Snowy Mountain has a reputation as the high peak that got away. Snowy is the tallest mountain outside of the high peaks and, at 3904 feet, it is the 46th highest mountain in the Adirondacks (two of the original 4000 footers; Nye and Couchsachraga were found to be less than 4000 feet by later more-accurate surveys). But even more important to Snowy's reputation is its' striking and rugged profile. The east side of the narrow summit ridge is framed by large areas of open rock and to the west the ridge falls away steeply to the Squaw Brook Valley, 1500 feet below.
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| The Snowy Mountain summit ridge from Google Earth. The orange line is my GPS track. |
Snowy is also known for having great views and I found the western vista to be the most striking. Snowy is the high point in a range with a half dozen summits exceeding 3700 feet in elevation and, except for Snowy itself, these peaks are un-tracked and rarely visited. The western view from Snowy looks out over a sea of wilderness.
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| Northwest from the summit of Snowy Mountain. Panther Mountain -elevation 3865 feet- (far right in the photo) is the high point of the range that frames the west side of the Squaw Brook Valley. The valley floor is 1500 feet below the ledge where this photo was taken. |
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| Looking southwest from Snowy Mountain. Lewey Mountain (elevation, 3720 feet) is the prominent cone in the center. The rarely visited Blue Ridge (elev. 3881 feet) is visible in the distance. |
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| Buell Mountain (elevation 3740) is directly across the valley from Snowy. |
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| Looking northeast towards the High Peaks. This view was from midway up the tower. There are open ground-level views to the east and west, but you'll need to climb the tower to get a 360 degree view. |
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| Looking over Indian Lake from the site of the (removed) observer's cabin. |
The Snowy Mountain trail is reminiscent of the high peaks experience in other ways. Lots of people climb this mountain; and the boots of many hikers, combined with the steepness of the upper sections, has resulted in a muddy and heavily eroded trail. Recent trail work has greatly improved the first two and a half miles making it a pleasant walk through an, attractive, middle-aged forest. At that point you'll have a mile --and 1500 feet of elevation-- remaining. The trail climbs steadily at first and the last half mile is very steep; following the course of an old, overgrown, slide. This section is rough, muddy and eroded but not particularly difficult. The trail breaks out onto a large ledge at the former site of the observers cabin and then continues a short distance to the fire tower. The tower is in good shape, and can be climbed to the top for 360 degree vistas. A small ledge on the west side provide open views in that direction.
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| Squaw Peak looms over the trail on the steep upper section of the route. In places the trail is heavily eroded, but a lot of work has been done to improve the experience and reduce the damage done by thousands of hikers. |
