The Sacandaga Lake Outdoors - By Doug Allen

Spring Snowshoeing - Full Article March 26th, 2008 As winter is loosening its grip on the Southern Adirondacks, people are beginning to think about getting outside and enjoying its natural beauty. Although the snow in the lowlands is quickly melting, it will remain in the mountains for several weeks. Even though the mountains are still snowbound, opportunities for outdoor activities abound. This is one of the best times of the year to snowshoe. Deep, packable snow still remains on many of the trails at higher elevations. Those that were traveled by snowmobiles provide the added advantage of having already been packed and make travel that much easier. The warmer temperatures of early spring make conditions ideal for outdoor strenuous activity like snowshoeing. That doesn’t mean conditions won’t be winter-like. The higher elevations can bring snow where rain is predicted in the valleys. In addition, early morning and late evening temperatures can be frigid. This makes preparation a must. Dress in light-weight, breathable layers that can easily be removed. Avoid cotton at all costs. Even on a cold day, strenuous activity will lead to sweat and cotton does not breathe well enough to keep you dry. Lightweight, insulated boots are a plus. Waterproof boots are even better. Wear wool socks. They will keep you warm even if your feet get soaked. There are a number of trails that range from easy to difficult for snowshoeing. Many of them connect to other trails or have access points on either end. Here are just three of the many snowshoeing options: Wilcox Lake Trail along East Stony Creek—This is one of my favorite places to go in the southern Adirondacks. The easiest way to access the trailhead is to take Hope Falls Rd just north of the village of Northville. This road can be accessed by taking a right from Route 30 onto Old Northville road about .4 miles north of the bridge crossing the Sacandaga River. Hope Falls is about 1.5 miles on the left. The road normally dead-ends at the Wilcox Lake and Tenant Falls trailhead. However, in the winter, the road ends where the pavement ends. You will have to snowshoe approximately .5 miles to reach the trailhead. This extra .5 miles is no trouble at all, since the road simply parallels East Stony Creek until it reaches the trailhead. In fact, the whole hike will permit you to go as long as time allows. There are no steep hills, as the trail follows East Stony Creek all the way to its other end on Harrisburg Lake Rd in the town of Stony Creek (about 6 miles). This trail, although easy to negotiate and running through some beautiful forest land, is relatively untravelled. In fact, most people come to this area to visit Tenant Falls, which is a short hike to a beautiful set of waterfalls. You will likely see numerous animal tracks in the snow and are likely to see white-tailed deer and snowshoe hares. The alders that line wet areas near the creek are home to many bird species, even in winter. There is even an outside chance of spotting a moose. I have observed moose tracks and saw a cow moose crossing the creek during the late fall. You will need to keep in mind creek level before you choose to go. When the snow begins to melt or heavy rains fall, the creek swells and ice jams can cause the creek to jump its banks and overrun some parts of the trail or the road. To be safe, you should avoid this area during this time. Cod Pond Trail—I did this hike on Martin Luther King Junior Day of this year. Although I did not have snowshoes, I wished that I did by the time I was done. The trail can be accessed along the south side of Route 8 as you head east from the town of Wells (about 9 miles). The first two trailheads on your right mention Cod Pond, but it’s the third one you will want to take, unless you’re up for a much longer hike. The first tenth of a mile is relatively steep, but usually easy walking, since the trail is shared with snowmobiles. The trail then splits, with the snowmobile trail veering left and the Cod Pond trail veering left. Although I am sure snowmobilers use the Cod Pond trail, it was not used that day. It would have helped me greatly to have snowshoes. The first .2 miles is a very difficult uphill climb. This was made more difficult by the fact that I was dragging a sled that contained my ice fishing gear (Cod Pond can be fished in the winter, since it contains pickerel and panfish). After this difficult climb, the remaining trail to the pond is much easier. It passes through rolling hills, none of which are difficult to negotiate, especially with snowshoes. The total distance from the trailhead to Cod Pond is about 1.3 miles. It is a nice walk through mature forest land. The outlet of Cod Pond is a very beautiful area. If you are going on the pond be wary of thin ice. Cod Pond is relatively shallow and has an inlet and outlet stream. This means that when snow melts and spring rains fall, the ice will thaw quickly. It is a good idea to stay away from inlets and outlets as well as any areas of ice that just don’t look right. Although I have yet to travel it, another option is to veer left on the often-used snowmobile trail instead of going toward Cod Pond. This is called the Oregon Trail and connects to the Bartman Trail , Arrow Trail, and Lixard Pond trails. This is a system of trails that could provide miles and miles of hiking or snowshoeing. Consult a guide book like “Guide to Adirondack Trails: Southern Region,” which is put out by the Adirondack Mountain Club for more information about these other trails. These books also provide detailed maps. Spectacle Lake Trail via Good Luck Lake Trail—A friend and I snow-shoed this trail on one of the worst days possible. The weather report was calling for 30 mph winds and snow squalls with white-out conditions. Our objective was to fish Spectacle Lake. Again, we dragged a sled full of ice fishing equipment, which made the trip very strenuous. Without dragging a sled, this trail is easy to maneuver but still a good workout. Despite its moderate distance, it is easily the hardest of the three trips mentioned here. The following is a description of how to reach the trailhead as mentioned in the “Guide to Adirondack Trails: Southern Region”: “The trail begins opposite the parking turnout on NY 10, which is located on the R (E) immediately after the second bridge over the West Branch of the Sacandaga River. It is well marked with brown and yellow DEC signboards that indicate trails to Spectacle, Dry and Dexter lakes as well as Good Luck Lake.” Despite the severe weather out in the open, the trail was surprisingly tranquil. Within the forest, we could not even tell the wind was blowing. There was an eerie quietness due to the new-fallen snow covering all the tree branches. We encountered several steep hills, which made dragging a sled difficult. We reached Good Luck Lake after 1.3 miles (about halfway). As we left Good Luck Lake, we encountered the most grueling part of our trip—a .5 mile climb. We reached Spectacle Lake after 2.6 miles and discovered that the wind was indeed blowing as hard as they predicted. As we left the forest and began traversing the lake, we were in white-out conditions. A large island that was straight in front of us soon disappeared in the snow and wind. An hour later, the sun was out, but the wind was still blowing. We didn’t stay to fish for long, but both agreed the lake was worth another visit on a better day. The trek with our sled was made much easier on the way back, due to fresh snowmobile tracks on the trail near Good Luck Lake. When we reached Good Luck Lake on our way out, we noticed fresh ski tracks that had followed our original trail and then went out on the lake. Had it been a better day, we may have tried this lake as well. The sunshine on the way back had certainly lifted our spirits. However, with about a half mile left to go, the clouds moved in again. By the time we reached a point in the trail where we could see the road, it began to snow—heavily. By the time we reached the road, which had been freshly-plowed, it was again covered in snow. We had to sit in my truck for several minutes waiting for the squall to pass, just so we could see out the windows and make the turn onto Route 10 to head home. This is a testament to how quickly the weather can change in the Adirondacks. This is why it is so important to dress appropriately and to be prepared for anything.