Goodnow Mountain Firetower

Taking a look at the Fall/Winter Alpiner hiking schedule, Randy and I decided to go on the Goodnow Mountain hike. The mountain is up near Newcomb and is off limits to hunting, making for a bit safer hike.

The weather turned out to be cold, but not too cold and in Northville at 8am, clear blue skies. By the time we reached Speculator 4 corners, where we were meeting the rest of the group, the sky was overcast and about 1/2 inch of snow was on the ground. It turned out to be a big group, 11 traveling and to meet one at the trailhead. Too many names for me to remember but no one brought a dog or a youngster tho there were 2 prospective new members along on the trip.

We reached the nice parking area at Goodnow mountain and by 10:30 set off up the mountain. The snow was still only about 1/2 inch deep but the trail itself had many semi-frozen muddy spots.
We had to be careful about slipping in wet mud, ice, and wet leaves. The climb was relatively pleasant, not too steep and several spots where it leveled out and a person could catch their breath while still moving forward.

We met a couple of fellows and their chocolate lab who was wearing his own pack, coming down the mountain. We also encountered a spot on the trail where we could get a preliminary peek at what the view from the top would be like.

The group was strung out along the trail pretty far, so while some reached the top a little before 12 noon, some reached it a little after. Once up there tho, the cloud cover broke and the sun came out. We had clear views all around the area including many of the high peaks. Most of the group climbed up the fire tower. Randy did and got some pretty cool pictures of the group, looking down from the fire tower.

Chatting, scenery gawking, and lunch over with, we hit the trail back down the mountain about 12:45. The way down was even more slippery as the newly emerged sun was causing rapid meltage of snow and ice. However, no serious falls or other catastrophes marred the great day out we had. Round trip was about 3 miles. Everyone had cheery cheeks as we said our goodbyes.