Tupper Lake Triad + Panther Mountain (5-28-2018)

Goodman Mountain. "One!"

Kailee has hit so many summits since last August that she's been long overdue for a hiking badge. With Memorial Day weekend coming up, it seemed like a good time to leave the popular trails to the tourists and work on getting the girl her first hiking challenge badge.

So we set our sights on the Tupper Lake Triad. The challenge consists of climbing three smaller peaks (Goodman, Coney & Mount Arab) surrounding the Tupper Lake area.

I had planned for us to start with the mountain furthest away from us (Coney) and work our way back home. However, things played out a little differently. I really just wanted to get out of the car and start hiking after 90 minutes of driving. So, we pulled into the lot for Goodman (even though it's only a mile away from Coney) and we began our challenge there.

Goodman Mountain

The weather was beautiful as we strapped on our gear. We checked out the information board which provides details on the mountain's namesake Andrew Goodman.

Andrew's family used to vacation in the area every year. When he was 20 years old, he became involved in political activism and joined the "Freedom Summer" movement in 1964. The goal of the movement was to register black voters in Mississippi.

Sadly, Andrew and his two companions caught the attention of a crooked Sheriff in Philadelphia, Mississippi. The three young activists were then brutally murdered by the Sheriff and the Ku Klux Klan. Their murders were a key factor in Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Goodman Mountain is a pleasant little ramble. The trail follows an old forest road (wheelchair accessible) for the first mile. It then hooks left and works it's way up the mountain. It's a pretty easy climb with no scrambling or obstacles to overcome.

Wheelchair Accessible Trail at Goodman.

The view from the Summit was cute and offered us a look at our next target: Coney.

A view from Goodman's Summit.

Goodman's trail basically makes a lowercase "j" shape. From the Summit, I determined that we could bushwhack, shave off a little mileage and make a lowercase "b" shape track.

And, that's what we did! We descended into the woods and a short time later, we linked back up with the forest road and took off.

Coney Mountain

"Two!"

It only took a minute or two to drive from Goodman to Coney.

The trail starts near some runoff and hooks around the mountain to the Summit.

It was a nice easy walk despite the weather getting warmer and muggy.

We reached the Summit fairly quickly. Coney is a smaller mountain -but- it should not be overlooked.

It offers a full 360° view. The other two triad mountains (Arab & Goodman) are visible as well as the Seward and Santanoni ranges.

Views in every direction at Coney.

Coney was by far my favorite peak of the Triad.

When we got back to the parking lot, it was time to drive around Tupper Lake for our next target.

Mt. Arab

"Three!"

Perhaps the "easiest" of the Triad, Arab is a mountain that's quite different than others in the Adirondacks. It has a number of stairs, boardwalks and a bench at it's tiny overlook. Arab also has a firetower and an observer's cabin.

A boardwalk.

We ran into the steward who was descending as we neared the Summit. Kailee thought his two large dogs looked like bears.

Overlook and bench at Arab.

We enjoyed lunch on the cabin's porch. After our meal, I sent Kailee up the tower to take some pictures while I grabbed something out of my bag.

While she was in the tower, I pulled out a Tupper Lake Triad logo that I had printed off. I climbed the tower to give it to her and congratulate her on her accomplishment.

Tupper Lake Triad completed!

Arab's Observer's cabin.

The view from the tower was pleasant. Kailee said it was her favorite of the Triad.

The only downside to Arab on this day was bloodthirsty gnats. They would not stop attacking my elbows & leaving behind painful slash-shaped bite marks.

The Tupper Lake Triad was a lot of fun. Kailee was very excited to receive her badge in the mail. The Triad is a great challenge for kids, beginners and experienced hikers. We highly recommend it!

Panther Mountain

On our way home I decided to stop for one more quick hike at Panther Mountain (not to be confused with the High Peak of the same name) on Route 3.

Panther gained some attention recently as it was used as a substitute for Ampersand in the Saranac Lake 6er Relay Race last Fall.

Ampersand from Panther.

Because of this distinction, I've wanted to check out the "7th" 6er for a little while. It's only a half mile to the Summit and not a hike that I would go out of my way for... But, since we were in the area it became number four for the day.

The trail is pretty steep but it switchbacks most of the way up.

Panther's Summit.

It took us only 20 minutes to reach the top. The Summit offers a great view of Ampersand Mountain and Panther Pond. It was a nice quick hike to finish the day off and I'm glad we made the quick stop.