CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING

Adirondack Cross-Country Skiing

by Tony Goodwin

Leaving the lean-to for a ski on the trail to Avalanche Lake. Photo by Nancie Battaglia

When winter descends on the Adirondacks, the summer crowds of hikers quickly thin out. Those who continue to enjoy the trails and routes through the winter split into two seemingly very distinct groups: cross-country skiers and snowshoers.

Snowshoers tend to look for destinations with either views or peak-bagging significance. They often climb steep trails requiring the use of crampons, and many of the trips are indeed winter mountaineering experiences. Reaching a summit such as Gothics or Algonquin in the dead of winter is indeed a worthy adventure, but snowshoers tend to be following the same trails they hiked during the summer months.

Cross-country skiers, by contrast, are limited by the terrain they can easily traverse (we're not talking about the true hard-core in this article), and therefore seek out routes to attractive destinations that also provide pleasurable skiing along the way. As a result, skiers visit many areas that see far less traffic than the High Peaks; and given that 90 percent of the public land in the Adirondacks is outside of the High Peaks, skiers have many, many possibilities to choose from.

Below are condensed versions of three ski tours from Classic Adirondack Ski Tours published by the Adirondack Mountain Club. None of these trips requires the same degree of preparation as a major winter ascent; but skiers must still remember that they are going several miles from civilization at a time when temperatures are cold enough that forced inactivity due to an injury will result in rapid chilling of the body. Each group should have enough gear and clothing to keep an injured member warm for several hours while help arrives.

Leaders must also pay attention to the time of day and be aware that progress can often be very slow in heavy trail breaking. The extra time required for trail breaking is especially important on point to point or looped trips where it may be safer to return in a broken track even if well over halfway to the ultimate destination.

All three of these tours are simple out and back tours, but all could be extended to become loop or point to point trips.

RAQUETTE FALLS
Region: High Peaks
Distance: 9 miles (mi), round trip
Difficulty: Intermediate
USGS Map: Tupper Lake 7.5' by 15'

This justly popular trip reaches a spectacular destination with relatively little effort and only a few short stretches of difficult skiing. The start is at the end of Coreys Road, off of NY Route 3, 12.7 mi west of the traffic light in the center of Saranac Lake village, and 2.7 mi east of the junction of Routes 3 and 30 east of Tupper Lake. Coreys Rd. is plowed for 2.5 mi to the bridge over Stony Creek.

Cross the bridge (0 mi) and follow the road for 0.3 mi to a small parking area on the right with a trail register box. Past the register, rolling terrain and easy grades are the rule until a steeper grade leads up to a junction with a side trail to Hemlock Hill Lean-to at 2.4 mi. The trail then descends to a junction at Palmer Brook at 2.5 mi. (Trail straight ahead leads to Calkins Brook and Shattuck Clearing.)

Turning right, the trail to Raquette Falls crosses the brook and then climbs a bit before skirting to the north and east around a small summit – contrary to how the trail is shown on the metric map. After several small ups and downs, a longer climb leads to a crest at 4.1 mi and then a descent via a series of steep switchbacks (this will challenge your snowplow technique) to the signpost at the canoe carry at 4.5 mi. To reach the actual falls, continue up the canoe carry approximately 100 yards and then turn right on a vague trail leading approximately 0.3 mi to a falls at the head of a gorge where there are some south-facing rocks that make a perfect stopping point.

JOHN POND
Region: Central
Distance: 6.0 mi, round trip
Difficulty: Novice
USGS Map(s): Thirteenth Lake 7.5' by 15'

Combining an attractive destination with easy but not boring skiing, this trip has become quite popular in recent years. The start for John Pond is southeast of the village of Indian Lake. From the intersection of Routes 28 and 30 in Indian Lake, proceed south on Route 30 for 0.6 mi, and turn left on Big Brook Road for 3.3 mi to Starbuck Rd. Turn left for 0.4 mi and bear left at the entrance to Wilderness Lodge. Now on Lake View Drive, proceed 0.5 mi to a "T" intersection where one turns right 0.2 mi to the trailhead.

From the trailhead (0 mi) the trail is gently rolling for 0.9 mi to a fork where the John Pond Trail goes sharply left and continues to climb in generally easy stages. At 1.7 mi a side trail left leads to the burial ground of Peter Savary and Eliza Emilia King, two children who died of diphtheria. At 2.7 mi the John Pond Crossover Trail diverges to the right. (This very skiable trail leads to Puffer Pond and ultimately Thirteenth Lake.) Beyond this junction the trail rises in several easy pitches to reach the lean-to, located on an attractive point on the south side of John Pond at 3.0 mi.

CHUB LAKE
Region: West-Central
Distance: 6.0 mi, round trip
Difficulty: Intermediate
USGS Map: Eagle Bay 7.5' by 15'

Chub Lake ("Pond" on some signs) is but one of many attractive ponds in the Pigeon Lake Wilderness Area to which one can ski without having to share the trail with snowmobiles. (This is significant in that the nearby Safford Pond tour included in Classic Adirondack Ski Tours is now a major snowmobile thoroughfare and is no longer recommended for skiing.) This tour is one of many possible tours to pretty little ponds in the designated wilderness. It is recommended because it offers consistent skiing for its entire distance, and could almost be considered a novice tour as far as Constable Pond.

Starting from Route 28 in Eagle Bay, drive 3.8 mi on Big Moose Road, and then turn right on Higby Road for 1.3 mi. Park at the end of unplowed Judson Road, and follow it (no markers) for 0.2 mi, veering right where Judson Road turns left to cross Constable Creek. A few yards after this right-turn is a vehicle barrier and register. A side trail goes right to Queer Lake at 0.5 mi and 75 yards beyond this junction the ski route crosses Constable Creek. There is one short challenging hill before the trail meets a road at 0.9 mi, but otherwise the route as far as Constable Pond is doable by novices. Turning right on this road, the route re-crosses Constable Creek on a lumber bridge, turns left off the road, and soon reaches state land.

At 1.3 mi, a side trail to Mays Pond goes right. From here it is nice skiing on the trail, but even nicer along the edge of the wetland bordering Constable Creek. Constable Pond is first visible on the left at 2.2 mi and a short spur trail diverges left to Constable Pond at 2.5 mi. (For those who choose to ski on the pond, this side trail reaches the pond just as it begins to narrow at its north end.) Fifty yards beyond this spur trail the blue-marked trail comes to a junction with a yellow-marked trail leading right to Chub Lake. Turning right at the junction, the route climbs slightly, descends, and climbs again to a junction at 2.8 mi, from which it is 0.2 mi to some attractive rocks at the west end of the pond.

Tony Goodwin (tgoodwin@kvvi.net), a resident of Keene, is director of the Adirondack Trail Improvement Society and the Adirondack Ski Touring Council, which maintains the Jackrabbit Trail. Trail descriptions and page maps are excerpted from Classic Adirondack Ski Tours, by Tony Goodwin, published by the Adirondack Mountain Club. Used with permission of the publisher.

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