Clinton County Highpoint Trip Report
Date: April 23, 2007
Author: Don Desrosiers
Stayed in Plattsburgh, so I was able to get going on this one at first light.
Followed previous directions through Dannemora, although I felt like I was in a
scene out of one of those 30's gangster flicks with the prison wall looming over
the street at the distance of a sidewalk. Everything was paved until the
"Seasonal Maintenance" road. Drove up to the power line, where the snow was
just a shade deeper than I was comfortable with in my vehicle.
Pulled out the boots and got going.
The snow was about 6-8 inches deep and melting rapidly (it was about 50 degrees).
On the plus side, the higher up you got, the lower the temperature
dropped and the snow firmed up enough that the walking wasn't too bad.
I postholed some, but not a lot. On the minus side, the recent awards that New York
State won in the Federal "Streams to Trails" program were, I believe, given for
this area. The trail kept going up but not as steeply as I had expected.
I kept at it without stopping and it took me between 2-1/2 and 3 hours to get to
the top. With the snow on the ground, it was obvious that the ledge area was
the highest thing. Good views over toward VT from the ledges and of Mount Royal
in Montreal from part way up the tower. Got back down in a shade over 1-1/2
hours but probably could have done it in a half hour with skis.
When I got to the car, my legs were rubber, my blood sugar was well into single digits,
and my t-shirt yielded considerable water when I wrung it out.
Fortunately, Canadian Customs did not question me about what smelled like a dead
body in the back of the car. Although my waist did not need the sugar hit,
the stop at the ubiquitous Dunkin Donuts in Dannemora was welcomed.