The Road Less Travelled-The Berry Hill Fire Tower in Chenango County NY
Volume 15-Hiking as the Harvest Moon Rises
Welcome back to my series on discovery and adventure. My stories involve a variety of activities including hiking, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, and more. As are a fair amount of my adventures, this latest trek was close to home in rural Chenango County of NY State. On the evening of the Harvest Moon, I was fortunate enough to join the Bullthistle Hiking Club on a moonlight hike. The hike began as we gathered at the newly renovated Berry Hill Fire Tower, a local gem that has been beautifully restored.
This tower was built in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps and is located fairly close to Bowman Lake State Park. It was among many built in NY State and they proved to be a valuable tool in being able to spot forest fires from a great distance. Over the years, many of the towers fell into disrepair, however, many have now been restored including many in the Adirondack Park of NY (ADK). They have become a favorite hiking destination for many as I myself have hiked to at least 6 of these including Blue Mountain and Owl’s Head Mountain. There is even a Firetower Challenge where a patch can be earned by hiking ADK and Catskill Mountain towers.
In this area, there originally were towers at Chenango Lake, Georgetown, and Brookfield, NY. I believe this is the lone survivor of these. The renovation of the Berry Hill tower was just recently completed and I must say this tower is now in the best condition of any I have seen recently. It almost seems brand new and it was renovated with safety in mind with rugged steel stair treads and screening. As it’s been a few years since I climbed one of these towers, it must be my advancing age that makes the steps seem steeper than I remember. The observer’s cabin has also been renovated and is open to the public as well which is unusual. Many of these cabins have not survived alongside the towers and those that have are normally locked.
We started our hike down the access road as the moon rose. A gentle refreshing breeze added to the ambiance. It was a beautiful sight and we stopped to take photos. However, with a cell phone, it is tough to get a good shot of this even though cell phone cameras keep improving.
We then turned onto Tower Road and continued until the Finger Lakes Trail turns into the forest. In the dark, it was like entering a different world. It was very humid in the woods, and I could actually see my breath, a weird phenomenon in the summer.
After a short distance, we then popped back out onto Tower Road as the trail continues on the opposite side of the road. Back into the woods we went and trudged on in the darkness until we reached Preston Road. Preston Road is one of my favorite cross-country skiing destinations in the winter, as it is part of the snowmobile network. I normally try to ski on the snowmobile trails as opposed to breaking trail. It is skiing heaven on the packed down trails. I wrote an article about this location back in February:
Once on Preston Road, we took a break and enjoyed some treats provided by the hike leader Chris. We then followed Preston Road back to the intersection of Tower Road and headed towards our cars. At this point, the moon was becoming more visible as it climbed higher in the sky and lit the way to end the hike.
I would like to thank the Bullthistle Hiking club for their hospitality. It was a very enjoyable and unique hike. After all, how many people hike at night?
