Hurricane Mountain CairnsCAIRNS MAKE FOR CLARITY

Cairns along the trail or on summits are stacked rocks with a meaning or purpose. They are navigational, and mark the route of a trail. This could be to provide a directional route on the trail or to protect fragile vegetation and micro ecosystems.

The Adirondack Mountain Club has built cairns and modest rock barriers on many summits, including Hurricane’s.

If you come across a cairn, please do not disturb it. Don’t knock it down, add to it or alter it. And please do not build unauthorized cairns. These can confuse other hikers, giving wrong directions or information.

Please leave the mountain and rocks as you find them. If you notice someone altering or damaging the cairn on the summit of Hurricane please let us know by emailing us at: [email protected] 

The annual lighting of the Hurricane Fire Tower

Saturday night September 3rd Hurricane fire tower was illuminated from 9:00 to 9:30 pm.  This was the 9th annual Lighting of the Towers in New York and the 5th year Hurricane participated.  The original premise for the Lighting of the Fire Tower Event came from Doug Hamilton of the Red Hill Fire Tower Committee in the Catskills.  The idea was to light the fire tower to remind people of the time when observers in the towers were watching over and protecting the community and surrounding forest.  This year 34 towers participated in the lighting. Friends of Hurricane coordinated the lighting of the Hurricane tower again this year, with Kristy Martin taking the lead. 

 

ADK SUMMIT STEWARD PROGRAM A WINNER

Photo by Ben Brosseau

The new summit steward partnership with the Adirondack Mountain Club was another big success this year.  For 32 years now, the ADK has been training both staff and volunteers to climb heavily trafficked peaks and educate hikers about the sensite alpine ecosystem.  The stewards were up there to educate people about the cultural history of the tower, but also to help prepare hikes by teaching them Leave No Trace skills and ethics.  And stewards even found and documented rare plants on Hurricane:  purple crowberry, mounain firmoss and Rand’s goldenrod. 

  • Purple Crowberry
  • Mountain Firmoss
    Mountain Firmoss
Photos by Kayla White

Friends of Hurricane members logged lots of volunteer days on the mountain as part of the program, and more will be signing up for next year.  ADK reports almost 3,400 direct encounters with hikers, including a record 218 on the Saturday of Columbus Day weekend.   

Bob Hunter of Lake Placid, one of the most active summit steward volunteers, carried the 28-pound map table up Hurricane on Sept. 6.  And the new table was secured in place within an hour–just before a storm blew in.   With any luck, the heavy duty lexan and aluminum framing will withstand Hurricane’s stormy weather, and the loving embrace of thousands of hikers, for many years to come.