Essex County 📍

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 county seat is Elizabethtown. Along with Hamilton County, Essex is entirely within the Adirondack Park.

Essex County is in the northeastern part of New York State, just west of Vermont along the eastern boundary of the State. The eastern boundary of Essex County is Lake Champlain, which serves as the New York – Vermont border at an elevation of just under 100 feet (30.5 m). The highest natural point in New York, Mount Marcy at 5,344 feet (1,629 m), is in the Town of Keene. The Ausable River forms a partial northern boundary for the county.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_County,_NY

🖼️ Photos

Tailings Pile Guardrail

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Along NL Tahawus Road, the shoulder of the road consisted of a tailings from the former mining operation. It was remarkably scenic up here.

Saturday May 21, 2011 — Tahawus
Map: Willis-Wilcox Lake Trail

Tahawus Blast Furnace Ruins

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This massive blast furnace was built in 1854, as part of a speculative effort to mine iron up in Tahawus. However, due to the railroad never making it up this far, and due to wilderness conditions, it was abandoned within 3 years of it's construction and barely ever used.

Saturday May 21, 2011 — Tahawus
Thematic Map: Percentage of Green Cars
Map: Normans Kill Ravines Preserve

Another View of Vanderwhacker Brook Campsite

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There are two other campsites near this area, however by far I fell in love with this campsite. I would have stayed here, but it's a ways back, and I wanted to explore the rest of the forest. I also was worried about the risk of bad weather washing out or making this already super muddy road even muddier.

Saturday May 21, 2011 — Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest — Big Pond Trail 🗺 — Boreas Railroad - Moose Club Way To Northwoods Club Road 🗺 — Boreas River 🗺 — Bullet Pond And Horseshoe Pond 🗺 — Roosevelt Truck Trail 🗺 — Stony Pond 🗺 — Vanderwhacker Firetower Trail 🗺 — Vanderwhacker Road Campsites 🗺 — Wolf Pond Trail 🗺 — Wolf Pond Trail Ortho 🗺— PDF with All Maps 📚
Terrain Map: Kingston and Catskill Mountains

Abandoned Village of Adirondac Buildings

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When the Open Space Insitute bought these lands in 1994, these buildings where still standing, but where collapsing. Now they have largely all collapsed in on themselves. I don't know if they could have been saved, but it's kind of sad to see history just devolving back to woods.

Saturday May 21, 2011 — Tahawus
Map: Green Mnt NF Forest Road 74 Camping