1st Quarter 2020 NORTH WOODS NEWS THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH WOODS CHAPTER OF THE ADIRONDACK CLUB

From our Chapter Chairperson Director’s Report

The Executive Committee met prior to the by Kathy O’Kane, November 2019 Annual Meeting to discuss the North Woods Chapter Representative on the budget, the 2019 donations, and all four vacant Adirondack Mountain Club Board of Directors officer positions. It was recommended that the 2020 budget remain the same as the current year. Highlights of the Board of Directors Meeting on Our thoughts on the donations were to give to December 9th include: organizations that help expose youth to the • Strategic Plan - This was approved at the June outdoors and those who work on trail maintenance Board of Directors Meeting to be reported on in in all our catchment area; Tupper Lake, Saranac early 2020. My interview with the consultant is Lake and Lake Placid. With this in mind, a few scheduled for early January. If you have any organizations we donated to last year were thoughts about the Adirondack Mountain Club that removed from the list and then the other amounts you would like me to pass along please contact me could be increased a bit. When presented to the at [email protected]. membership at the Annual Meeting, both the 2020 budget and the donation recommendations were • High Peaks Strategic Planning Advisory Group - voted on and passed with little discussion. The Adirondack Mountain Club is represented on DEC’s new group to provide advice on sustainably The Executive Committee acted as the managing public use in the Adirondack High Peaks. Nominating Committee and was faced with all They will be meeting twice a month through June to four officer positions being vacant. People were complete a strategic plan for the high peaks approached about accepting the positions with no wilderness area. Summaries of meetings will be volunteers surfacing. I proposed that I would published on the DEC website. continue as Chairperson and Kathy O’Kane as Co- • 2019 Budget - While efforts have been made to Chairperson if I did not have the responsibility of generate additional revenue and closely monitor the monthly meetings and recruiting a program operating expenses in the 2019 fiscal year, the speaker. We will have one Annual Meeting in the budget will be out of balance at the end of 2019. To Fall. Under these conditions, Susan Omohundro resolve the imbalance the Board voted to approve a agreed to be Secretary and Elisabeth Craven will transfer of $185,000 of uncommitted funds from fill the Treasurer spot. please continue on page 2 please continue on page 2

CHAPTER OFFICERS and Secretary: Susan Omohundro Conservation: John Omohundro COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS Treasurer: Elisabeth Craven Membership: Elisabeth Craven Chairman: Gretchen Gedroiz Director - Kathy O’Kane Newsletter: Jim Edmonds Vice Chair: Kathy O’Kane Outings: Carol Edmonds Programs: Marilyn Gillespie 1st Quarter 2020

From our Chapter Chairperson -continued

After much discussion at the Annual Meeting, Marilyn Gillespie volunteered to continue the pot luck dinners with a speaker program as an Outing. These will not be monthly meetings with committee reports, etc. but will be a gathering of interested folks similar to any other Outing. Committee Reports will be in our quarterly newsletters for all to read. A special thank you to the Edmonds as the Outings Schedule and Newsletter become more important in keeping our Chapter viable. They spend many hours producing these documents that keep us all active and informed!

I’d also like to thank Lethe Lescinsky for her years of service as our Secretary and Peter Gillespie for his many many years as Treasurer. It can’t be done without people who volunteer.

I know change isn’t easy but this new approach seems to be a good alternative for everyone involved. Thank you to all who continue to volunteer in many other ways. This will be important to the North Woods Chapter as we head into a new decade. Happy Holidays to all!

Gretchen

Director’s Report - continued

• investments to fund operations through the remainder of the 2019 fiscal year

• 2020 Budget - The Board passed the following 2020 budget: Outings Schedule Corrections

$4,583,805 Operating Revenues * The 1st Quarter Outings Schedule, which North $4,568,481 Operating Expenses Woods members received on December 17th, contained two errors. * This includes in excess of $200,000 from undirected funds to offset proposed The January 27th, Wednesday, Cross Country expenses. Ski to Pine Pond is actually planned for January 27, Monday … since this year January 27th is, • Michael Barrett, the new ADK Executive in fact, a Monday. Director, spoke to implementing tighter internal controls to prevent over-spending while Similarly, the March 30, Friday, Snowshoe/Ski acknowledging the challenges of the 2020 - Bartlett Pond - McConley Rd Trail outing is budget. actually planned for March 27, Friday.

• Membership report for December continues to These, and any other corrections, changes or hold steady at 17,200 member households. additions to the Schedule, can be found on the North Woods Online Calendar which is The next Board meeting is on March 28, 2020. available to North Woods Members.

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Conservation Report

Senator Betty Little and Assembly representative Doug Jones have co-authored a bill in Albany to declare the Adirondacks a low salt area. State highways inside the Blue Line would be obliged to cut back on salt. We can hope that there will be movement on this bill before Senator Little leaves office in December next year.

ADKAction, a regional advocacy group based in Saranac Lake with whom our chapter has been cooperating, deserves some credit for the Little-Jones bill. I asked its acting director, Hannah Grail, how we could help. She urged us to request that town and village governments sign the “hold-the-salt pledge.” Except for the tri-towns, where we’re based, I’m not sure that’s the best role for us. I’ll find out which of the tri-town governments is still not on the pledge, and your conservation committee will discuss how to approach them.

Another useful role the chapter can play is convincing our neighbors (and chapter members?) to accept a low- salt policy. People have become used to driving fast in the winter. They’re going to have to adjust their habits. There probably will be more accidents because people will resist change. This is going to be a hard sell. “What do I get out of this except knowing that some homeowner in Gabriels gets less salt in his wells? Who cares about aquifers I can’t even see?” (Doesn’t this sound also like our global climate change problem?)

The chapter could help in a public education campaign. We need to say: Low salt means smart salt, not no salt. Roads will still be treated, but the timing, techniques, and machinery will all change. Driving for a half hour at 40 or 45 instead of 55 is only going to set one back about 7 to 11 minutes. I’m willing to write a commentary for the local papers on behalf of the chapter. The conservation committee will meet to work on this. Join us (send me your email address). - John Omohundro, Conservation Chairman [email protected]

The Intergalactic Solution to the Global Problem

There’s a comet, way too big to ignore, Comes out of nowhere, not heard of before, It’s aiming straight for the Sun. The Bard of Birch Street is an No point, you trying to run . . ., Adirondack curmudgeon who rarely Climate change won’t be a problem no more. speaks, but when he does, his every - The Bard of Birch Street, ever on the alert utterance is in the form of a limerick.

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The History Corner by the History Guy

Plenty of Horses, A Dynamite Shack, and Two Outhouses

This fall I spent some time hiking and bushwhacking in the Hays (or Hayes) Brook truck trail region, and fell down a rabbit hole. Figuratively speaking. I am often surprised by how much human history one can stumble over in “the wilds.” Here’s just one example.

Map of Hays Brook/Sheep Meadow/Grassy Pond area showing features described in this article.

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The History Corner - continued

Ginny and Ken West recall that everyone at Paul Smiths College referred to this area as "Lot 15," probably referring to its position within Great Tract I, the Franklin County portion of Macomb's purchase, so-named at the end of the 18th century.

Soon after passing the metal gate at the start of the truck trail, there's evidence of an old road off to the right. This provided access to a tent platform on the south shore of Osgood River. There's still sign of a shack on the south side of the road, known as the dynamite shack. If it really was for storing dynamite, were the charges used to break up log jams during river drives in the area?

The walk to Grassy (or Grass) Pond has a long history as a logging road. It split at the south end of the pond. The left fork crossed the pond's outlet where the beaver have built a dam. The original logging roads were enhanced in the twentieth century, perhaps as late as the 1970s. Now four massive girders remain of the bridge over this outlet. The right fork continued along the east side of the pond to a private hunting camp at the north end of the pond. A trail had been illegally cut on state land to provide access from the east.

Michael Kudish reports that the state has been buying land in this area since 1877. However, Peter Gillespie has a map showing that a square of land around Grassy Pond was still in Paul Smiths hands in 1985, a little island of private land amidst a sea of Forest Preserve. Paul Smiths built two lean-tos. One lean-to was on the west side, the other on the east side of the pond, on high banks with nice views (see map). For awhile thereafter the area was actively logged. One sign of that is the old landing just before the trail arrives at the current lean-to. The public was prohibited from the western lean-to but allowed to use the eastern lean-to. The state built the current lean-to when it bought the land.

Instead of turning from the Hays Brook trail onto the trail to Grassy Pond, continue straight, or north, on another logging road. Much Scots pine was planted by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Depression. Planting restored an area where clearcutting, disease, or a fire had leveled everything. This region frequently burned, due primarily to human activity. Surveyor Verplanck Colvin observed burning when he worked in the region. Michael Kudish reports that when McColloms was settled for farming in 1849 it was known as "The Burnt Land." After 1916 the white pine blister rust became another destroyer. A state tree nursery was established in Lake Clear in 1902 and crews were planting white pine, red pine, and Scots pine for years to regenerate the forest.

Where a small creek cuts under the Hays Brook road, a herd path to the east brought me quickly to the ruins of an old tent platform. The permit sign amidst the ruins indicates who had leased the use of that platform from the state (see photo). All the platforms came out of Forest Preserve after legislation in 1975. Permit-holder #1096 didn't clean up his site very well, as evidenced by the kitchen sink.

Back on the road, we cross Hays Brook at a foot bridge after which the road peters out, even on the maps. That's untracked woods and swamp, so perhaps it never was developed.

Should one turn left, or west, near the trail junction to Grassy Pond, following the route the chapter sometimes takes to Sheep’s Meadow, one walks a new (perhaps 1980s) trail. The older trail to the meadow leaves the Hays Brook trail about a half-mile further north. That was an old snowmobile trail, and a few markers can still be seen. Where the trail crosses Hays Brook, I found another outhouse, which probably accompanied a brookside

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The History Corner - continued tent platform that I didn’t find.

The trail today terminates at Sheep Meadow. There’s no historical record that anyone tended sheep there. Grass may have grown there once, but it’s all ferns, blueberries, and moss now.

Peter Gillespie’s photo shows all that remains of a tent platform site off the Hays Brook horse trail.

The first USGS map for the Hays Brook area was surveyed in 1902. That map shows a wagon road east from McColloms, the tiny settlement directly to the west of Sheep Meadow on Route 30. McColloms has been farmed since the Rices settled there in 1819. Amiel McCollom farmed from 1849. He and his neighbors supplied the summer resort hotel in McColloms.

The road from McCollom's farm crossed the south end of the meadow and continued southeast to near where Dan Brook joins Hays Brook. (See map). How could the road from McColloms cross over the Osgood River? If one were to explore that area by boat, one might find the ruins of bridge abutments.

The horse barn at Sheep Meadow is related to the riding business once run out of McColloms. Farmers there offered tourists trips on horseback and on sleighs along these woods roads and across the highway, into the woods off Slush Pond Road. A few horse trail markers are still on trees on the Slush Pond trails. We saw fresh droppings this fall, so equestrians are still using the roads.

North from the lean-tos at Sheep Meadow was an old snowmobile trail. It can be followed to the saddle beside Star Mountain and then it fades away. Trail markers are still visible along it. Ginny and Ken West remember

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The History Corner - continued skiing this once, all the way to Meacham Lake.

As I left the meadow lean-tos and headed south along the trail, I discovered a pretty good trail entering on my right. I followed it west awhile. It had clearly been cared for, because some blowdown had been chainsawed. Was it an old snowmobile trail? Who uses it now? It's worth exploring further.

My adventures at Hays Brook remind me that people resided, logged, farmed, and traveled (and burnt) all over this countryside. While Nature is constantly obliterating their work, traces remain— if you keep an eye peeled.

- The History Guy

Interesting Websites

Each issue we will try to suggest a few websites which might be of interest to our members. If you have one you would like to recommnd, please send it to [email protected] . A Safety Note for Winter Hikers from the Outings Committee Champlain Area Trail System The Champlain Area Trail System, or “CATS Trails” is a resource When making your plans, please keep in mind that that our Chapter makes frequent use of. You can winter hikes often take far longer than summer learn all about it here: champlainareatrails.com ones. Good conditions at the trailhead are not a good indicator of conditions for the whole trail. It The Adirondack Almanack The Adirondack is not unusual to encounter bare ground, ice and Almanack website is the online news journal of deep snow all on the same trail. Be prepared for it Adirondack Explorer. Both are nonprofits devoted all. Give yourself plenty of time. Do not join a to exploring, protrecting and unifying the group if you have an early appointment in the . Contributors include veteran afternoon. It is never wise to hike alone, but it is local writers, historians, naturalists and outdoor especially dangerous to turn around early and hike enthusiasts from around the Adirondack region. back to your car alone in the winter. The This websitye is (so far) 832 webpages of are fantastically beautiful this time of year, but we interesting information about our area. must be aware of their challenges. Find it here: adirondackalmanack.com

SAVE THE DATE SEPTEMBER 18-20, 2020

The ADK Fall Outing Weekend will be held in the Old Forge/Inlet Area and hosted by the Onondaga Chapter. Look for complete information in our 3rd Quarter Newsletter.

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TRIP REPORTS .... written by the Leaders of last quarter’s Chapter Outings

October 4, Hike Rattlesnake Mountain - Leaders: Caper and Will Tissot Seven of us set out on a rainy morning to hike Rattlesnake Mountain, located just east of Willsboro NY, about an hour-and-a-quarter’s drive from Saranac Lake. We began on an old flat logging road, which eventually rose to become a rocky, somewhat steep trail. Happily, though, there are paths around the more difficult parts of this climb. It is a short climb: the entire round-trip is 3.2 miles in length. As we hiked, the sun broke through in places, and by the time we reached the top, it had stopped raining and we were rewarded with a spectacular view of Lake Champlain and Vermont’s Green Mountains. We picnicked on a large cliff directly above the lake before descending. While the High Peaks region behind us was in full fall color, the trees in below us and in Vermont were all still green. A short hike, but well worth the drive.

October 8, Hike Wolf Pond - Leader: Denise Erwin The hike into Wolf Pond was a smorgasbord for the senses. As soon as we hit the trail, we noticed how fast the water in Wolf Pond Brook, swollen by the recent rain, was running, and how its sound echoed through the woods. The scent of balsam permeated the air the entire 4.6 miles that we walked. The colors were vibrant, the green moss was so green, the mushrooms, fungi, and leaves were highlighted by the deep blue sky, and the sight of Wolf Pond and the nearby High Peaks topped it all off. This is one of the finest hikes in the Adirondacks. The trailhead to Wolf Pond is situated 12 miles west of Exit 29 of the Northway, on the Blue Ridge Road, immediately before the road crosses the Boreas River.

October 9, Wednesday Walk and Lunch: Heaven Hill - Leader: Kathy O’Kane It was a crisp fall morning as we headed out on the trails of Heaven Hill. (The Heaven Hill trail system, which is owned and maintained by the Uihlein Foundation, is a community preserve located near the Village of Lake Placid.) There were nine of us, and several had never been on the Heaven Hill trails, so it was a new experience for some. A walk through the woods on the Bear Cub Loop trail was then supplemented with a circumambulation of the Big Field Loop trail. The trails are short, generally flat, and well signed. In keeping with the time of year the ground was covered with leaves and the foliage color had turned to the yellow-brown stage, but it was still beautiful. After our walk of about an hour we adjourned for lunch at The Big Slide.

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October 15, Wednesday Walk and Lunch: Cobble Lookout - Leader: Kathy O’Kane We moved this Wednesday outing up to Tuesday owing to the (mostly accurate) weather forecast. There are not enough superlatives to describe our Cobble Ledge walk. Although it was a bit frosty and windy when we started out on the 1.3-mile walk to Cobble Ledge, it warmed up nicely, and with the proper clothing the wind was no bother. We enjoyed the walk through the woods, with the leaves gathering on the trail and falling from the trees. The view towards the Champlain Valley offered more vibrant color than we had expected. We followed our walk up with lunch at The Cottage in Lake Placid.

October 19, Hike Horseshoe Lake to Hitchins Pond Leaders: Susan and John Omohundro A blue sky lit up the excellent fall colors in the trees. Our trip had an historical theme: industrialist A. A. Low bought up thousands of acres here in the 1880s and began a highly diversified operation involving lumber, maple sugar, berry preserves, hydropower, and bottled spring water. All of it was shipped by train down to City—except the hydropower, which was offered to Tupper Lake in addition to being used by Low to run his operations. The road we walked was the bed of his railroad to the operations at Hitchins Pond. We noticed several spurs branching off. But the search for his marble-floored maple syrup factory failed in the heavy underbrush and leaf litter. And no trace remains of his pet cemetery on the shore— snapping turtles nest there now. We did, however, discover a water pump-house high on the hill over his three guest houses and three-storey staff house.

October 21, Paddle Massawepie Lake Leader: Gretchen Gedroiz What a perfect paddle so late in the season! There were seven of us, and we were feeling very lucky to be out on very flat water on Massawepie Lake in the sunshine. We paddled the perimeter of the lake, listening to loons calling back and forth to one another in the distance. There was a number of mergansers standing on a log as we passed by: who knew they have bright orange feet? We were surprised by a very big eagle we must have flushed from a shoreline tree, who flew over us. We stopped at our usual campsite for lunch, and lingered in the sun. There was a bonus treat yet to come: as we paddled to the take-out, there were two eagles sitting in an old dead tree, probably having as great a day as we were We were all thankful to be taking advantage of living in the Adirondacks.

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October 23, Wednesday Walk and Lunch: Osgood Pond - Leader: Kathy O’Kane I was worried that after a night of rain and wind, the walk at Osgood/Church Ponds would be ruined by the rosy forecast . . . But the forecasters were in fact correct, and the morning cleared, it was sunny, and we had no wind. The temperatures were in the high 40s, but with sun and no wind the morning was beautiful. We wandered on the Red and Yellow Dot trails at Osgood and Church Ponds for about 2.5 miles all told. The trails were covered with pine needles and wet leaves, and the woods were still. The seven of us walked and chatted, with never enough up or down to require us to catch our breath. We finished the morning with lunch at the Pack Basket in Gabriels.

October 30, Wednesday Walk and Lunch: the Paul Smith’s VIC - Leader: Kathy O’Kane What a surprise this morning when we arrived at the VIC for our walk on the Blue Heron Marsh Trail: it was closed—the VIC was closed!! All the trails were closed due to logging activity. It never occurred to me to call ahead and make sure the VIC would be open. After a bit of last-minute figuring, and taking into account our participants, we decided to do the Red Dot/Yellow Dot trails at Osgood Pond again. We had just done this walk the week before, but it is surprising how much a location can change from week to week. Despite the dullness of the day and the fact that now the leaves on the ground were all brown, it was a pleasant walk with good company. Our merry band was reduced to three of us for lunch, as others in the group had commitments elsewhere, but the food at the Lake Clear Airport was excellent.

November 6, Hike Split Rock Mountain - Leader: Elisabeth Craven We had a beautiful day, with temperatures in the low 40s and blue skies, the best day of the week. So we lucked out. Six of us participated. We did not go via the Calamity trail. When we arrived at the trailhead, hunters told us that the wet area had been totally flooded following the Halloween storm, so instead we took the Barn Rock trail. There were some blow-downs, but it was in good condition overall. We had lunch in the sun, relishing a wonderful view of Vermont and the Lake.

November 15, Ski: “Where do the tracks go?” Leader: Gretchen Gedroiz I had skied the railroad bed from Route 30 in Rainbow Lake past the lake out into the bog headed to Onchiota and back when my mother lived in that area. I thought it would be interesting to walk it in the late Fall. As it happened, the outing took a couple of surprising turns. As you will have realized from the date of this outing, the “walk” wasn’t a walk at all, but instead a ski. The other surprise came that morning, when I tried to figure out why my windows overlooking my deck were wet. It was raining, despite my constant checking of the weather forecast, a prediction that said

Page 10 1st Quarter 2020 there would be snow showers in the afternoon. Typical of our Chapter members, everyone was game to head out anyway, hoping that it wouldn’t be raining where we were going. And indeed it was a very light rain freezing in the tracks Pati and I had made the day before, which just made it a faster ski. We skied out for an hour, passing the lake on our left and going through some beautiful rust-colored bogs—until one of our skiers said “how long do we have to do this?” I knew then that I had lost the crowd. So, we turned around and headed back. We all voted for lunch at the Packbasket, where we discussed an alternative to the route we had taken, to start farther out and ski through Onchiota. I’d lost them that day, but had them hooked for a future outing. Where do those tracks go?

November 18, Hike the Whiteface Waterfall and Flume Trails - Leader: Carol Edmonds I had scouted out this hike last summer. At that time the trail was obvious, and there was even a conspicuous sign directing hikers to the trail. However, now that it’s winter (and the ski season is getting underway), the sign is gone. We found the trail anyway, but we were the first ones there since the recent snow, and were soon breaking trail. In just a few minutes we found ourselves “misplaced,” and had to scramble down a steep hill to get back to the real trail. From there it was a short, relatively steep walk next to Stag Brook, past numerous waterfalls and cascades. At this point they were covered with ice curtains with water flowing under, over, and around them. Some of us ventured near the bottom of the biggest waterfall, but we all got good views of it. At the end we crossed the brook on a bridge and followed what seemed to be a trail down the other side. However, it soon led to a stream crossing that was too sketchy in the icy conditions, and we made our way out by walking down a ski trail. After this adventure we headed down the road to the Flume trails. From the parking lot there are numerous choices for hiking on both easy and hard trails. We chose an easy loop that kept us close to nice views of the Ausable River. We ended the hike by crossing a very large beaver dam while managing to stay dry. This area has many opportunities for interesting hiking. We also felt that Stag Brook would be great place to visit during Spring run-off.

November 20, Mystery Hike - Leaders: Susan and John Omohundro Ten of us congregated at the RR crossing at the east end of Saranac Lake. The rest is secret. Oh, all right, we'll say a little more: we walked through a lovely red pine plantation to the shores of Lake Oseetah, our senses open to perceive what we might. One thing we saw: little spider web strands hung down from the trailside hemlock branches, on which snow crystals had collected like pearls on a string. We saw a scattering of magnificent white pines. There were also animal tracks and human tracks to observe. We repaired to McKenzie Grill for lunch and commiseration about human frailty.

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December 17, Hike Copperas Pond - Leader: Carol Edmonds. It was snowing, but that did not deter ten hardy souls from heading up to the Copperas Pond lean-to. The trail was covered in a couple of inches of snow, with an undercoating of ice lurking beneath. We all had ice traction devices of some kind with us, so this was not a problem. Unfortunately though, the trail is rocky, and the snow hid the rocks and roots. As the leader I felt it was my duty to demonstrate the danger this posed by falling several times. We were all interested in a leisurely hike as an antidote to the hectic holiday season. We stopped to admire the huge glacial erratic with a tree growing on top, Owens Pond, the big beaver pond and dam, and the Copperas Pond campsite. Finally arriving at the lean-to, we quickly got a fire going. Some of us cooked hot dogs and sausages while others munched on sandwiches. We topped the meal off with roasted marshmallows. Although the trail has little net elevation gain, there are quite a few ups and downs, and there was some muttering that it was not as flat as advertised. Nevertheless, we all made it back to the cars safe and sound. It was a great day in the woods.

December 20, Cross-country Ski, Conley Road Pond Trail - Leader: Gretchen Gedroiz The temperature was -13 when we got up that morning, but 6 of us were brave enough nevertheless to head out, knowing as we did that the snow conditions would be perfect after a couple of days of snow flurries. The trail had been broken for us, and we had a nice kick ‘n glide through the beautiful snow-covered trees with that deep blue winter sky and bright sunshine. We kept moving and stayed warm with the promise of a nice lunch at the CAVU café at the airport. We all agreed it was well worth it!

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