Photo by Nancie Battaglia
The article about snowshoeing to Mount Adams [“Snowy adventures,” January/February 2016] brought back memories of my tenure with the state Department of Environmental Conservation during the summers of 1959 and 1960. Forest Ranger Ed Shevlin, John Dever, and I worked on the trail to Adams, clearing, brush cutting, and building ladders up and over the outcroppings on the trail.
One of our more challenging labors was carrying three triangular roof sections to the base of the tower from the Upper Works Road near the old blast furnace. Each section weighed sixty-five pounds and was carried by lashing a pole horizontally across each section. Each section was carried by one man and it really didn’t seem like such a job back then.
Now when I drive up the road and look up toward the tower I truly don’t know how we accomplished the task. I guess we were all younger then. Ed and John have both passed, and that leaves me to tell the tale.
Gary C. Lanphear, Voorheesville
