2024-01-06: Mount Helderberg

Mount Helderberg, elevation 1822'. Highest point in New Scotland; Albany County municipal highpoints 8/13. Solo bushwhack ascent from Beaver Dam Road. 2.50 mi, 518' gain, 52m RT. 

I was home between semesters trying to climb town highpoints in Albany County, with the optimistic goal of completing the county before returning to school in mid-January. I was working my way mostly up from the north, starting with the towns that were nearer to me, and New Scotland was next on my list. Mount Helderberg is not only the highest point in the town, but also in the Helderberg Mountains, which make up most of central Albany County.

Mount Helderberg is covered in a massive array of communications towers, some hundreds of feet high. I had hiked the mountain's north slopes as a teenager while working with my father's worship band at Camp Pinnacle, but the camp was closed to visitors especially in the winter, which made access a little more difficult. An attempt from the south on the way back from High Point Cliff the previous day was thwarted by posted land and security cameras.

After extensive research and pouring over old trip reports, most of which were over ten years old and pretty outdated, I figured out a third approach route. A portion of Thacher State Park stretches out south of Beaver Dam Road to the north of the mountain, with some hiking and snowmobile trails stretching to the south. The state land ends about a half-mile north of the summit, but it looked like a number of 4x4 trails continued onto private lands beyond. The highpoint would be across a stream and a gully east of here.

My route on OSM, USGS, and satellite imagery. Overlay courtesy of CalTopo.

An approaching snowstorm was expected to arrive in the afternoon, but I was eager to bag some more highpoints, so I headed out in the morning to race to the storm to the top of New Scotland. I parked at the pullout on Beaver Dam Road and immediately began moving south along the former Long Path route. This route started out in open country, gradually climbing a hill towards woods to the south. The hill became steeper and steeper until finally reaching the woods at a surprising grade. Here I passed an abandoned lean-to and briefly lost the trail, which isn't terribly well-marked here.

Looking down the open country portion of the trail. The transmission towers in the distance are located at the summit.

Climbing up the steep hill at the edge of the woods.

Once I was in the woods, things became a bit more confusing. The main trail, often narrow and difficult to spot, runs through young hemlock trees along the top of the steep valley to my east. At some point, however, the state land ends and the trail becomes private, linking up with a number of other trails, all inconsistently marked and nearly impossible to use for navigation. To reduce the risk of getting lost, I left the trail here and began bushwhacking east, using the communications towers - clearly visible through the treetops - as a waypoint.

The little-used main trail passes through a hemlock grove past the top of the hill.

More open, unmarked 4x4 trails near the valley's base.

Cutting east meant crossing two small valleys, the second much larger than the first. The climbs both into and out of the valleys were very steep, made a little more difficult by the frozen ground. I understood here how it can be safer to climb steep slopes on ice than it is on rock, as you can frontpoint into ice. The stream in the larger valley was little more than a trickle, so crossing was easy. After passing a few more wide trails, I began bushwhacking up the steep, densely forested slopes towards the summit. This is a very direct approach, and it's probably less strenuous to approach in a more roundabout way, but I rather liked the challenge.

Looking up from the base of one of the towers.

A small portion of the complex seen from below.

The summit of Helderberg Mountain is covered in the largest communications complex I've ever seen. There must be at least two dozen antennae and towers, most with their own control buildings at their bases. The whole complex is fenced off by intimidating barbed-wire fence, although some peripheral towers lay outside the perimeter. A great stone building in the center serves as the heart of the operation, although no people were around on this grey Saturday morning.

The highest point is on the west side of this complex, so I circumnavigated the fence to the north. The terrain drops off steeply right next to the fence, and there's only barely room for a person to walk along its side without veering into thick brush below. Soon I reached the easy-to-find witness post and USGS survey benchmark. I took my requisite summit pictures, enjoyed the victory for a moment, and checked out the fascinating tower complex from outside the fence.

The USGS HELDERBERG benchmark marks the summit.

I headed back to the car mostly the way I had come. Crossing the valleys again was a little more difficult on descent, and at some points I turned around as though I were downclimbing the dirt. As hard as the trail was to follow, it wasn't difficult to find, and soon I was back at the car. I had one more destination in mind for today, and with a quick and successful hike, I had time to continue northwards to Albany.