Driving Route 177

Tug Hill: Route 177 Plowing

Route 177: Proof of Lake Effect

Route 177 Sugar House and Sculpted Snow Bank

Barnes Corners

Snow Tourism on Route 177, Jefferson County

Tug Hill View Overlooking the Black River Valley

Route 177: My Favorite Sugarhouse

Yellow Barn, Route 177 near Adams Center

Lots of Snow Across the Tug Hill

Autumn Farmstand, Route 177 near Adams Center

Inman Gulf Rim Hike

Lake Ontario From Tug Hill

Barnes Corners: They Know Snow

 

Lake Effect Snow along Route 177 in Lewis County

Two plow trucks here: the first chewing into the bank with a snow blower; the second cleaning up with the plow. Snow on the Tug Hill Plateau is very deep now. The wind blows up here, and it can snow for days.

The Great Lakes are all snow producers. Winds from the west pick up moisture and deposit it as snow or rain further east. This winter has been cold enough to freeze the other four lakes, quieting the lake effect, but Lake Ontario is only 45% frozen and is still generating major storms.

Abandoned Buildings on Route 177, Jefferson County

Route 177 connects Adams Center in Jefferson County to West Lowville in Lewis County. It is the route we most frequently take to go to Stillwater beyond Lewis County in Herkimer County. It crosses the Tug Hill, recipient of copious snow. There is a gradual and significant gain in elevation across its course, and the Maple Ridge wind mill project, with 200 towers, is toward the Lowville side.

We notice many abandoned or unused buildings all along the route, and several more homes only used occasionally or seasonally. The land that Route 177 traverses is primarily open farmland though almost all of the farms are gone now and many have been shut for decades. The road crosses some of the snowiest land in New York State, receiving many feet over the course of an average winter. Barnes Corners, part way along, is famous for this abundance and is a major destination for snowmobilers.

This building is near the western end of the route in Honeyville. It may have been a telephone station. It looks municipal or utility-related. We will locate informants to tell us about it.