DSettahr
Active member
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2005
- Messages
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Hiked up Mt. Arab this afternoon. It turned out to be a nice afternoon hike, only about 45 minutes up to the top and about half an hour to get back down. Finding the trailhead was very easy, the ADK Guidebooks give good directions. Fortunately, the road was also plowed to the trailhead, unlike the last two mountains I hiked.
I used snowshoes the entire way, there were some bare spots and one patch of ice, but other than that still a nicely packed trail to the summit. It looks like this trail receives a lot of use from locals in Tupper Lake. According to the information at the register, there is also a campsite near the summit; I looked around for a bit but didn’t see it. The firetower is in really good shape, as is the observer’s cabin/museum, which opens on Memorial Day according to the sign. I also saw a seismic activity monitoring station near the summit, which had the name “Potsdam” on it so I assume it has something to do with SUNY Potsdam.
The view from the tower was amazing. I could see St. Regis Mountain, Catamount, Mt. Morgan, Whiteface, Moose, McKenzie, Cascade, Ampersand, the Sawtooth Range, Seward, Donaldson, Emmons, Panther, Couch, Santanoni, Kempshall, and Blue Mountain, as well as many other mountains I could not name. Some nice views of the Cranberry Lake Wild Forest as well, but the view of the Five Ponds Wilderness was obscured by mountains to the south-west. Definitely a really nice view for a minimum amount of effort.
I used snowshoes the entire way, there were some bare spots and one patch of ice, but other than that still a nicely packed trail to the summit. It looks like this trail receives a lot of use from locals in Tupper Lake. According to the information at the register, there is also a campsite near the summit; I looked around for a bit but didn’t see it. The firetower is in really good shape, as is the observer’s cabin/museum, which opens on Memorial Day according to the sign. I also saw a seismic activity monitoring station near the summit, which had the name “Potsdam” on it so I assume it has something to do with SUNY Potsdam.
The view from the tower was amazing. I could see St. Regis Mountain, Catamount, Mt. Morgan, Whiteface, Moose, McKenzie, Cascade, Ampersand, the Sawtooth Range, Seward, Donaldson, Emmons, Panther, Couch, Santanoni, Kempshall, and Blue Mountain, as well as many other mountains I could not name. Some nice views of the Cranberry Lake Wild Forest as well, but the view of the Five Ponds Wilderness was obscured by mountains to the south-west. Definitely a really nice view for a minimum amount of effort.
