A New Chapter for the Friends of Poke-O-Moonshine

*Fire tower centennial celebration in 2017. Photo courtesy of Nancie Battaglia Photography.*

Located in the northeastern Adirondacks, Poke-O-Moonshine is a popular mountain for hikers who want to experience breathtaking views from the 1917 fire tower or rock climbers drawn to its daunting cliffs.

Since 1997, the Friends of Poke-O-Moonshine, which operates under the auspices of Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH), has been dedicated to the preservation of the mountain and its fire tower, improving and maintaining its trails, and to interpreting the natural and cultural history of the mountain. The Friends is a partnership between the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, AARCH, the Town of Chesterfield, several Adirondack Mountain Club chapters, and hundreds of people who enjoy this special place. The Friends is run by a Coordinator and a Board comprising members from local communities.

This spring, Friends of Poke-O-Moonshine Coordinator David Thomas-Train, who helped organize the group in 1997, retired from his position. David led the Friends with enthusiasm, patience, and his signature good humor and we are pleased to honor him with a 2026 AARCH Preservation Award in recognition of his dedication over the past 29 years. We are delighted to welcome Caley Doell to the team as the new Coordinator and look forward to working with her in the Friends’ next chapter.

A Farewell from David Thomas-Train

It’s with mixed feelings that I’m ending my stint with The Friends of Poke-O-Moonshine. In 1997, I began this project with Steven Engelhart, the founding Executive Director of AARCH. At the time, many Adirondack fire towers were being restored as sites of conservation education, and as AARCH was receiving numerous inquiries on the topic, it seemed only logical to restore the tower closest to their office in Keeseville. This was a great match of AARCH’s mission and my teaching interests.

*Interpretive panels in the fire tower organized by the Friends of Poke-O-Moonshine*

After my retirement from the classroom, I took over the project as Coordinator. The Friends’ board came onto the scene, which now includes seven long-time community members who know and love the mountain. Since 2002, we have hired and supervised summer Fire Tower Stewards, whose work is to educate the hiking public on the historic role of fire towers in land conservation, as well as low-impact use of the mountain, New York State Forest preserve, and the environment generally. We’ve been blessed in this to work with superbly engaged young people, mostly graduates in a branch of Environmental Studies. Please hike “Poke-O” this summer on a Wednesday through Monday, and welcome our current Steward, Dylan Meyer!

Over the years, I got to know the mountain well and made wonderful friends along the way. Not only did we restore the tower, but – with huge community help and that of trail professionals and volunteers – we rebuilt the Ranger Trail from the old campground up to the summit, as a model of beautiful and sustainable trail design. I’m proud of that project and the teamwork behind it as well as all we have accomplished over the past 29 years to preserve the site and its history.

It’s time to hand the reins to a new person. I could not be happier that Caley Doell is taking over; she is smart, energetic, creative, and passionate about the outdoors.

*David Thomas-Train and Caley Doell outside the AARCH office*

Welcome, Caley Doell!

I’m Caley, an ecologist in the Champlain Valley and Adirondacks. I am excited to be stepping into this role at Friends of Poke-O-Moonshine after having lived, studied, and recreated in the area for the past six years. I have both a B.S. and M.S. in Natural Resources and Ecology from SUNY Plattsburgh, where I worked in the forest ecology lab studying birds, particularly Eastern Whip-poor-wills, at the Altona Flat Rock.

My experience spans scientific research, environmental education, and outdoor recreation, making Poke-O’s breadth of work particularly interesting. Taking the reins from David has been a wonderful experience, and I hope to carry forward his wealth of knowledge and connection to the local landscape.

Visit pokeomoonshine.org to learn more about the Friends’ work, the history of the fire tower, and info about visiting the mountain.