The Place No One Visits; The Place Everyone Visits; Helms Pond and Castle Rock

The "plan" was to hike to Upper Sargent Pond starting at the Minnewaska Conference Center near Blue Mountain Lake (Castle Rock Trail). But, I didn't get far before realizing that I wasn't going to make it to Upper Sargent (4.5 miles ). A mix of rain, freezing rain, and snow had fallen throughout the morning and a blustery wind was blowing. I delayed my departure until noon, hoping that the weather might improve, but it was still raining as I walked away from the car. On top of that, trail conditions alternated between soft, deep, snow and hard ice making for slow going.

An unnamed peak on the Castle Rock Ridge. 

After a slow three miles it was an easy call to turn back. I didn't have enough time to make it all the way to Upper Sargent and out before dark, and going back would make a couple of short side trips possible. The first would be a quarter mile bushwhack into the narrow valley between Little Blue Mountain and the Castle Rock Ridge to visit Helms Pond. The second would be a side jaunt up and over Castle Rock. The Castle Rock loop trail coincides with the Sargent Pond trail for the first mile and by going over Castle Rock I could return to the car by a different route.

The Castle Rock and Upper Sargent Pond Trails

No One Goes Here

Depending on the activity of the local Beaver population, Helms pond is a series of swampy ponds or one larger body of water. The Sargent Pond trail passes within a quarter mile of Helms Pond but it's not exactly trivial to get to the waters edge. There's a steep descent down to the shoreline and the pond protected by a band of thick underbrush. In short, Helms Pond is uninspiring, out of the way, and not easy to get to. Stepping out of the thick growth, my first thought was, "no one goes here."

Little Blue Mountain (2800 ft) looms above Helms Pond.

Looking north across Helms Pond towards little Blue Mountain.

Looking east, down the length of Helms Pond. 

The Place That Everyone Visits

Castle Rock, on the other hand, is one of the most popular hikes in the region. The 3.5 mile loop route features iconic views of Blue Mountain Lake and the scramble up the last 200 feet to the top adds a bit of excitement. It's steep and exposed and, on the day of this outing, it was coated with a sheet of hard ice.

The views from Castle Rock are exceptional and it's relatively easy to reach the top. So a lot of people make the climb. The trail is heavily eroded and the summit area has been seriously degraded. Castle Rock is more of a tourist destination then a wild environment.

From Castle Rock looking east over Blue Mountain Lake.

An apparently unnamed peak west of Castle Rock. Pine Pond sits just on the other side of this mountain so let's call it Pine Pond Mountain.

A broader view including Pine Pond Mountain with Eagle Lake and Utowana Lake on the left.

Old Growth; Lower Sargent Pond to Raquette Lake

Labor Day weekend. The weather forecast called for a high of 65 degrees, low humidity and clear skies. Setting out to hike to Tioga Point on Raquette Lake, Elle and I had high hopes. We were not disappointed. This is an uncommonly pleasant route walked on day that can only be described as 'perfect for hiking'.

The route begins on North Point Road, southwest of Long Lake. From the road it's two miles to Lower Sargent Pond and four additional miles to Tioga Point. We actually turned back just short of the campground at Tioga Point but it didn't matter. This hike is all about the journey, not the destination.

We had our lunch on the shore of Eldon Lake which I thought was Raquette Lake. And it's a mostly arbitrary distinction. Eldon Lake is a mile long bay separated from the main body of the big lake by a sandbar and shallow water. Whether it's a bay, or a separate lake, depends on the water level.

Overview of the route. A campground (boat access only) is located on Tioga Point. Eldon Lake, and the sandbar that separates it from Raquette Lake, is visibly just below the line representing our route. The old growth stands discussed in this post are about half way between Lower Sargent Pond and Eldon Lake.

1909 USGS topographic map. Eldon Lake is named on the map despite the direct connection with Raquette Lake.

Grass Pond seen on the way to Lower Sargent. Shallow and non-descript, Grass Pond will be most interesting to birders. We spotted two Gray Jays and a large owl (most likely a Barred Owl)  

The trail to Lower Sargent Pond gets plenty of use but from Sargent Pond to Eldon Lake the trail has a wilderness feel. The route is marked as a snowmobile trail but there is a good foot path the entire way with just a couple wet areas that might be problematic when it's really wet.

Trail side on the walk to Lower Sargent Pond.

The route passes several attractive bodies of water but the main appeal is the forest itself. From the road to Lower Sargent Pond you walk through a maturing hardwood forest with large Yellow Birch dominating the canopy. That usually means that at some point in the past the area was lightly cut with only the softwoods being taken (Pine, Spruce and Fir were the first choice of early Adirondack loggers). Even so, given the overall maturity of the forest, this tract must have been added to the forest preserve early on.

The trail crosses the brook that drains the Sargent Ponds into Raquette Lake just before you reach the short spur trail to Lower Sargent. The outlet of Lower Sargent Pond joins this stream just beyond this point, and a fish dam blocks access for fish making their way upstream from Raquette Lake.

Lower Sargent Pond. The Sargent Ponds are known for good fishing and good swimming. You can reach the ponds from several different access points and there are two trailheads on North Point Road. One leads to Lower Sargent Pond and the other goes more directly to Upper Sargent. A loop hike with a 1.5 mile road walk between the trailheads is possible. We did that loop a couple years ago and that hike is described here.

The fish barrier dam at Lower Sargent Pond prevents undesirable fist species present in Raquette Lake from entering the pond. Lower Sargent Pond hosts a good trout fishery.

The walk to Lower Sargent makes for a great short hike, but it's the forest between Lower Sargent and Eldon Lake that is so spectacular. Leaving Lower Sargent the forest composition initially remains much the same; mature, second growth hardwoods. But after a mile or so the forest composition changes dramatically. The first thing I noticed was the presence of large Maples. I had not been seeing any of those. And then the old growth White Pine and Spruce appeared. 

The trekking pole I'm holding was set at 135 centimeters or 53 inches. Standard practice is to measure tree diameter 4 feet above the ground. I was holding the pole higher than that to make it more visible. The diameter of this Pine at four feet is about 50 inches.  

For half a mile the trail passes through what appears to be old growth; possibly never cut. There are dozens of White Pine that I place in the "wow, that's a really big tree" category. An informal measurement of one Pine near the trail found the diameter to be 50 inches (AVB) and numerous equally large specimens can be seen. Large hardwoods: Yellow Birch, Maple and Ash are mixed in and 18 inch diameter Red Spruce are also seen. That's big for the slow-growing Red Spruce but I didn't see any of the 24 inch diameter trees you might expect to find in undisturbed old growth. It may be that the large Spruce and Fir were cut from this area at some point or maybe conditions here are not as attractive for the pulpwood species. One thing I can say with certainty. This section of forest is distinctly different than what is commonly seen. You'll know it right away.

When we first saw Eldon Lake I thought it was Raquette Lake. Some maps show this water as an arm of Raguette and some show it as a separate water body.

Goodman Mountain and Sargent Ponds

There is no inherent connection between the two hikes discussed in this post. Other than both are close to Long Lake and Elle and I walked the trails on successive days in late April 2016.

Goodman Mountain

Goodman Mountain is a small mountain near the southern end of Tupper Lake. Approaching on Route 30 from Long Lake the trailhead is on the right a half mile before you reach the intersection with Route 421. Both the mountain and the trail are named to honor Andrew Goodman. In 1964 Goodman and fellow civil rights workers James Chaney and Michael Schwerner where murdered by members of the Klu Klux Klan while working in Mississippi to register African Americans to vote. Goodman's family had a camp nearby and he was known to have climbed to the top of this mountain to enjoy the great views. The USGS renamed the mountain in 2002 and the new trail was dedicated in 2014.

The route covers just 1.6 miles and about half that distance is on what used to be a paved road (the first half mile is handicapped accessible). From the point where the trail leaves the old road to the top it is generally easy walking with just a couple moderately steep stretches. The trail passes through a very attractive and rapidly maturing second growth forest and the views from the summit are outstanding. This is as nice a short hike as you'll find anywhere in the Adirondacks and it's a great family-friendly route.

Views to the south, southeast and southwest are unobstructed and by seeking out openings in the trees you can see east towards the high peaks and into the wild country west of Tupper Lake. Prominent in the foreground is the sharply contoured summit of Coney Mountain just a couple of miles away. We owe our visit to Goodman Mountain to the extreme popularity of the Coney Mountain trail. We had intended to make the short walk (.75 miles) to the top of Coney. But arriving at the trailhead we found the parking lot full with a half dozen additional cars parked along the road. Coney is a small mountain and that seemed like a bit much. Continuing on and considering our options the sign for the Goodman Mtn. trail soon appeared. Coney has unmatched views but the trail is overused and not particularly attractive. We'll take Goodman any day.

Looking south from Goodman Mountain. Coney Mountain in the foreground and Blue mountain in the distance. 

Sargent Ponds

We planned to hike the Sargent three, 

lower, middle, upper.

But one we'll see another day

or we will miss our supper.

Two trails reach the Sargent Ponds from the north (access from Northpoint Road; intersection with Rte 30 in Deerland south of Long Lake Village). The two trails are connected and the trailheads are separated by just a mile and half of lightly-used rural roadway. Combining the trails with a walk along the road makes for a very pleasant loop hike of just over seven miles.

The second trail (further west) covers 2.2 miles to Lower Sargent Pond. A 1.7 mile connecting trail then takes you to a short spur trail that leads to the shore of upper Sargent Pond. From the intersection the trail returns to the road at the more eastern of the two trailheads.

Sargent Pond Loop. Map image from Google Earth.

Much of the route passes through hardwood forests with the canopy provided almost exclusively by large Yellow Birch (many reaching 30 inches diameter). This species is common in hardwood stands throughout the Adirondacks but the absence of the Birch's close friend the Maple leads me to think that this area was selectively logged. In any case, it's a generally attractive route.

Lower Sargent Pond

Fungus never sleeps. That's something you should keep in mind.

Upper Sargent Pond

Elle and one of the large Yellow Birch that dominate the forests seen along much of the route. This tree has a diameter just  over 30 inches at four feet.