ADK Firetower Goodnow Mtn

I had left the house early this morning for this hike, 6 am. I knew there was rain in the forecast for the morning at some point, so my hope was to at least make it to the summit before it began to rain. It was a great idea, and in fact, as I was traveling to the trailhead I began to wish I had left an hour earlier as it was spectacular with this early morning sun hitting all those multicolored leaves. The leaves are at peak in the Adirondacks, and this morning's sun, from sunrise until it got above the clouds had lit up the entire woods. But alas, I was not going to make the summit before the sun was obscured in the clouds. However, I still had some wonderful views, and It never rained on me.

This mountain is just outside Newcomb, NY. The trailhead is just down the road from SUNY Newcomb, who knew there was a college campus in Newcomb? I never realized there was in this small town. As it turns out, it is the college of environmental science and forestry-based out of Syracuse (ESF). This same group of students is the ones who take care of the trail, and what a great job they do. The actual summit and tower are considered to be a part of the campus as well. A sign at the summit stated "No firearms allowed on campus property".

Roots, rocks, and boardwalks oh my! This is a gem of a hike that is all gradual incline to the summit. The total distance round trip is 3.9 miles that brings you to a total elevation gain that is just over 1000'.

The tower is a 60' fire tower, that has a 360-degree view, the Santanoni mountain range is to the northeast, and right in your face, you can almost reach out and grab it. Seymour mountain and Seward range are beyond to the north. On a clear day, I bet this place rocks with its views!

The trail description says there are benches in various places along the way, but I never did see them, a few stacked piles of 4x4 lumber which may have been the benches. There were several boardwalks and a lot of nice trail work done by this group. Surprisingly there is an old abandoned barn just over the halfway point. As history states, the area was logged and you can still see some of the old remnants of buildings. There isn't a lot of old tree growth on this mountain.

A very nice hike.