Black Mountain Fire Tower

Nestled near the Vermont border is Black Mt, which rises sharply out of Lake George offering spectacular views of the northern section of the lake.

I took the Black Mt trail to the summit. The approach taken rose from the opposite side of Lake George, so views of the lake were first seen on the summit. The climb was a little more than 1,000 feet and 2.5 miles. It was not the easiest of trails as there were quite a few brook crossings and footing was often a problem, so it was difficult at times to maintain a steady pace.

The parking lot was full of cars, which was not surprising since the weather was beautiful and the hike was of moderate length and ascent. When I reached the summit I would have been surprised to see the tower gated off if not for the VPo man letting me know the tower was closed. I could have easily hopped the fence and climbed the tower as it appeared to have it's steps, but I decided against this. It would have been nice since the southern portion of the lake would come into view. But, the view of the high peaks of the Adirondacks and the upper portion of Lake George were amazing.

Black Mountain was also my kind of mountain in another way. It generated its own energy. There was a windmill on top and the tower had solar panels decorating it. It was pretty cool and a nice surprise. I also met a group of senior hikers on the summit that I chatted with. One of them was a 46er and they were happy to know I was in pursuit of that goal. One of these days!