Back to the Tower

Crossing the Lake Jimmy bridge in the morning
Last weekend I finally got a chance to get back to the woods. As it turns out Saturday was a work weekend for the Mt. Adams firetower project so I happily signed on for that with the thought it would springboard me to other destinations on Sunday and Monday. I had missed a couple of work trips earlier in May when the team put the new roof back on the cab of the tower so I was eager to see the progress. Drove down after work on Friday night and camped at my “secret spot” on the south side of the High Peaks. Got a decent night’s sleep but was awoken by rain fall. That didn’t bode well. Still, I was 10 minutes from the trail head so I sorted my gear and tools, loaded up my pack and drove over to see who would show up. One car in the lot was Jacks (the project coordinator) but he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. I strolled the 100m down to the river to see if he was checking out the Hudson river crossing which has become a ford since the bridge washed away in this springs runoff… but still no Jack. Back at the carpark a few other cars had arrived and I met up with some of the other crew for the day… but there was dissension in the ranks ;) Two of the guys had come to do some painting of the wooden window frames… which was clearly not going to happen in the rainy weather. The third was “going up” regardless of the weather but his buddies were trying to talk him out of it. I agreed to go with him and with that the two painters smiled (now off the hook) and headed for home. Turns out Jack and a friend had decided to scout a new trail to the summit and had started up a couple of hours earlier. I’m not much of a bushwhacking fan but in the pouring rain that plan seemed ludicrous. Suddenly my heading up the steep, wet, muddy trail looked only mildly twisted… so off Malcom and I went. Added to my load was a gallon of paint which would save the painters the trouble of hauling it on their next trip so at the very least my effort to climb the mountain would be a contribution to the project if only as a mule trip (me being the mule).


Lady slippers provides some distraction on the way up the steep trail
The ford of the Hudson proved pretty easy – shin deep – and the bridge across Lake Jimmy was in excellent shape so the first part of the trek was pretty easy. Once the climbing started we discovered some significant blowdown on the trail but we managed to skirt around it all. The steep slabs were in fact pretty slick but still manageable and the trailside flowers provided a welcome distraction. Arriving at the tower the rain was pelting down but the further surprise awaited us as we climbed the stairs. Above the trees (2 or 3 landings up) the wind was blowing a gale and it took firm determination to claw our way up to the cab. In the cab we huddled down – reasonably dry under the beautiful new roof but the rain was still coming in since the cab windows had been removed for painting. We snacked and hoped the wind would die down… but it was clear it wouldn’t happen. After about an hour in the cab we resigned ourselves to the inevitable. There could be no safe work done today in the gusty wind so it was time to get down. Dropped the supplies (paint and tools we could leave behind) in the job box at the drop zone and then started our way down. Once back in the trees the wind was a non issue and the walk out – while slippery – was pleasant. Parted company with Malcom (having never seen Jack – they had a tough day bushwhacking apparently) and drove to Lake Eton to camp for the night.


A momentary view at the helicopter drop zone before the clouds swallowed them up again

Some new treads mixed in with a few old ones - still some work to be done
Weather forecasts were bleak for the next couple of days but I hunkered down with hopes that Sunday I might get some clearer skies and go for a hike somewhere. It was not to be however as morning dawned as grey as before with a light rain falling. Over breakfast I weighed my options and decided – still wanting a hike, but with no views likely/possible – that perhaps the choice was to go back to Adams with my tools and get a work day in. Winds were negligible down low but there was always a chance they might pick up at the summit. In spite of that I loaded up the tools and made the trek back to Adams. Trip two up the mountain was different from the previous day. All the rain overnight meant the trail had become a flowing stream but it was no more slippery than the previous effort so I made my way up (lighter by a gallon of paint) in good time. At the top I was glad to find no wind and only occasional drizzly showers so I set about stair tread replacement. I had given it some serious thought about the safety of working on the tower alone but stair tread replacement – even at the upper levels being 40 or 50ft in the air – is a well grounded operation. On hands and knees I was well “connected” to the tower so felt there was little risk. The task itself is pretty straight forward. Take off 4 bolts (that have been in place for 80+ years), fit the new tread in place, mark the new holes for the bolts, drill the holes and then replace the bolts - easy! Alas that "80+ years" part means the bolts sometimes don't want to be removed so the process of persuading them off is sometimes slow. Got another 6 or 7 treads replaced before some significant rains started to fall and I called it a day. The walk down was a little more satisfying knowing at least something was done on a weekend the weatherman played against us. Back at the base I changed into dry clothes and decided – even if the weather were to be nice on Monday - everything I had (tent, clothes, packs, tools… ) was now soaked so it was time to go home. By the time I cleared Tupper Lake the sun was out and I had a beautiful drive home... so it goes I suppose.

Other "construction crews" are working on the tower as well
There's a few more pictures here but it wasn't a great weekend for picture taking.