Ascent of Fir Mountain on 2021-08-07| Other People: | Solo Ascent
Only Party on Mountain | | Date: | Saturday, August 7, 2021 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Peak: | Fir Mountain | | Location: | USA-New York | | Elevation: | 3620 ft / 1103 m |
Ascent Trip ReportIt's generally recommended to do Fir and Big Indian separate from Eagle, and doing all three in one day is certainly a long climb. Heading down from Big Indian, the herdpath to the untrailed Fir Mountain is pretty easy to follow for most of the trip; there are a few spots where it peters out and then picks up again a few yards away, but nothing too confusing. A lot of other side paths split off in various areas, including one the heads south at the col, but if you know your bearings it's easy to tell which one is the right one.
Near the summit things get more complicated. A lot of herdpaths intersect and intertwine at the summit, and it's very easy to get turned around. I ended up heading backwards and wandering around a false summit for an embarrassing amount of time looking for the canister. The trail actually goes down a bit from here before continuing on to higher ground to the east where the actual summit and canister are.
The multitude of herdpaths was very confusing during descent. I wanted to make sure I didn't end up going down the wrong side of the mountain and coming out at Biscuit Brook. I followed what looked like a trail that headed westward but soon petered out, and spent the next half hour or so wandering around Fir's northwest slope. Soon I reached a spot with a small break in the trees where I could see the other mountains, and realized I needed to head south to link up with the herdpath.
Once I found the herdpath again, getting back to Big Indian was a cinch, although I've never looked forward to returning to a blazed trail so much. At this point it was getting late and I was getting tired to returning to Big Indian - and the trailhead - was just kind of boring. |
Ironically, not a lot of fir trees at the summit (2021-08-07). Photo by Jacob Kitson.
Click here for larger-size photo. | | Summary Total Data | | Total Elevation Gain: | 1149 ft / 349 m | | Total Elevation Loss: | 1149 ft / 349 m | | Round-Trip Distance: | 4 mi / 6.4 km | | Route Conditions: | Unmaintained Trail, Bushwhack | | Weather: | Hot, Calm, Overcast | | Descent (To Destination) Statistics | | Gain on way in: | 500 ft / 152 m | | Loss on way in: | 564 ft / 171 m | | Distance: | 1.9 mi / 3.1 km | | Route: | Bushwhack | | Start Trailhead: | Big Indian summit 3684 ft / 1122 m | | Time: | 1 Hours | | Ascent (From Destination) Statistics | | Loss on way out: | 585 ft / 178 m | | Gain on way out: | 649 ft / 197 m | | Distance: | 2.1 mi / 3.4 km | | Route: | Bushwhack | | End Trailhead: | Big Indian summit 3684 ft / 1122 m | | Time: | 1 Hours 5 Minutes | Ascent Part of Trip: Big Indian 2021 (0 nights total away from roads)
Complete Trip Sequence:
Total Trip Gain: 3710 ft / 1130 m Total Trip Loss: 3710 ft / 1131 m |
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