The Northville Lake Placid Trail (NLPT) is not a route for peak baggers. Unlike many other long distance hiking routes, the NLPT does not follow the spine of a mountain range. Instead, the NLPT crosses the adirondack dome via natural corridors provided by the many rivers and streams that define the landscape. Nearly the entire route stays below 2500 feet, with one prominent exception. The section south of Route 28N (east of Long Lake) crosses a steep ridge line at just over 3000 feet.
Walking south on the NLPT from the parking area on 28N, it's 3.5 miles to the ridgeline with 1300 feet of climbing. You ascend gradually for the first three miles and a good chunk of the elevation is gained in the last half mile. The trail then follows the ridgeline for half a mile before dropping off steeply to begin the descent towards Tirrell Pond and points south. I've hiked in this area many times but it's been years since I walked along the ridgeline in mid-summer. What a shame. The half-mile along the crest of the ridge is an uncommon delight.
Spruce, Fir and other common sub-alpine species mix-in, but the canopy along the ridgeline is dominated by Yellow Birch.
Three thousand feet is not high, even by modest Adirondack standards, but the forest community present on this ridge is uncommonly attractive. Above 2800 feet, on the northern side, the forest canopy is dominated by mature Yellow Birch with an understory consisting primarily of fern-filled meadows. This is not a named ecological assemblage (NYS Natural Heritage Project) and this elevation is considered to be the upper limit for Yellow Birch.
I spent two hours exploring the ridge line and simply sitting, relaxing, and enjoying the solitude.
Ecological communities are highly variable. There are the defining characteristics of a locale: climate, soil, moisture levels, elevation, slope, and so on, but these characteristics simply provide a baseline. The forests we see today have been shaped by disturbances: disease, fires, storms, droughts and logging. I suspect that the forest present on the ridgeline southeast of Long Lake emerged from an event that took place on November 25, 1950. If you know anything of recent Adirondack history that date should ring a bell. That's the date of the great Adirondack hurricane. What locals refer to simply as the 'blowdown'.
We tend to think of hurricanes as tropical storms but the storm that blew through the Adirondacks on that November day exhibited the same characteristics; heavy rain and intense cyclonic winds formed around a compact low pressure area. With recorded wind speeds of up to 100 miles per hour, this storm would been memorable under any circumstances, but the effects were greatly magnified by the wind direction. Any large tree growing in the Adirondacks has stood fast against many storms and, over time, the trees brace themselves against the prevailing northwesterly winds. The 1950 storm battered the forests from the south and, worst of all, the northeast. Those northeasterly winds hit trees growing on north facing slopes particularly hard and in some places 50 to 75% of the mature trees came down.
Yellow Birch dominate the canopy and ferns fill the understory.
White Pine and Spruce tended to be most vulnerable and on the other end of the spectrum Yellow Birch tends to hold up well against high winds. If you're unfamiliar with Yellow Birch you might be wondering how birch trees could be so tough. The White and Grey Birch so common in suburban yards are the first trees to come down in a storm. Well, we can't pick our relatives, and Yellow Birch is an entirely different sort of tree. Yellow Birch is long-lived and specimens of Yellow Birch are among the oldest and largest trees present in Adirondack forests today. The ridge line southeast of Long Lake was hard hit by the 1950 storm and the mature Yellow Birch present there today prospered in the aftermath of that storm.
The Adirondack forest is damp and mossy. A few degrees warmer, and with a few more inches of rain annually, and the Adirondacks would be a temperate rain forest. Maybe that's what it will become in the future.
If the ridge line is out of reach the first mile of this trail passes through a large Spruce bog of uncommon diversity and beauty. I've walked the boardwalks of this section dozens of times but I enjoy it every single time. The picture is of water flowing in Shaw Brook. Roughly a half mile from the trail head.
Ghost plant (Indian Pipe) is a heteromycotroph. These plants lack chlorophyll and derive energy from fungus in the soil.
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.
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.
Three things stand out about the East Stony Creek Trail to Wilcox lake:
This is one of the best hiking routes in the southern Adirondacks
East Stony Creek is noisy and beautiful
The intense green of the Adirondack forest in mid-June
At various points during the day the black flies also got my attention, but I'll forget that part soon enough.
East Stony Creek. This location is 1.5 miles from the parking area and from this spot to the bridge the trail is within sight (or sound) of the creek the entire way. On the day I was there the creek was running high following three weeks with substantial rainfall.
Just below the hiking bridge that provides access to Wilcox Lake.
This trail was previously marked for snowmobiles but blue markers have recently been added to designate the route for hikers. In the past there were parking complications at the trail head but a new parking area solves that problem. From the parking area hikers should continue along the road for four tenths of a mile and pick up the trail at the end of the road (where parking is now prohibited). The rest of the route is unchanged and the first quarter mile crosses private land with the permission of the land owner (so stay on the trail). The old trail to Tenant Creek Falls, which also crossed private land, is now closed. A new route to Tenant Creek Falls leaves directly from the new parking area.
From the new parking area it's 4.2 miles to suspension bridge over East Stony Creek. From that point it's one more mile to Wilcox Lake but you could choose to skip that part. The creek and forest you pass through along the way are well worth the walk. After crossing the bridge the mile of trail to Wilcox Lake is heavily eroded and Wilcox Lake itself has suffered from overuse in the past. That said, it's an attractive lake and I've been there twice and not seen a soul either time.
The newly built parking area is located on Hope Falls Road .4 miles from the end of the road (and the previously used parking). The trail to Tenant Creek Falls, which previously started at the end of the road, has been re-routed and leaves directly from the new parking area. That new trail is not shown on map above. You can see the new route here on the DEC website.
Green. Deep, intense green. In June the Adirondacks are a temperate jungle.
The East Stony Creek trail is within sight of the creek for much of the way and it is an exceptionally attractive path. The forest is mature second growth composed mostly of Hemlock with hardwoods mixed in. The high canopy, and open forest floor, provide a feeling of remoteness.
Green
Wilcox Lake from the point where the trail reaches the lake. A pair of loons were hanging out in the small bay to the left of where this was taken. A side trail leads to a nice lean-to on that side of the lake. To the right a path leads to the site of a new lean-to build in 2016 to replace the one that I visited the year before. The old one had stood for several years on the verge of collapse.
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.
