I decided to visit a new place to me in the Adirondacks, and went to Upper Works. My first goal was to take Indian Pass to see the Wallface Mountain cliffs from below.
The first night, I stayed in the Henderson Lake lean-to. It's located on the north end of the lake and turned out to have a view of another destination I'd settled on; the Mount Adams fire tower. When I got up there, I could see the spot on the lake where I got the picture of the fire tower.
The Wallface cliffs were as amazing from below in Indian Pass as they are from above on the MacIntyre Range.
From Summit Rock in the pass, I also got a view of the third destination of the trip: the Santanoni Range.
Once the rain let up in the evening, a spectacular day arrived for a hike up Santanoni and Panther, two 4000' mountains with clear views.
The Express Trail on Santi. There was quite a bit of slab, and knowing it would have flowing water, I decided to go up rather than down.
Lots of mountains have a fake-out clearing that you like to think is the summit. Then you get there and see how far you are away from it.
Loved the climb, got blown away by the top.
Made it to Panther, and brought some mud from the saddle between it and Santi.
A couple views from Panther.
And looking southwest. That's Couchsachraga lower in the middle. Off in the distance, it was easy to pick out Blue Mountain that I climbed in July. It has two cell towers on top.
On the way down, there was enough current in Santanoni Brook to clean my shoes, socks, pants, even me!
Mood lighting in the tent after the hike.
The last day turned out to be even clearer, though a little more humid. This is one of the famous bridges over the Hudson River. Depending on what you consider the start of the Hudson, it's only about a couple miles from it at most. It is also near the start of the trail to the Adams fire tower.
The decrepit bridge over Lake Jimmy when there was a jeep road up Adams to the tower. The trail now goes around the lake.
I was completely restored when I got to the top. I thought there would be more people, but with the exception of two quick visitors, I enjoyed the views alone for two hours.
Calamity Mountain up close, Cliff to the right and the McIntyre Range in back on the left, Colden in the middle and Marcy on the right.
My camera with the 10X zoom didn't work after getting wet upon arrival three days before when I took pictures in the rain of the fire tower, but it finally dried out. That's Marcy.
Colden.
Algonquin.
Some of the Wallface cliffs from four-miles-away.
The two visitors came from this house. One of the guys is part of the family who owns it. If I had access to that, I'd be up there several times a year, or a week. They had never been up, and taking in the view for about 10 minutes was enough for them.
Two hours wasn't enough to take it all in, especially with the light constantly changing. But I did have to get home...
After the requisite swim in the Hudson River.
The ground I covered over four days. I did go back to the car twice and moved to a different trailhead. The hiking total was just over 30 miles.
One last stop on the way home to enjoy some old growth near Inlet. Now, if I can just convince the boys that Henderson Lake lean-to is perfect for winter camping.
Even if you're not into or capable of hiking and camping, Upper Works provides an excellent historical experience. A flat, gravel road passes through the abandoned settlement of Adirondack with dozens of these displays recalling all that happened there, beginning with the iron ore industry, to the club days, and the demise of the many buildings. There's also easy access to Henderson Lake for kayaking, canoeing, or snowshoeing or skiing in winter. Tell them I sent you.
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