A Sled Dog and a Fire Tower

Buck Mountain's History Makes it Unique to the ADKs

An image of sled dog St. Lunaire from the Presbyterian Research Centre of Aotearoa, New Zealand,

In the middle of New York’s Adirondacks, snuggled in between the High Peaks and Five Ponds wilderness, a brand new (at least brand new to the public) fire tower with a surprising pedigree beckons hikers.

Buck Mountain Fire Tower isn’t old by fire tower standards, built in 1933. And Buck Mountain isn’t even that tall, topping out at a 2,400 feet after a 1.25 mile hike.

But that steel fire tower at the summit is there thanks to an odd coming together of a polar explorer and his famous dog.

In 1933, when the federal Conservation Department was looking to construct the tower atop Buck, they turned to Fred Potter, the superintendent of Whitney Park, where the mountain was located. Fred’s dog team provided winter transport in the area for fighting fires, ice cutting or other needs as they came up.

In the early 1930s, Fred made a significant hire when he brought Jack Bursey and his family to New York. Jack was a dog driver for Admiral Richard Byrd’s first Antarctic expedition in 1929 and he came with his lead dog, St. Lunaire. The dog, by the way, was named after Jack’s home town in Newfoundland.

Buck Mountain’s 60-foot metal fire tower was built in 1933.

Anyway, Jack and St. Lunaire got right on the job of helping Fred craft the tower and then hauling it up the mountain in a series of sled drives. The the tower that Jack and his dog built remained private for 90 years, until 2023 when a deal between the timber company that currently owns the land and the town of Long Lake was struck opening this hidden gem to the public.

And if the history of that tower isn’t enough, check out the 11 (that’s right, eleven!) flights of engineered, wooden stairs built on the ADK Mountain Club to help hikers over the steep section near the summit.

Buck Mountain is unique to the fire tower ADK scene! Just get ready for those steps!

Eleven flights of wooden stairs gets you to the summit of Buck Mountain

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Housekeeping: Dan’s field guide to fire tower hikes in NYS is scheduled for a summer 2025 release. Check it out here: Hiking Fire Lookouts New York

Meantime, Dan and Uma’s local hiking guides can be found at our FB page here, NH Rocks That Rock, or at Dan’s bookstore here: Books and More.

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