Adirondack Places

You are in for a treat if you plan a hike to Kane Mt. Local residents and Ranger John Ploss have alot to be proud about with this lovely mountain in their midst. There are several approaches to the summit. The shortest appears to be just south of the intersection of Rt. 10 and Rt. 29A (Kane Mt. tower is visible at this point due east) in Fulton Co. The DEC parking area is .5 mi. along Green Lake Rd., a left turn off of Rt. 29A south. The 20 minute trail up the .9 mi. to the summit is suitable for most hikers, but Kane stands out among all the others because of its nine flights of stairs to the top. The steps are in good shape; landings wrapped in wire and a secure feeling in the tower. The compelling view is to the south overlooking Canada Lake and West Lake; Great Sacandaga Lake to the east; the lush Silver Lake Wilderness area is to the north. A stones throw from the tower is a well preserved, if gratified, cabin with a view from the porch to die for. Unique too is the sign-in register at the summit -- the majority of visitors appear to come from the local area. I had a distinct feeling while on Kane that at any moment, I'd hear a twig snap on the trail and into the clearing, the tower's steward would arrive, backpack laden with a weeks supply of food. Remarkably, in spite of its accessibility, it has a clean, lived at and cared for look. NY has plans to maintain this beautiful place.

Kane Mt.

Mmmm ... I had an interesting time trying to find Tomany - Ely on some maps. Discovered the abandoned trailhead along Rt. 10 in Fulton Co. by reading several maps, and a bit of flagging. It is just north of Arietta, south of Averys Place. My first attempt was late afternoon on a weekday after work- but before I headed in, I hiked back out to the parking area (no Trail signs) and looked at the only other car parked ahead of mine. In the back seat were two expensive leather gun holsters, thickly lined with lambs wool. The guns were gone, and I wisely convinced myself I might have to dodge a shot and decided to postpone this one until another day. Two weeks later, I read in the log at Kane, "almost as beautiful as the views from Tomany!", so back again I headed, this time with company.

Good thing I enjoy a nice hike - the flagging is sparse, eventually the trail crosses a brook and soon branches right along a snowmobile trail. At that point we spotted the old power poles, which we followed up to the summit, about 1 hr. 15 min. from the car. The tower of course is gone, no views to speak of but the old cabin site reveals a little of the history. Twelve footings and the stairs remain of the once sizable structure. To the south of the summit, we found a large rock with a good size tree growing nearly horizontally from the eastward side. From the top of the rock, there are limited views of quite a remote part of the Adirondacks. A generation or two from now, future hikers may still be able to find remnants of the old cabin, but not the trail when the last of the poles come down. For the time being, Ely-Tomany seemed content to be retired.