Dishrag Pond appears on modern maps as a tiny blue dot deep in the heart of the Blue Ridge Wilderness. The pond made its' first appearance on USGS topographic maps in the 1950s and that curious name has been on the list of Adirondack ponds ever since. The Blue Ridge Wilderness Master Plan (1) contains a single paragraph which describes the pond as extremely remote, devoid of fish, and exceptionally shallow. Historical images from Google Earth show a small body of water at the location but images from August 2015 show a mud flat surrounded by a swampy perimeter. A perfect destination for a hike.
Screen capture from Google Earth showing the pond as it appeared in August 2015. The Blue Ridge Wilderness Master Plan notes that the pond is exceptionally shallow with an average depth of one foot. From that it's reasonable to guess that the 'pond' goes missing when conditions are dry.
My plan was to walk the Northville Lake Placid Trail (NLPT) north from Wakely Pond (2) to intersect with a unmarked path that runs up the valley toward Dishrag pond (3). That path follows the route of a long abandoned woods road that ran from the Cedar River Road to the headwaters of Brown's Brook. It's just under five miles on the NLPT to the intersection and an additional 2.5 miles up the drainage to the vicinity of Dishrag Pond. All was going according to plan until I reached the crossing of Brown's Brook where the bridge is partially out.
The NLPT bridge crossing Brown's Brook is missing half its' planking. It's not evident how it got into this state since it's a relatively new bridge; this section of trail was opened in just the last ten years. When the water is low you can rock hop to cross the brook and, if the logs are dry, you might chose to walk across the beams. On this day the logs were damp and slippery and I was not prepared to wade. So I headed up stream to find a place where I could get across with dry feet. On the way back I crossed the broken section of the bridge on my hands and knees using my hiking pole as a brace. It was not graceful but at that point I was not looking for style points.
Normally you might bypass the bridge and rock hop to cross the stream but two days of heavy rain had the brook running hard. I also considered walking the exposed logs but they were damp and slippery. Since I would be going up the valley anyway I figured the best bet would be to bushwhack along the stream until I found a place where I could cross. The first complication with that plan was that the banks of the brook are quite steep just above the bridge. So headed back up the trail to find a better spot to rejoin the brook. Eventually I did scramble down to the brook to take a look but the near bank was still quite steep and it was bordered by thick brush. Not ideal. More bushwhacking upstream expended a lot of energy but eventually I was able to get across with dry feet. My advice? Be prepared to wade this stream unless you know that the water is low.
A dense spruce thicket lines the north bank of Brown's Brook for a considerable distance above the NLPT bridge. It's a good 100 yards through this thicket before you emerge in the more open forest that lies beyond.
Getting to the far side of the brook revealed the next challenge. A spruce thicket lines the north bank of Brown's Brook and it took several minutes to find a way through and reach the open hardwood forest beyond. The spruce thicket along Brown's Brook is extensive and large spruce are present in the forest all the way to Dishrag Pond. This is notable because spruce were highly prized by loggers working this country in the early days of Adirondack logging. The abandoned road I would eventually find is seen on the first USGS map of the area published in 1903 and that probably means the area was logged before that date. The large spruce present today might have been too small to bother with back then and the passage of over 100 years has allowed them to reach mature sizes today.
The route to Dishrag Pond from the NLPT
Coming out of the band of dense growth along the brook I was unsure how far it was to the old road. Since I would be going up the valley either way I hedged my bets and set out towards a large unnamed vly that sits half way between the NLPT and Dishrag Pond. Following this course I would eventually reach the vly or find the path. After forty five minutes of bushwhacking pushed through a wall of brush I stepped out onto a clearly defined woods road. I'd hit the path at the point where the road forded the brook that flows out of the vly. The path, the brook and the vly came into view at the same time as did clarity as to where I was. A few minutes earlier I had thought that I'd have to give up on Dishrag Pond because of a lack of time, but this changed everything. The way was now clear. I could follow the old road to see where it goes.
The old road just above where it fords the brook flowing from the unnamed vly. Until I stepped out on to it I was not sure how distinct the way would be. This would be hard to miss.
Looking down the vly from the western end. This point is easily reached from the abandoned road that passes south of the vly.
From the vly to the vicinity of Dishrag pond the road is easy to follow but not easy going. Blowdown blocks the way in numerous places and the surface was consistently wet and muddy. Even so, I made decent time and just as I was starting to think that I must be getting close I rounded a bend to see the rusted hulk of a long abandoned car. The Ford coupe (I think from around 1940) had probably broken down at that spot and it has remained there ever since.
This abandoned car at the end of the old woods road provides known location for orienting yourself for the final push through the forest to Dishrag Pond. It appears to be a 1940 Ford Coupe and it probably broke down at this spot and was abandoned.
Just past the car the road ends. The 1903 USGS map shows the road reaching a small water body. If that was correct then the final stretch of road has been completely reclaimed by the forest. I couldn't tell exactly where the pond lay in relation to where I was, but, having come so far, I took my best guess and headed off through the forest one more time. What I learned is that the quarter mile between the end of the road and the string of beaver meadows below Dishrag pond is wet, very rough, and extremely thick. I hoping for at least a glimpse of Dishrag Pond but it was not to be. The pond couldn't have been more than a few hundred yards away, but it was 2:00 pm and getting there was going to take a while. So I turned for home. I'm unusually pretty good at retracing my steps through the woods and I tried to return to the spot where I had left the road. But even that proved to be difficult. As I said, the terrain is rough and the cover is exceptionally thick.
Looking across one of the beaver swamp/meadows just downstream from Dishrag Pond. The Blue Ridge is seen in the background.
If you want to reach Dishrag Pond leave the road 300 yards back from the place where you find the old car. Head north north west and stay in the hardwoods for as long as you can. I may have to return some day to see what Dishrag Pond actually looks like.
(1) Blue Ridge Wilderness Master Plan
(2) There is limited parking for the NLPT north at a pull-out on the Cedar River Road at Wakely Pond, The NLPT leaves the road at that point and enters the woods on a gravel road that can be driven a short distance to a pull out where additional cars can be parked.
(3) Current maps so the route as an unmarked path that ends at the vly halfway to Dishrag Pond. In fact it's an old woods road easily followed to a point a quarter mile from the pond.
The many projects I work on move forward in fits and starts but, over time, they do move forward (recall my approach to hiking: Start Slow, Keep Going). Case in point, The Moreau Lake State Park GIS that I've previously mentioned has progressed to the point where I have useful data to share.
I have created four map layers that hikers can use to plan outings at Moreau Lake State Park (MLSP). These layers include recent additions to the park including new trails in the Lake Bonita section. The trails map is current as of May 2017. The layers can be viewed in Google Maps (seen above) or you can download the files and open them in Google Earth. The four layers are:
The files available for download are in the KML format. KML files can be opened in Google Earth or they can be imported into QGIS or other geographic data management software for use in a geographic information system. Perhaps the most useful layer shared here is the trail map layer. Nearly all of the data on which the trails layer is based was obtained by walking the trails and capturing GPS tracks along the way. Same for the trail junctions layer. The junction positions are based on GPS waypoints. The boundary layer was digitized from existing maps made available on-line by the Office of Parks and Recreation and Moreau Lake State Park and refined using maps from additional sources such as the United States Geologic Survey. Please keep in mind that while I believe the average accuracy of the trail maps to be on the order of 15 to 30 feet, trails are sometimes rerouted and there is always the potential for errors. Pay attention to trail signs and know where you are going. Signs indicating private property should always be respected and the boundaries represented in the boundary layer should be considered to be approximate.
Most trails in the park are well marked and many junctions have signs that assign a number to that particular junction. The junctions layer represents the named junctions using "S" followed by a number (that's how they are shown on signs and park maps). Some junctions are not marked and those are numbered using "U" followed by a number. Similarly, most trails in the park have official names. Some newer trails and short connecting trails are unnamed and these are referred to as "unnamed trails". In a few cases I've provided descriptive names such as the "Lake Bonita Loop."
Screen capture of the Moreau Lake State Park GIS in QGIS. The boundary (green line) and trails (colored lines) are layered on top of a base map that uses natural color images downloaded from the New York State Ortho Imagery web site. The aerial images are downloaded in tiles (with 25 or so tiles visible above) and I didn't include images for areas outside of the park. That's why the areas around the edges show map features against the white background. You can get a sense of how the layers are managed by looking at layers panel on the left side. Each item in the list represents a layer seen in the map. Only the checked layers are displayed. This map shows trail and boundary layers along with a wetlands layer (wetlands and bodies of water shown in blue). The power of GIS lies in this ability to view and analyze different types of information with a shared geographic context.
The same map but this time infrared imagery was used for the background. (2001 infrared imagery downloaded from the New York State Ortho Imagery web site). Infrared images show foliage as red and the deeper reds represent denser foliage. These images were made in early spring when leaves are not present most deciduous trees so the deeper red areas allow us to see where conifer (evergreen) trees are present. Most conifers in Moreau Lake Start Park are Hemlock trees
While I'm presenting the boundary and trails layer here, maps for hikers is not my actual goal for the MLSP GIS. The goal is to support the study of the ecological systems found in the park. More on that in future posts.
In a previous post discussing new trails at Moreau Lake State Park I mentioned the idea of hiking a route I referred to as the "grand tour". With the new trails around Lake Bonita I figured it would be possible to walk a big loop that would cover around 15 miles. That was a pretty good estimate. I walked the route last weekend and it went for 14.3 miles with over 3000 feet of cumulative elevation gain.
The route captured using GPS. The red line is the Moreau State Park boundary and the blue line represents the route. Lake Bonita is seen at the lower left and the trailhead is at the upper right (where the blue lines of the route converge). I parked on Spier Falls Road at the informal trailhead at Mud Pond. The yellow line covers four miles. That's the distance as the crow files from the starting point to Lake Bonita. The Google Earth elevation profile help to explain why I was so tired at the end of the day. The low point is at 400 feet and the high point at just over 1200. It's the ups and downs in between that get you. Note to self for the next time I want to try this. It's NOT an easy walk.
There's nothing special about this route and, at one time or another, I've previously walked every inch of these trails. But, like many hikers, I prefer routes that loop so a long looping route with lots of interesting scenery and a 20 minute drive to the trailhead just had to be done. I also figured it would be a good shakedown for tougher trips I might try later in the season.
It's easy to underestimate the trails at Moreau Lake State Park and the "grand tour" turned out to be kinda grueling. Somehow I had forgetten about the relentless ups and downs that characterize the trails and I hadn't planned for the bursts of rain that punctuated the day. The rain made the trails a little slick which meant that a tiny bit of extra energy was needed for every step. You might imagine that I'd learn from days like this but the evidence indicates that this is unlikely.
Looking east from the Moreau Lake Overlook. Southern Green Mountains just visible in the distance. I've taken similar shots from this spot many times but this is one of my favorites. A brief downpour rolled through shortly after I shot this picture.
But this is not complaining. I'd go again tomorrow if I could get away. My legs complained. My feet complained. And the next morning pretty much all of me complained. But I got exactly what I wanted. A seven plus hour walk through the varied and always interesting forests of MLSP. It was a grand tour.
The other side of the ridge, looking west towards the Adirondack foothills. The water in the foreground is the reservoir backed up by the Spier Falls dam on the Hudson. The Turkey Vulture is a bonus.
I couldn't decide which of these shots I liked better. The one with the closer view of the Turkey Vulture or the one with more background. So you get both.
Looking northwest towards the southern Adirondacks.
A small forest fire singed a few acres last spring (2016). The larger trees survived and blueberries and other post-fire opportunists will be abundant this summer.
More of the burned area in the foreground and the Spier Falls dam behind.
Overall, the winter of 2016-2017 was mild. Storms in March and April moved the snowfall total towards the average but temperatures for the season were well above normal (1). So entering the last week of April spring was in full control of the southern Adirondacks. Over the past few years I've come to see early spring as a good hiking season with one potential drawback, mud. During the winter months moisture in the soil freezes and it takes a while when spring arrives for this frozen layer to thaw. Rain and snow melt can then saturate the ground above the frozen layer and creates the muddy mire we associate with "mud season". It's not pleasant to hike through and many unpaved roads are closed until May to prevent damage. Even so, if you exercise a little judgment you can get out during mud season in most areas without damaging the trails. Plus, if your timing is good, the Adirondack Protection Force (mosquitoes, black flies, and deer flies) will waiting for warmer days to come to launch their assaults on those who venture out.
Brand new signs clarify the options at the junction of the Godfrey Road access trail and the NLPT.
My day started on the trail that leads from Godfrey Road to the Northville Lake Placid Trail (NLPT). At the trail junction just past the bridge over West Stony Creek I turned towards Woods Lake and the Benson Road. I had walked parts of this section previously. From this end on my way to Three Ponds Mountain and on a different day from the Woods Lake end turning back at Abner Brook. This left a two mile section along Abner Brook that I had not visited and still wanted to see. I planned to hike to the NLPT bridge over Abner Brook and then leave the trail and bushwhack over a ridge and into the valley of Notch Brook. A 19th century road passes up that valley and through a low pass immortalized on USGS topographic maps as "the notch". The old road would provide a route back to the NLPT and back to the car and, if time allowed, I wanted see what the "notch" looks like.
The red line is the NLPT section from Benson Road near Woods Lake (lower right) to the West Stony Creek North Branch Junction (at the sign post pictured above). The dark line is the route described in the story.
The day went mostly as planned though I didn't go as far up the ridge as I thought I might. This was my first real outing of the season and the effects of winter were weighing on me. As it was, the route covered 10 miles with bushwhacking and route finding. A pretty good stretch of the legs.
Abandoned beaver ponds transition to swampy meadows. Beaver are a keystone species in the Adirondacks shaping the landscape and supporting ecological variety.
Abner Brook just below the bridge on the NLPT. Abner Brook cuts a meandering path through a relatively flat valley creating ideal habitat for Beaver.
This was not one of those hikes where a single place stands out as the "best" part of the day. It was, however, a warm, cloudless early-spring day with dry trails and no bugs. That combination is hard to beat. But, a few things are worth noting:
The Abner Brook Valley contains an extensive network of beaver meadows, swamps and ponds. This valley is a great place to see the full range of effects this creature has on the Adirondack landscape.
A cluster of large, healthy-looking, Beech trees on the Wallface Mountain ridge
A ravine with interesting talus slopes and a possible micro-climate
The tranquil beauty of the upper Notch Brook Valley
A bit of snow remained at the bottom of the small ravine I explored while crossing the Wallface ridge. The steep slope on the southern side of the ravine prevents direct sun from reaching the slope. Creating an environment that will on average remain several degrees cooler than surrounding terrain.
The ravine was perhaps most interesting. One hundred feet deep at most this glacial gouge is barely detectable on large scale topographic maps but quite striking as seen from the rim. The ravine crosses the ridge with an east-west orientation and the south-side bank is steep with a small cliff band at the top. Over the millennia since the last glaciation rocks and small boulders have fallen from the cliff band and created a talus slope. The orientation of the ravine means that even in high summer the sun will not reach the bottom until afternoon and further up the slope there are areas that probably never see direct sunlight. Winter comes early and spring arrives late in this micro-valley. And the talus that makes it rough going for hikers also limits the advance of soil and trees. magnifying the micro-climate effect. This is the kind of place where a botanist might look for uncommon plants.
Notch Brook. Late afternoon. April 24th, 2017. A perfect place for a short nap.
The Benson to Wells road crossed Notch Brook at this point and the abandoned road is easily distinguishable on the far side. Below this crossing (towards Benson) the road is still easy to follow though extensive blowdown results in many detours. Above the crossing the blowdown is even heavier and in places the old route becomes indistinct. I still didn't make it to the height of land in the "notch". Maybe next time.
The Adirondack wilderness is wild but it is not untracked. A cook stove near the abandoned Benson-Wells Road.
Tree barnacles. Some kind of fungus seen on a downed tree at 1800 feet. Over a small area all the downed trees were covered with this growth. It may be common but I don't recall having seen it elsewhere. Maybe I just haven't noticed.
Notes
1) Heating Degree Days for Glens Falls New York. In 2017 March was slightly colder than average but January and February were well below the 10 year average.
