Roosevelt Truck Trail, A Hidden Gem

The Roosevelt Truck Trail (RTT) is a hidden gem. That's what I told Elle as we drove out of Long Lake headed towards Newcomb. I was confident that the 'hidden' half of that statement was true. As for the 'gem' part, we would soon find out.

I use that route when driving from Long Lake to our home in Saratoga Springs and I've wondered about a narrow paved road that disappears into the forest on the north side of Route 28N, five miles east of Newcomb. The road is easy to miss, but the railroad track that once connected the mines at Tahawus with North Creek provides a good reference point. The road enters the forest a quarter mile east of the tracks. The road looks like it could be a driveway, but there is little sign of use and no electricity or phone lines reach out this far. Recently, I read about a unique trail that leaves 28N somewhere in that vicinity. Putting two and two together, this intriguing little road had to be the Roosevelt Truck Trail.

Good parking is found at the southern end of the RTT. The trail runs for 2.5 miles from Rte. 28N to the Blue Ridge Road. 

For much of the way the route follows a well maintained woods road. The northern end, however, is blocked by blowdown and is heavily grown in.

Ironically, there actually is a house on the access road. A short distance in a gravel driveway leads off of the paved road but, continuing on, you soon reach a small parking area with signs indicating that you are on forest preserve land. A wide woods road with a heavy gate leads north out of the parking area. This is the truck trail.

The RTT runs for two and half miles between Rte. 28n and the Blue Ridge Road. From the south, the first half of the route is well maintained and about a mile in you reach two well manicured camp sites. These sites are designated as handicap accessible. With a permit, and the combination for the locked gate, a four wheel drive vehicle could be driven to these sites. Located in a stand of mature white pines this would be a very nice place to camp. You'd need to bring water however, there does not appear to a nearby source.

Done as an out and back hike the entire route covers five miles over gently rolling hills. The only complication comes at the northern end. There is considerable blowdown north of Vanderwacker Brook and the road is more grown in.

The RTT is popular with bird watchers and it was a write up describing a guided hike taken by a bird watching group that led us there. We saw plenty of birds but nothing uncommon. However, as the day warmed, we saw plenty of the most common forms of flying Adirondack wildlife. It being July the mosquitoes and deer flies kept us moving along at a brisk pace the entire way.

The route is noted for its' passage through boreal forests and that is part of its' appeal. A snowshoe hare in brown summer time garb crossed the path in front of us and it's easy to imagine Bobcats stalking prey in these woods. But, as is the case for many parts of the Adirondacks, past human activity has directly shaped what we see today. The southern end of the trail passes through homogeneous stands of non-native Norway Spruce. This forest was planted with the fast growing European spruce to replace the harvested native trees. Judging by the size this was probably done in the 1920s or 1930s.

Is the RTT a gem? Sure, it's a quiet walk through maturing forests with great bird and wildlife watching opportunities. Like many Adirondack trails it would probably be best walked in the fall, but those who appreciate solitude it's worth a visit at any time of year.

Late July along the RTT. The trail is mostly open and easy to walk. The half mile south of the Blue Ridge Road is grown in.  

Light passing through the web creates a moire pattern.

Early morning light. We got out early on an unusually cool morning in late July (48 degrees in Long Lake). This was to reduce our encounters with the air wing of the Adirondack Protection Force.

It was a cool morning but Elle was bundled up against the bugs, not the cold. By Adirondack standards they actually weren't bad. The northern part of the route is grown in with lots of blueberries. Also lots of poison ivy so watch out for that. 

Two camp sites with good access and new, accessible, privies are available for back country camping with a degree of handicapped access.

Little Tupper Lake, Bum Pond and Bliss Camp (Site)

When the State established the Whitney and Round Lake Wilderness areas in 1998 some of abandoned logging roads that crisscross the area were marked as trails. And while I've canoed and camped on the big lakes that define this area: Little Tupper, Round Lake, Rock Pond and Lake Lila, I had never found a reason to hike those trails.

In part that's because before the former Whitney lands were added to the Forest Preserve the area was heavily logged and these forests will need another 50 years to recover their full stature. On top of that there's the issue of distance. Bum Pond, the closest of the destinations reached by trail, is over five miles from the trailhead and the other ponds you might want to visit require round trips in the 15 to 17 mile range.

But now I had a reason to go (which I'll get to in a minute). So, starting at the Burn Road parking area on the Sabitis Road, I set off for Hardigan Pond south of Little Tupper Lake. The Burn Road trail follows what was previously a well built logging road and its' purpose is to get you to the southern end of Little Tupper lake (which despite the name is six miles long). After about five miles on the Burn Road trail you reach the first of the side trails that can be taken to reach Bum Pond, Lilypad Pond, Rock Pond, and Hardigan Pond. You can also access the shore of Little Tupper itself at several points along the way.

My motivation for walking this route on a beautiful Sunday in July was rain. The preceding weeks had been exceptionally rainy, even by Adirondack standards, and trails everywhere were flooded and muddy. I knew that Charley Pond Stream, the only substantial stream in the first five mile stretch along the Burn Road, was spanned by a substantial bridge. With streams running at spring flood levels throughout the Adirondacks I figured the Burn Road would be relatively dry. Turns out, this was only partially true. On this particular weekend, the Adirondacks were soaked.

Charley Pond Stream just below the bridge on the Burn Road. The water on this day (7/2/2017) was exceptionally high following two weeks of heavy rains.

The bridge over Charley Pond Stream is just under four miles from the trailhead and a mile past the bridge the trail reaches the first junction. This side trail (also following what was once a gravel road) heads east toward Bum Pond and the former site of Bliss Camp on the south shore of Little Tupper Lake. The junction is marked by an ancient sign post with a homemade sign on which someone has written "Bliss", with an arrow pointing the way. Given that this is the only destination in the area likely to get any traffic, I should have realized that this might not be a good omen.

My intended destination was Hardigan Pond; a trek of  8.5 miles (each way). That's about my distance limit but old roads usually provide easier walking and, if conditions were good, I figured I could make it (and still be able to walk back out). But the extremely wet conditions posed challenges even on this relatively dry route. The first of which was a large beaver pond just two miles in. The pond covered an extended section of the trail and the rains had swelled the pond out into the forest in all directions. The terrain at the spot the beaver selected is particularly rough and rocky, and getting around the flooded area led me through a dense spruce thicket and I still got my feet wet crossing a large a marshy area. And this little detour ate up a lot of time.

Bum Pond, in the William C. Whitney Wilderness just south of Little Tupper Lake.

But an even bigger issue loomed past the Bum Pond junction. When these trails were laid out they followed well traveled gravel roads, and there was little need for marking. Today, after the passage of 20 years, waist high growth fills every clearing and the old logging roads that crisscross the area all look alike.

A mile past the Bum Pond/Bliss Camp junction the trail reaches a junction with the single DEC sign I spotted anywhere along this route. The sign pointed the way towards Rock Pond and Hardigan Pond and I knew that the route straight ahead continued on to Lillypad Pond. I headed towards Hardigan and, from that point on, there were no signs or trail markers. There was also no indications that anyone goes this way. Following the old road through the wooded sections was easy enough but at one large clearing brambles and weeds had filled in to the point that I was unsure which of the three old roads leaving the far side of the clearing was the actual trail. And I picked the wrong one. After a half mile I realized that I was heading in the wrong direction and turned back. Backtracking to the clearing, and coming at it from that alternate direction, the main route was obvious. Beginners mistake.

By now it was too late to make Hardigan Pond but there was one more complicating factor. Have you ever seen a movie from Siberia or Alaska with people surrounded by a cloud of mosquitoes? It was now early afternoon, and quite warm, and I must have been the tastiest creature to come this way in a while. Even drenched in deet the mosquitoes were attacking in waves and were way past being just annoying. It was time to head back.

Along the way I took the one mile side trip to Bum pond and the Bliss Camp site, and both are worth a visit. Resting and enjoying a swim in Little Tupper made the five+ miles back along the Burn Road much more enjoyable.

Bum Pond southwest of Little Tupper Lake.

Little Tupper Lake from the former Bliss Camp landing. Back in the 60s and 70s Bliss Camp was an in-holding in the Whitney property and a substantial "camp" (private home) was located at this spot. Later, a hunting and fishing club had a camp here as well. The buildings are long gone and, other than some open areas rapidly filling in with small trees and early successional growth you wouldn't know that buildings were once located here.

A small pool along the Burn Road was filled to the brim and based on the population of large polliwogs the local frog population will soon be greatly increased. I had stopped to try to get a picture of a snapping turtle that I noticed sitting on this submerged log, but the turtle spooked and all I could get were the soon to be frogs.

In one respect the Burn Road, and the young forests it passes through, are exceptional. This area is an excellent place to see wildlife and birds. Moose and bear had left calling cards along the trails and I saw a number of birds that are harder to spot in more mature forests.

Eastern BlueBirds (nesting)
Cedar Waxwings
Ravens
Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers
Turkey Vulture
Great Blue Heron
White Crowned Sparrows
Ruffed Grouse
And of course Blue Jays, thrushes and other ubiquitous species

Footnotes:
Locals refer to this as the Burn Road but the DEC calls this the Lillypad Pond Trail.