Dix Mountain Wilderness Area
Encyclopedia
Dix Mountain
Dix Mountain is the sixth highest peak in the High Peaks Region of the Adirondack Park, and is located roughly on the boundary between the towns of North Hudson and Keene in Essex County, New York...
Wilderness Area, an Adirondack Park unit of New York's Forest Preserve
Forest Preserve (New York)
New York's Forest Preserve is all the land owned by the state within the Adirondack and Catskill parks, managed by its Department of Environmental Conservation. These properties are required to be kept "forever wild" by Article 14 of the state constitution, and thus enjoy the highest degree of...
, is located in the towns of Elizabethtown
Elizabethtown, New York
Elizabethtown is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 1,315 at the 2000 census. The county seat of Essex County is a hamlet also called Elizabethtown. The name is derived from Elizabeth Gilliland, the wife of an early settler....
, Keene
Keene, New York
Keene is a town in central Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 1,063 at the 2000 census. Keene is the home of Mount Marcy, the highest mountain in New York state, as well as the Great Range and 15 of the 46 High Peaks, and the Ausable Lakes, the source of the Ausable River...
and North Hudson
North Hudson, New York
North Hudson is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 266 at the 2000 census. The town derives its name by being by the north end of the Hudson River....
, Essex County
Essex County, New York
Essex County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 39,370. Its name is from the English county of Essex. Its county seat is Elizabethtown...
. It is roughly bounded on the north by NY 73
New York State Route 73
New York State Route 73 is a state highway located entirely within Essex County, New York, United States. The highway begins at an intersection with NY 86 in the village of Lake Placid and ends at a junction with U.S. Route 9 north of the hamlet of Underwood in the extreme...
, on the east by the Adirondack Northway (Interstate 87), on the south by Blue Ridge Road and on the west by Elk Lake Club and Ausable Club
Ausable Club
__notoc__The Ausable Club, in St. Huberts, New York, is the name of a club and the clubhouse of the Adirondack Mountain Reserve , which was formed in 1887 to save the lands around Beede's Hotel from lumbering. The Reserve once owned most of the Adirondack High Peaks...
lands.
Geography
The terrain is rough, rocky and mountainous, with several of the mountain tops exceeding 4000 foot. The area contains 12 small ponds with a total surface area of about 92 acres (37.2 ha). Vertical cliffs of considerable height are common, particularly in the northern and eastern parts.Some of the mountains, such as Dix
Dix Mountain
Dix Mountain is the sixth highest peak in the High Peaks Region of the Adirondack Park, and is located roughly on the boundary between the towns of North Hudson and Keene in Essex County, New York...
, South Dix and Macomb
Macomb Mountain
Macomb Mountain is a mountain located in Essex County, New York.The mountain is named after Maj.Gen. Alexander Macomb , who won acclaim during the War of 1812 at the Battle of Plattsburgh, and served as Commanding General of the United States Army .Macomb Mountain is part of the Dix Range, and is...
, have had small landslides in recent years which occur mostly on the near vertical north slopes. This has left a series of prominent, bare rock scars on the upper slopes.
There are four trailless peaks in the area — South Dix, East Dix, Hough and McComb — that are over 4,000 feet in elevation. Many approach these mountains from a popular, unmaintained trail off NY 73 which provides access to a slide scramble up East Dix. From there, all the major peaks are connected by herd paths.
Forest
Some of the most severe and extensive forest fires of the Adirondacks occurred in this area during a prolonged drought period in 1903. As a result, the tops and upper slopes of the mountains not only lost their forest cover but the humus was also consumed and the mineral soil eroded down to bare rock.The present forest cover consists chiefly of pole-size yellow birch, aspen and stunted balsam at the higher elevations with mixed hardwoods and softwoods on the better soils at lower elevations.
Recreation
The area contains 36.5 miles (58.7 km) of maintained foot trailsTrail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...
, 2 lean-to
Lean-to
A lean-to is a term used to describe a roof with a single slope. The term also applies to a variety of structures that are built using a lean-to roof....
s. The area also has a significant number of popular but unmaintained trails; in fact, of the four high peaks within the area are only accessible by unmaintained trails. The area also includes Chapel Pond, a high mountain lake surrounded by cliffs that is a popular destination for rock climbing
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
and ice climbing
Ice climbing
Ice climbing, as the term indicates, is the activity of ascending inclined ice formations. Usually, ice climbing refers to roped and protected climbing of features such as icefalls, frozen waterfalls, and cliffs and rock slabs covered with ice refrozen from flows of water. For the purposes of...
.
History
The Adirondack Trail Improvement SocietyAdirondack Trail Improvement Society
The Adirondack Trail Improvement Society is a nonprofit organization based at the Ausable Club in St. Huberts, New York, founded in 1897 to ensure regular maintenance and consistent marking of the trails in the St. Huberts and Ausable Lakes area of the Adirondack High Peaks...
, with headquarters at St. Huberts, maintains a system of foot trails in the northern and northwestern part of the area, with approval of the DEC
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is responsible for the conservation, improvement, and protection of natural resources within the U.S. state of New York. It was founded in 1970, replacing the previous Conservation Department...
. Their trails extend to such mountain tops as Round Top Mountain, Noonmark
Noonmark Mountain
Noonmark Mountain is a mountain near St. Huberts in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks in New York, USA. The prominent peak provides 360-degree views, including the Great Range, the Dix Range, Giant Mountain, the Ausable River valley, and the village of Keene.There are two trails up the...
, Bear Den, Dial, Nippletop
Nippletop
Nippletop is a mountain located in Essex County, New York.The mountain is part of the Colvin Range.Nippletop is flanked to the northeast by Dial Mountain....
, Colvin
Mount Colvin
Mount Colvin is the 39th highest peak in the High Peaks Region of the Adirondack Mountains, in the state of New York, USA. Mount Colvin offers excellent views of a number of other Adirondack High Peaks, most notably the peaks that comprise the Great Range...
, Blake
Blake Peak
Blake Peak is a mountain located in Essex County, New York. The mountain is named after Mills Blake , Verplanck Colvin’s chief assistant during the Adirondack Survey.It is part of the Colvin Range....
and Pinnacle. The steep, rugged terrain, characteristic of nearly the whole area, has been responsible for the region's retaining a wilderness atmosphere. This, together with other accompanying features, lends itself well to the classification into which it has been placed.
The state, in 1978 and 1980, purchased in fee 9311 acres (37.7 km²) from the Adirondack Mountain Reserve. Approximately 3269 acres (13 km²) have become part of the Dix Mountain Wilderness as a result, including the following summits: Noonmark
Noonmark Mountain
Noonmark Mountain is a mountain near St. Huberts in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks in New York, USA. The prominent peak provides 360-degree views, including the Great Range, the Dix Range, Giant Mountain, the Ausable River valley, and the village of Keene.There are two trails up the...
, Bear Den, Dial
Dial Mountain
Dial Mountain is a mountain located in Essex County, New York.The mountain is part of the Colvin Range.Dial Mountain is flanked to the southwest by Nippletop....
, Colvin
Mount Colvin
Mount Colvin is the 39th highest peak in the High Peaks Region of the Adirondack Mountains, in the state of New York, USA. Mount Colvin offers excellent views of a number of other Adirondack High Peaks, most notably the peaks that comprise the Great Range...
, and Pinnacle. The state was given a conservation easement
Conservation easement
In the United States, a conservation easement is an encumbrance — sometimes including a transfer of usage rights — which creates a legally enforceable land preservation agreement between a landowner and a government agency or a qualified land...
on the remaining Adirondack Mountain Reserve lands generally below 2500 foot in elevation, limiting the future development potential of these lands while permitting the public to cross lands still held in fee by the Club, on foot, to reach the peaks.
See also
Dogs are not allowed o the easment though dogs are allowed in the wilderness.