Last week the Adirondack Park Agency approved a 20-megawatt solar project on the former Benson Mines’s tailings pile in the Town of Clifton. It is the state’s first “build ready” solar project. There are still a handful of other permits the state needs to acquire before it can hold an auction and turn the project over to a solar developer. But, it looks like the Adirondacks is one step closer to hosting a large renewable energy project.

I want to apologize, in my last newsletter I said this was the largest ever solar project proposed in the park. It is the largest, but I had neglected in my original reporting to note that commissioners approved a 20-megawatt solar array in Ticonderoga last year. So, this is the same number of megawatts, but the Benson Mines project is the largest footprint and will have more solar panels. I’ve updated our coverage online and made note at the bottom to include the Ticonderoga project.

Last week, commissioners approved Lyme Timber Co.’s application for tree harvesting. They also approved changes to inter-agency guidelines on invasive species management. Here’s a story about those items.

Dave and I hiked this weekend up Hadley Mountain in Saratoga County. At just under four miles round trip, it is a nice “short” hike–but I also forgot how steep it is. We haven’t been hiking as much lately, so it was a good climb to get us back at it. The leaves are starting to change. The temperatures felt cool in the low 60s. Autumn is almost here. The last time we did this hike, the top of the fire tower was closed. This time it was open, and it was quite the scary shimmy getting in and out of the hatch. I am pretty good with heights, but this section gave me the heebie jeebies! There are some beautiful views from the fire tower, though, of the surrounding mountains and Great Sacandaga Lake.

I used Cornell University’s Merlin Bird ID app on my phone, too, and found so many songbirds on the summit. We could use both the visual and auditory parts of the app to identify them. We heard and saw ruby-crowned kinglets, dark-eyed juncos, yellow-rumped warblers, black-capped chickadees and possibly heard a Cape May warbler. While up at the top of the fire tower, a hawk flew by, by I couldn’t quite identify it. We are thinking it might have been a sharp-shinned hawk or a Cooper’s hawk.

There are a couple of journals at the top of the tower, and it was so nice to see them filled with notes about people’s experiences on the hike. Kids participated, too, with drawings or with words of wisdom. For example, Bryce wrote, “It is not easy but it is a great view. You can make it fun, just like me.”

Editor’s note: This first appeared in Gwen’s weekly “Adirondack Report” newsletter. Click here to sign up.