Off on Adventure: Hurricane Mountain - Hurricane Moutain Primitive Area

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Hurricane Mountain - Hurricane Moutain Primitive Area - 12/25/15

On Christmas Day, Leesa and I were looking to take an afternoon hike with great views and perhaps a sunset. We settled on Hurricane Mountain which is one of my favorite peaks. We hadn't been up there since the tower had been reopened so that was a big incentive.

We didn't get started until 2:30 PM, but that was OK with us. The Hurricane trail from Route 9N has been re-routed in the last couple years, and it's no problem to descend by headlamp. The re-routed trail is slightly longer. The sign still says 2.6 miles, but it is now about 3.1 miles.

There is a nice boardwalk here. (Under our feet at the moment).

After a moderate grade for a half mile, the trail is almost flat for 3/4 mile before the real climbing begins. Since the weather forecast called for mostly sunny, we were hoping for a sunset, but it became apparent that the sun was not likely to make much of an appearance. Still, you never know what the skies will be like on a summit, so we continued upward.

At 4:10, we reached the summit, and I quickly went up into the firetower to check out the restoration work. It was nice to be able to get back in the tower after having it closed for so many years. Special thanks to the Friends of Hurricane Mountain who worked tirelessly to make this restoration happen! They've done a great job. The stair treads have all been replaced, as has the floor of the cab. The restoration of the cab will be done in the Spring of 2016.

It would be interesting to know how many high peaks can be seen from Hurricane.

While we didn't have much of a sunset, visibility was good and the wind wasn't too strong. This peak often gets ferocious wind. We stayed long enough to take a few pictures an then decided to head down to make some progress before we had to snap on the headlamps. We did have just a sliver of pink sky at sunset.