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HIKING
Blue Mountain: After the Crowds Have Gone
By Barbara McMartin
A combination of extraordinary views and easy accessibility attracts thousands of hikers yearly to the 3,759-foot summit of Blue Mountain. The 2-mile one-way climb of 1,560 vertical feet requires less than 2 hours and is not overly strenuous. The summit fire tower is manned in the summer courtesy of private donations. The walk down usually takes only 1 1/2 hours, so even with a picnic stop it's a half-day outing, this allows you to visit the nearby Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake, open from mid-June to mid-October.
The month of November, after the crowds have gone, is an ideal time to enjoy this hike. Just as important, this trail is generally safe for use during fall deer and bear hunting seasons. But be aware it's a funny time of year, the days are short and depending on the weather, the potential for ice or snow on the trail exists and you may need crampons. If you are not prepared, there are good views even at the first lookout, where you can turn around if winter has arrived.
History
The Blue Mountain region was one of the early areas in the Adirondacks to be developed as a resort. The principal developer was William West Durant, the son of the Union Pacific railroad baron. Durant built for himself the magnificent Camp Pine Knot on Raquette Lake, several homes on nearby lakes, and encouraged the development of Blue Mountain Lake.
Blue Mountain looms over the surrounding countryside, almost always appearing in shades of blue, a dark, imposing hulk, scarred on its southern face with rockslides and presenting a distinctive silhouette as a reference in almost every direction.
The Adirondack Survey
When Verplank Colvin, often called he father of the Adirondack Park, began the first survey of the region in 1872, measurements were still made via chains and elevation was determined by comparing barometric pressure among mountain peaks. It was Colvin's careful way of using these simple tools, inventing others, and filling in with triangulations that enabled him to measure the location and summit of the Adirondack summits, correctly place the lakes and ponds, and determine the contours of the rugged slopes.
One key to Colvin's work was establishing sight lines between peaks. His crews cleared many summits that remain bare even today (although the top of Blue Mountain has re-grown to scrub spruce and fir). Colvin's crews also had to coordinate their measurements precisely, so it was essential that everyone know the exact time. Because Blue Mountain was the center of much surveying work, each night at nine a charge of gunpowder was set off from it to alert observers on distant summits. In this way all observations were synchronized.
The Trail
The trailhead parking area is at the height-of-land on the east side of NY Route 30, 0.4 mile north of the Adirondack Museum, which is located 1.1-miles north of the intersection of NY Route 28 and 30 in Blue Mountain Lake. The trailhead replaces the traditional beginning, which crossed private lands. The trail follows a logging road for 300 yards to a sign-in booth heading generally east and already showing signs of being rutted and eroded by hikers' boots. You cross a small stream on a half-log bridge then begin a fairly steep climb.
After 20 minutes, the route levels out beneath a huge paper birch with a lush fern understory. In the next few minutes you will cross two streams and, shortly beyond, turn steeply uphill. This pitch leads to a level in an especially beautiful wooded area. As you wind in a southeast direction across the saddle, you encounter another stream. After a 40-minute walk, climbing 600 feet in 1.1 miles, turning east to join the old route. Now you have nearly 1,000 feet to climb in less than a mile.
Blue Mountain's famous steep pitches begin almost immediately; the sky seems to emerge deceptively through the evergreens, prematurely alerting you to the summit. The cover has shrunk to scrubby balsam and birch, dense growth clinging to the mountainside. The steep section levels out after a half hour of puffing, unless you rest to catch your breath. New and old corduroy lines the trail through a sphagnum area on the level summit. Forty minutes from the intersection, you should see the fire tower.
Once you reach the summit, the best views are from the fire tower. The sweep of ponds and lakes fading into the distant west is amazing. Blue Mountain's isolation from surrounding hills means the views are especially good. Most spectacular is the vista northeast across Tirrell Pond to the outcrops of Tirrell Mountain. Beyond them rises Dun Brook Mountain on the right and the Fishing Brook Range on the left, with many of the High Peaks recognizable on that far horizon.
To the west you have the lovely view across Blue Mountain Lake and its sisters in the Eckford Chain. Beyond the north side of Dun Brook Mountain from left to right are Dix, Colvin, Marcy, Colden, the MacIntyre Mountains, and Santononi. Immediately south, lies Lake Durant with Stephens Pond visible.
The northeast face of the summit is bare, so you have good views without even climbing the tower. There are several places along the ridge ideal for a picnic, offering a panorama of the mountains beyond. Return by the same route. For the first half of your descent, watch your footing, the trail is steep and rugged.
Barbara McMartin is author of many guides to the Adirondacks and several
histories. If you want more information on this region consult Barbara's
Discover the Central Adirondacks (1995, Lake View Press)
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