Environment DEC
From the October 2009 issue
Two Major Adirondack Trails See Substantial Improvements
The Siamese Pond Trail Improvement Society was recognized recently by DEC Region 5 Director Betsy Lowe for its assistance in constructing two bridges for hikers and skiers and other trail maintenance work in the Siamese Pond Wilderness. In addition, an eight-mile reroute of the Northville-Lake Placid Trail that moved it from Cedar River Road into the interior of the Blue Ridge Wilderness was recently completed under a contract with the Adirondack Mountain Club. The rerouted section has been constructed, marked, and is now open for public use.
Fruits of Cooperation
"Protecting the Adirondack Forest Preserve and maintaining high quality recreational facilities on these lands would be impossible without the assistance of volunteer groups like the Siamese Pond Trail Improvement Society," said Regional Director Lowe. "DEC acknowledges the great cooperative effort and hard work that these volunteers have provided. The bridges they helped build provide a practical and safe means for hikers and skiers to cross the East Branch of the Sacandaga River, are aesthetically pleasing, and fit well with the wilderness setting."
"The renowned Northville-Lake Placid Trail was originally constructed by the Adirondack Mountain Club, and now their staff have completed this major reroute," Lowe said. "The trail crosses through the heart of the Adirondack Park, and is located almost entirely within the Adirondack Forest Preserve. The relocation of this segment of the trail from Cedar River Road into the Blue Ridge Wilderness will allow the public to explore a wild vestige of the original Adirondack forest that few people have seen."
New Botheration Pond Trail Bridges
The Siamese Pond Trail Improvement Society helped DEC staff construct two bridges and maintain trails.
The Siamese Pond Trail Improvement Society is a group of very active, mainly retired, volunteers who assist DEC with projects in the northeastern portion of the Siamese Ponds Wilderness-a 114,010-acre wilderness that extends through portions of Hamilton and Warren counties. Under a DEC Adopt-a-Natural-Resource Stewardship Program agreement, the group worked with a DEC forester, forest ranger, assistant forest ranger and others to construct two bridges along the Botheration Pond Trail, a popular cross country ski trail. The group also performed needed maintenance on a number of trails in this area, including clearing blown down trees and installing water control devices.
The hard work provided by the group, their willingness to work closely with DEC staff, and their understanding of wilderness management principles resulted in great improvements to the Siamese Pond Wilderness during a time when the state faced financial hardships. The work would not have been completed in such a timely fashion without these efforts.
Over the past few years, many other recreational improvement projects have been completed by volunteers in accordance with the Siamese Pond Wilderness Unit Management Plan.
The construction of the new trails has created an eight-mile back country ski loop, an eight-mile hiking trail loop, and a ski/hiking trail connection between the community of North Creek and the Siamese Ponds Wilderness.
New Northville-Lake Placid Trail Route
The Northville-Lake Placid Trail reroute was completed by the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) professional trail crew under a contract with DEC. A small ceremony to commemorate the opening of the new trail section was held recently at Wakely Dam on the Cedar River and attended by DEC staff, ADK staff and members, Town of Indian Lake officials, and members of the public. The 132-mile Northville-Lake Placid Trail opened as a foot trail 85 years ago, after two years of construction by the Adirondack Mountain Club.
The eight-mile reroute of the Northville-Lake Placid Trail was constructed by a professional trail crew from the Adirondack Mountain Club.
Previously, the trail followed the Cedar River Road for 6.6 miles between Wakely Dam and the former McCane's Resort in the Town of Indian Lake, Hamilton County. The new trail section - eliminating all but 0.7 miles of road walking - has been located and constructed to pass through magnificent old growth forest, with impressive specimens of sugar maple, yellow birch, hemlock and red spruce.
DEC contracted with ADK for $62,000 to refine the trail route identified in the Blue Ridge Wilderness Unit Management Plan and construct the trail. The ADK professional trail crew worked for 10 weeks from late May through the middle of August. The trail is a model of how good trail layout and construction can protect the environment and minimize long-term maintenance costs. Only one foot bridge was required in the entire reroute.
Five segments of the Northville-Lake Placid trail are on roads open to motor vehicles. A major DEC goal in the development of management plans for forest preserve units is to relocate these segments off the road. This is the first of the road-to-trail projects to be implemented. The new route will bypass private lands formerly known as McCane's Resort. At the request of the present landowner, the section of the trail through his land will be permanently closed to public use.
The trail now leaves Cedar River road just north of Wakely Pond, about 0.7 miles north of Wakely Dam, and enters the Moose River Plains Wild Forest. It travels northwestward along an interior road known as Gould Road for about one mile. Then it proceeds northeastward about 6.6 miles through the Blue Ridge Wilderness to intersect the existing trail just south of Stephens Pond. Almost all of the 6.6-mile segment involved new trail construction done with hand tools.
The portion of the trail on Gould Road is temporary. A future phase will construct a new route through the woods south of Wakely Dam, if conditions are suitable. In addition, the trail will be routed up the Wakely Mountain Trail for about a mile, then northeastward along another arm of Gould Road to the section of new trail construction. Once all construction is complete, the road walk along this part of the Northville-Lake Placid Trail will be reduced to 0.3 miles.
The trail traverses a parcel of land formerly owned by Finch, Pruyn and Company and now owned by The Nature Conservancy (TNC). DEC is negotiating with TNC to add the parcel to the forest preserve.
More Information
See the complete press releases for more information and quotes from officials about both the Siamese Pond and Northville-Lake Placid trail projects.
