Tommy. The "ten mile death march." Couldn't get to the trailhead by car due to high snow on the road leading up to it, so we had to add 5 miles to our hike by starting out on the side of the road. No one had signed in for 16 days and with fresh powder, even between the two of us, breaking trail was terrible. Went up straight after a midnight shift at work so we were both absolutely exhausted. The Firetower book said "relentlessly steep"- & that was no idle threat. Real huff & puffer for me. The Rangers cabin was interesting as it was open, but also contained many items as if someone just left. Very odd but neat! Not much for a view since it snowed. All. Day. Another firetower in the books though. " — kellieirene • Jan 19, 2016

"This was my second attempt as the previous winter hike fizzled out. I was accompanied by my wife on this one & we had a great hike. The views from the tower rival those of Adams & Hurricane." — billsussdorff • Jul 16, 2015

"Enjoyed this nice 2.7 mile hike to the summit as a sunset hike. The trail is well marked and easy to follow and has very moderate topo for the first mile or so. Shortly after this point it begins to climb which definitely showed during our hike as it was a VERY humid evening. Great views from the top and a beautiful sunset." — deb-and-rob • Jul 21, 2014

"Great views from the Firetower, long drive down the old road, afraid if we broke down we would be in trouble. Sam Moose turds (fresh) and track almost near the start of the trail. Moderate hike, not steep at all but no views unless in the tower." — hbotc • Sep 15, 2013

"Camped at Lake Harris. Parked by Boreas river on Rt. 28N and walked the dirt road in. Didn’t know we could drive it until we were getting passed by vehicles near the main trailhead. As soon as we reached the summit we got caught in a torrential downpour. " — cmarion1979 • Aug 12, 2012

"Snow melt with overcast 45-55 degree weather. Knee deep in hard/ice snow was a common occurrence because of lack of winter gear. Summit was spectacular with northern view of snow capped glooming High Peaks pass the large valley in Newcomb. Due to slow trail conditions, lower descent was in darkness and long because road to trailhead was covered leaving 28N as the starting point. Well worth the obstacles. " — Amerikaywave • Mar 12, 2012