Aldrich NY
Sometimes good things come in small packages. I had Streeter Mountain on my “adventure list” for quite a while. A recent stretch of unseasonable nice weather proved to be the last piece I needed to see about climbing this small, trailless mountain.
Streeter Lake is a regular destination for me. I love the history, the topography, and the woods & waters. I’ve hiked the potato patch more times than I could count. The 70-acre lake has plenty of wonders for the patient paddler. The Great Corner from Verplanck Colvin’s Adirondack surveys is reached through the former Schuler holdings. And speaking of the Schulers, their family mausoleum is a regular trek for me. I’ve hiked to the lake on the Tamarack Creek Trail from Youngs Road in Star Lake. In fact, the aforementioned trail leads past the foot of Streeter Mountain.
In prepping for this hike, I found little information or even mention of the mountain. I was able to find that at least a couple of folks had been up it in recent years but gave no insight into the route. I scoured over maps of the peak and mapped out a potential route. Some of the topographic maps showed the name of the mountain as well as “Francis Hill”, which is several miles south.
I had some questions about a triangle icon on the map, wondering if there would be a benchmark or other monumenting. I reached out to fellow exploring and map guru, John Sasso (of the History and Legends of the Adirondacks Facebook forum) and local surveyor Rich Gillis for their input. It was found that there was no indication of any fixed marker ever being placed there.
I also checked my photographs of previous treks for clues. I found one set of pictures taken from the beaver pond on the way to the mausoleum & Crystal Lake. It appeared to show an outcropping of rocks that would possibly offer unobstructed views. On the outcrop was a single, small spruce tree. I had also recorded in my notes an old camp along the route that could serve as a sort of milestone. I also remembered a large glacial erratic boulder along the trail. I would use this as the kickoff point to start the bushwhack.
On the day I made the hike, I had a pretty good idea of the route and had created a map as well. The weather was fine and sunny, and the trail was easygoing. I reached the boulder and headed up the mountain. I could see a pretty big rock and made my way to it. This was another glacial erratic the size of a van, and it was propped up on a much smaller rock. Even though it’s a generic name, I christened it “balanced rock”. From there, I adjusted my route with some dead reckoning.
The last section of the peak was ringed with steep rock ledges that would require more technical climbing skill than I possess. I fish-hooked to the west a bit and was able to find a route to the summit. This was a route of 1.2-miles, and 312 feet of elevation gain.
The views from the summit were fairly obscured, but I was able to make out Tamarack Creek through the leafless trees. After a few minutes on the summit, I circumnavigated the mountaintop looking for views. When I reached a point directly west of the summit by a few hundred yards, I spotted a single, small spruce tree. Making my way to it, I found it was indeed the one from my photographs. This outcrop had nice views to the foot of the lake, half a mile away to the west.
As I made my descent, I was quite pleased with how this little mountain trek had played out. My prep work had made it that much easier. The 1,767’ mountain only ranks 50th on the St. Lawrence County peaks list, so it’s not like any of the famed 46 High Peaks. Even with detours to the lean-to on the lake and a stroll through the historic Schuler potato patch, the round trip was only 3.1 miles. Still, this was one of the more enjoyable hikes that I’ve done lately. If you are into bushwhacking and comfortable finding your own route to a mountain that sees very few visitors- this might be a fun destination for you.
I have covered the history of Aldrich and Streeter Lake on my website. I also dedicated a chapter to it in Volume I of “HIKING THE TRAIL TO YESTERDAY”. To go into all of that again here would be needlessly redundant. For more on the Streeter Lake area, follow this link: https://hikingthetrailtoyesterday.wordpress.com/2017/06/26/streeter-lake-schuler-tract-at-aldrich/
All Rights Reserved
Hiking the trail to yesterday 