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There are at least three different mountains in the Adirondacks known as Owls’ Head due to their small rounded peaks, with broad cols for shoulders. This one is the one near Long Lake, that has a 30 foot LS 45 Aermotor Firetower on top of it.

Sargent Ponds Wild Forest Kiosk. This is where you sign in, so they can have an idea on trail use, and make it easier to find you if your lost or injured.

1/2 Mile In. The trail crosses this downed tree.

Boardwalks. Parts of the trail cross marshy areas on board walks, like these constructed on the first 3/4 mile of the trail.

T Intersection. Make a left at one mile, to go up Owls Head. The other direction takes you to the Lake Eaton State Campground.

Grown Over Steel Trail Marker. It looks like in 1982, the state experimented with these imprinted steel trail markers along the trail, long since largely grown into the barks of the tree.

Views as You Ascend. This is looking backwards, towards the Sargent Ponds Wilderness, Lake Eaton, and the timber lands between here and Tupper Lake.

Observers Cabin Ruins. The cabin the fire warden lived in years ago, is not located on top of Owl’s Head, but below it on the shoulder. It’s a 1/4 mile hike to the top, and you accent about 200 more feet, up the pointly little head. The cabin was probably located here, so the warden could meet visitors, and escort them to the top.

Well Worn Trail. Part of the trail is well worn, and is on open rock face. The good news however is with the lush tree cover, you don’t have to worry about acrophobia up here.

Reaching the Tower. You can’t see the fire tower until your almost on top of it, due to the heavy trees that surround the summit of the mountain, except for the bald portion where the tower is located, open to views to the south and east.

Survey Marker. It says it was placed in 1942 by USGS. It’s right below the fire tower proper.

Fire Tower. The fire tower is a 30 foot LS 45 Aermotor tower, pretty typical for NY State. It’s one of the short little towers, like also seen on Rondaxe Mountain in Eagle Bay.

Forked Lake. This is looking south from the summit towards Forked Lake Campground and possibly Racquette Lake. The mountain in the distance is Wakely Mountain, one of the other fire towers originally used to pin-point fires in the Adirondacks (it takes two towers to locate a fire through triangulation).

Long Lake. This is another picture of Long Lake, a little bit farther north, with the shoulder/col of Owls Head visible in the foreground.

North. In the distance is Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, with Whiteface just beyond it. Not the clearest or nicest of days, but still visable. In the foreground is the col/shoulder of Owls Head.

Blue Mountain. Blue Mountain is another fire tower / mountain that is visible from Owls Head. Located about 10 miles away, in the foreground are Minnow Pond and Mud Pond.

Sargent Ponds Area & Timberland. This portion north of NY 28 Corridor and Fulton Chain of Lakes is relatively flat, wild, and many portions privately owned as timberland.

Float Plane. Owls Head is not the quietest mountain out there. Throughout the day, tourist float planes for hire, fly on and off Long Lake, just to north of mountain. They fly quiet low, as they are making the decent back to Long Lake.

Long Lake Village. While hazy today, you can see village of Long Lake quite well from the tower. It’s always crazy there, and I try to avoid towns whenever I’m in the Adirondacks.

Fire Tower Corner. I always like pictures of the angles and construction of the fire tower. While common after climbing so many, fire towers have a lot of character in their structural steel.

Tower Cabin Closed. It’s unfortunate but the tower’s cabin on this tower is closed, as it’s used for communications equipment.

Sitting on Mountain. Just sitting back and looking south from the open rock face a top Owls Head.

Old Telephone Poll. Descending the trail off Owls Head, I saw several of the old telephone poles, heading up to the former Ranger’s cabin. Some have been cut down, and used to control run-off on the trail, but others still remain.

Here is a map of the hike.

View Owls Head in a larger map

Pillsbury Mountain Firetower is located at the edge of the Jessup River Wild Forest and the West Canada Wilderness. To reach there, you have to drive North of Spectulator, and take about 6 miles of fairly smooth logging roads through International Paper’s Perkins Clearing Easement.

Hiking Bridge Across Miami River. Not that th Miami River really deserves to be called a river, but on the trail up the Pillsbury Mountain, its particularly small.

Taking the trail Up Pillsbury Mountain. It’s about two miles long, and not a difficult hike, although you do gain about 1200 in elevation.

About a 1/4 mile before reaching the tower, reach marshy and thick boreal forest that the trail passes through, with some re-routes to avoid the muck kicked up over the years.

Approaching Fire Tower.

People Die Here. I kid you not, that’s what the cabin says when you first get here. Combined with the creepy fire tower top, it’s kind of neat.

Tower Cabin. That sure looks scary, doesn’t it? Now I understand why people die up here, probably with a secret DEC Forest Ranger, who hides up there, shooting at people he or she doesn’t like. Or maybe not.