Of the planned 5 nights at Ausable Point State Park, this was the one showing the clearest skies and hence the day that we would hike to the Poke-O-Moonshine fire tower. As advertised, the trail leaves the abandoned campground at an incredibly steep pitch. Luckily it was only a 1.2mi hike to the summit. Luckily.
Once we reached the top we were greeted by a friendly Ranger/Guide/student dude who was on his last day of duty as our personal tour guide. Without being intrusive, he detailed the view giving names to other peaks in both the ADK and Vermont across Lake Champlain. He even met us again later at the top of the tower and explained how the Rangers of old would pinpoint a forest fire. Then he provided us with a short history of Lake Champlain and the war of 1812. Awesome.
With Poke-O-Moonshine under our belt, we are slowly beginning to chip away at the 23 fire tower treks in the ADK. Add another 5 fire towers in the Catskills and we will have ourselves a full fledged Fire Tower Challenge badge. At this rate, our kids will be pushing us up in wheelchairs for the finale. Still, what's life without a challenge or two?
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