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Some visitors to Adirondack Journey will not have even been born during the Cold War. In 1962, though, EVERYBODY in the world knew what the Cold War was, who was waging it against whom, and the lethal nature of the forces brought to bear by the principal combatants. So it happened that in those days Plattsburgh, New York was home to an Air Force base, a part of the Strategic Air Command. From Plattsburgh we might some day have to launch a nuclear strike against the Evil Empire should one of many possible Doomsday scenarios materialize. Enough of that. If you want to know more go to your video store and rent "Dr. Strangelove".

It came to pass, therefore, that B-47 and B-52 strategic bombers were based at Plattsburgh AFB. And one day, probably while undergoing routine training, one of them crashed into the north face of Wright Peak, a very short distance below the summit. For those of us who consider the environment a matter of importance---and for those of us who served in our military---it is probably true that the Adirondacks are safer today because of the sense of duty of the men that died suddenly and brutally that day in 1962 on Wright Peak.

With my friend, Paul, I climbed Wright in 1971. Some of the wreckage was still there, but not the wings or much of the fuselage which may have been removed by the Air Force or, in the violence of the event, went elsewhere. Today the site is covered by the usual dense cripplebush. The crash site or that part of it not covered by cripplebush is invisible to a peak-bagger interested only in getting to the summit. In 2000 and 2003, we revisited the site while hiking the MacIntyre Range. Here's how to get there.

Find It
Once at the exact summit of Wright, pull out your compass and find a nearby rocky knob at 340 degrees. It's nearby, maybe a 40 second walk from the summit. Once there, you'll climb down about 15 feet towards the cripplebush just below. This will put you at the bottom of the 15 foot sheer rock wall that you had just come down from. Here you will see a gentle bank without much growth on it and with a few traces of trail running here and there along the edge of the cripplebush.

You'll come upon one of the B-47's General Electric engines and parts of its landing gear. If you look up to the ledge you will see the brass plaque placed on the rock face by the Air Force. I'm sure if you poke around you can find all kinds of relics, but the cripplebush has swallowed up almost everything at this point.

Retrospective 1971

This 1971 photo is the crash site as seen from a point off the trail a minute or so before you reach the summit. You'll note a section of the landing gear in the foreground. In the conifers to the rear some of the skin of the craft is visible. We did not see any of these artifacts in 2000 when we climbed Wright Peak.

Update courtesy of Tom Wheeler: "In addition to the plaque, re the bomber on Wright near the summit, there is also a plaque much further down the mountain [edit: towards Avalanche Camp]. It is located in back of the camping area located not far from the waterfalls. It is a bit difficult to find, but it lists each airman that died and information on him."