The weekend wasn't the greatest weatherwise, but good enough to make the long-overdue trek to St Regis mountain in Paul Smiths. The Friends of St. Regis Mountain Fire Tower have been working hard at restoring the fire tower and are doing a great job. The '2,874 mountain originally had a wooden tower constructed on the summit in 1910 and was upgraded to a '35 Aermotor LS 40 steel tower in 1918.
The trail is a little over 7-miles round trip and is a mix of leisurely woods trail and the last 3/4 gets pretty steep. No technical climbing is needed, but it is quite rocky. There wasn't enough snow to need snowshoe (though we carried ours in case we encountered deeper snow at higher elevations), but microspikes were a godsend. There was plenty of ice along the trails right from the start.
The sun was playing hide and seek all day, but visibility was good at the summit, although a bit murky. We finished the day with an early dinner at Charlie's Inn at nearby Lake Clear Junction- always a favorite!
Winter is quickly approaching, so if you try St Regis (or any other Adirondack peak/trail) -go prepared. Dress in layers of non-cotton clothing, carry some survival gear, wear some sort of traction on the boots, and give yourself plenty of time, as the days are getting short. We were on the trail for 4 hours, round-trip. https://www.facebook.com/Hiking-the-trail-to-yesterday-1872362693001543/