Oswego County High Point Trip Report
two points near east county line - 1.25 miles south of Alder Bed Pond (1,730+ ft)
Date: May 11, 2002
Author: Michael Schwartz
We approached from the east, saving considerable road walking from the western approach used by Fallesen.
Either way, the approach requires passing through woods posted by a hunting club. We saw no one,
but it would be imprudent to visit this area during hunting season. From the junction of NY 12/177
west of Lowville, go west 10.1 miles on NY 177. Turn left (south) onto Liberty Road and drive 2.3 miles to
a T-intersection (Liberty Corners), where Liberty Road goes right. Zero odometer. Liberty Road eventually
becomes Salmon River Road, and passes Culpepper Road, the approach to the Jefferson County High Point,
at 4.0 miles. The road gradually deteriorates, but is passable by passenger vehicles all the way or within
sight of a gate at the county line at 8.7 miles.
At the gate, the main road (shown on topo) continues southwest about 0.7 mile to the major bend in the
road shown on the map. That very obvious bend is the point from which Fallesen and others have
bushwhacked southeast to the highpoints. We returned that way from the highpoint and had to cross a
major swamp and a river that required wading. We lucked into a better approach, described below.
Note also that the posting at the gate specifies that the woods along the road are privately owned, but by omission,
infers that the road is public, even though gated.
Better approach: From the gate at the county line, another road, blocked by a cable, heads left on a more
southerly heading. We followed that road for maybe 15 minutes, past an area signed (facetiously?)
"children at play," to where the road takes a major bend to the left.
From there the highpoint ridge is about 0.4 mile
distant and is visible through the forest. The bushwhack from there involved one easy marsh crossing and
then went straight up the ridge face. The bumps on top are not very distinct, and GPS helped pinpoint them.
This is a much easier hike than that used by Fallesen from the "bend in the [main] road," and no more
complicated from an access point of view.