It’s the second destructive act recently discovered on an Adirondack peak.
A pole used for string fencing and signage on the summit of Mount Marcy was recently burned.
Officials with the Adirondack Mountain Club said in an Instagram post on Saturday, October 4 that they discovered the burned pole atop New York’s highest peak last month.
They said string fencing is one of the trail maintenance techniques Adirondack Mountain Club crews use to promote revegetation, giving alpine plants time to recover and regrow.
Research has demonstrated that string fencing is the most effective way to keep people off alpine plants.
Club officials said we are currently in shoulder season, which is when most damage to alpine vegetation occurs, as the freeze/thaw cycle above treeline makes soil wet, saturated, and unstable.
They said this summer’s dry conditions in the Adirondacks have further stressed alpine plants.
The burning of the pole on Mount Marcy is at least the second destructive act atop an Adirondack peak recently.
Last month, every cairn atop Wright Peak was found to be destroyed.
