Snowshoeing & Cross Country Skiing

Fresh Trips from a New Guide

by Tony Goodwin

Snowshoers on the summit of Mount Jo. Photo by Carl Heilman II

While the mountains themselves are eternal, the way we use them for recreation has changed considerably in the 20 years since the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) published my first guide to cross country skiing. Titled Northern Adirondack Ski Tours, this guide contained 30 trips and complemented a similar book by Almy Coggeshall that described trips in the southern Adirondacks. Though we didn’t know it at the time, the early 80’s were the end of an extended period of mostly long and snowy winters. Many people had taken up cross country skiing during the previous 10-15 years, and the numbers were still growing. Because of the many winters with deep snow, the introduction included much advice on breaking trail and estimating how far one could travel in deep snow.

In 1994, with Almy’s book now out of print, ADK published a second guide, Classic Adirondack Ski Tours, which contained 50 trips throughout the park. In contrast to 1982, a string of poor winters had slowed the growth of cross country skiing. The introduction described those areas most likely to have snow and included trips that could be skied on minimal snow. Naturally, after putting such advice in print, the winter of 1993-94 turned out to be the longest, coldest, and snowiest winter (more so than this winter even) in many years; but winters since then have been at best “uneven” to say the least. Most notable has been the lack of any consistent snow outside of the mountains. Thus many people have lacked an opportunity to learn how to cross country ski at home and have turned to snowshoeing, which is now one of the fastest-growing sports, as a way to enjoy winter in the mountains without a lengthy learning period.

Responding to this change, ADK has published a wholly new guide to winter trails entitled Ski and Snowshoe Trails in the Adirondacks. Eleven of the 50 trips are recommended for snowshoeing rather than skiing, and all trips have a difficulty rating for both skiing and snowshoeing. Most of the snowshoe trips reach summits, and (with this winter’s weather especially) they are all skiable by those skiers whose technique has continued to improve since the publication of the last guide. Dealing with current realities, the new guide’s introduction contains advice on how skiers and snowshoers can best share the same trails.

Below are three of the descriptions new to this guide. To keep the total number of trips at 50, some previous trips were dropped. Some never proved to be truly “classic” and saw little use. Others were forest preserve snowmobile trails that were “improved” and became heavily traveled routes. The trip to Valcour Island was dropped because Lake Champlain hadn’t frozen over for several years, but guess what – just like with the 1994 publication, the lake has frozen this winter and Valcour Island is skiable again.

Grass Pond - Download Map (300k, PDF file)
Distance: 3.8 miles (mi) (6.1 kilometers (km)) round-trip
Difficulty: Ski, novice; snowshoe, beginner
Maps: ADK Northern Region; USGS St. Regis metric series

In the previous guide, Grass Pond was merely mentioned as an aside, but in the new guide this perfect easy introductory trip is fully described. The destination offers not only easy terrain and a scenic lean-to but also usually bountiful snow.

The start is at Mountain Pond at the end of a 0.2 mi access road off NY Route 30. Marked by a large DEC sign, this access road is 3.8 mi north of the junction of NY Route 86 in Paul Smiths, and 5.4 mi south of the junction of NY Route 458. From the parking area at the end of the plowed road, continue another 150 yards to the barrier gate and register. There are both horse and snowmobile markers on the trail, but snowmobiles are rarely encountered.

Following the truck trail north from the gate (0.0 mi), one crosses the Osgood River at 0.5 mi with the junction of the trail to Grass Pond just beyond. Turn right, and the trail to Grass Pond makes a short, moderate climb to the top of a high bank above the Osgood River.

From here it is mostly flat to the lean-to at Grassy Pond at 1.9 mi. One road leads left from the lean-to, down to the outlet, and on to a former lean-to site on the north shore. Another road going past the lean-to can be skied partway along the east shore, but soon becomes overgrown. The surface of the pond does not offer additional views, but it may offer some sun to make it a warmer lunch spot than the lean-to.

Hadley Mountain - Download Map (72k, PDF file)
Distance: 3.6 mi (5.8 km) round-trip
Elevation change: 1,525 feet (ft) (465 meters (m))
Summit elevation: 2,675 ft (815 m)
Difficulty: Snowshoe, novice; ski, intermediate-expert
Maps: ADK Southern Region; USGS Conklingville and Stony Creek 7.5’ sheets

This is a delightful trip to a bald summit with a great view and a restored fire tower that provides even more outstanding views. The trail is road-width most of the way to the top, so although the trip is recommended for snowshoes, it is possible to ski it with two or more feet of snow and soft surface conditions. In really icy conditions, crampons may be required for snowshoers, but the trail is never steep enough to be technically difficult even after a severe thaw-freeze cycle. An interpretive brochure to this trail is usually available in the register box, although not all features described are visible in winter.

To reach the start, take NY Route 9N to the center of Lake Luzerne. Turn west and cross the Hudson River to Hadley and then turn north on Stony Creek Road (Saratoga County Route 1) for 3.0 mi to Hadley Hill Road. Turn left (west) and proceed up Hadley Hill Road for 4.6 mi and turn right onto Tower Road for another 1.5 mi to the trailhead on the left.

Marked with red DEC disks, the trail immediately begins a moderate climb. The grade eases briefly at a stream crossing at 0.5 mi but soon resumes its steady climb past cliffs on the right that often have colorful, blue-green ice formations. The trail then steepens for the final few hundred yards to the top of the ridge at 1.0 mi. Swinging right at the top of the ridge, the trail is flat for a bit before resuming a moderate climb culminating in a climb between cliffs to a clearing in a col at 1.3 mi. Here the trail branches, although both branches lead to the summit. The left branch is a bit steeper and narrower, but offers more views, while the right branch remains mostly road-width, but in the trees, to the summit. Both trails reach the summit at 1.8 mi.

The most obvious feature in the summit view is Great Sacandaga Lake to the south and southwest, but to the northwest one can see Blue Mountain and Snowy Mountain while Crane Mountain is prominent due north. On a clear day, one can see Algonquin Peak just to the left of Crane Mountain and Mt. Haystack and much of the Great Range just to the right. Contrary to what is shown on the viewing map in the brochure, Mt. Marcy is just hidden behind the summit of Crane Mountain.

Black Mountain - Download Map (96k, PDF file)
Distance: 6.6 mi (10.6 km) loop; 5.0 mi (8.1 km) round-trip
Elevation change: 1,046 ft (337 m)
Summit elevation: 2,646 ft (854 m)
Difficulty: Snowshoe, intermediate (up and back), expert (complete loop); ski, expert (up and back only)
Maps: ADK Eastern Region; USGS Shelving Rock and Whitehall 7.5’ sheets

The complete loop as described below offers a variety of scenery and terrain, but the shorter up-and-back trip still offers the reward of some truly spectacular views of Lake George from the summit. The loop trip starts on easy terrain and passes or crosses several picturesque ponds before presenting the snowshoer with a steady, but never too steep climb that is a good test of one’s climbing technique. After a thaw-freeze cycle, instep crampons may be necessary for this final climb to the summit. The descent is an easy shuffle down an occasionally used snowmobile trail.

Snowshoer on the trail up Mount Jo. Photo by Carl Heilman II

For skiers, the snowmobile trail has some challenging pitches but is a feasible route up and back to the summit. The trail on the south side of the peak is definitely not ski terrain, although a round-trip as far as Black Mountain Pond makes for a pleasant 6.0 mi novice-intermediate tour. The start is off NY Route 22 between Ticonderoga and Whitehall. Turn west at the sign for Huletts Landing and go 2.7 mi to Pike Brook Road. Turn left for 0.8 mi to a parking area on the right.

From the register (0.0 mi) the red-marked trail follows an old road up a short moderate grade and then on easy terrain for 0.5 mi, a bypass around an old farmhouse and barn before reaching a junction at 1.0 mi. The trail to the right is the direct route to the summit and the return for those doing the loop. Turning left, and now with blue markers, the trail descends and crosses a brook on a bridge just below a beaver dam, after which a short moderate climb is followed by a gradual descent to the spur trail to Lapland Pond Lean-to at 1.9 mi. The lean-to sits on a picturesque point of rock on the north shore and is worth the side trip or can be a destination in itself.

Continuing past this junction with the spur trail, the route crosses the inlet to Lapland Pond and reaches a junction at 2.1 mi. Turning right here, the trail reaches Round Pond at 2.3 mi. Under most conditions, one can cross Round Pond on the ice and then follow the low, mostly open area that leads to Black Mountain Pond rather than following the trail that leads along the north side of the ponds. There is a great view of Black Mountain from the pond and this marks the end of the possible ski tour.

To continue toward Black Mountain, climb up to the right for a few yards at the west end of the pond to regain the trail, which reaches a junction with the Black Mountain Trail at 3.1 mi. Turning right here, one begins a moderate-to-steep climb with several switchbacks. Just past a rock wall on the right, the trail comes to the first of many lookouts at 3.3 mi. At 3.9 mi the grade begins to ease off with some open areas to the left. A short side trip here leads to the best views of the south end of Lake George. Continuing on and now mostly flat, the trail goes through several spruce thickets and reaches the summit at 4.1 mi. Just beyond the closed fire tower and communications equipment is a view of the north end of Lake George.

The return route starts by going down past the old observer’s cabin and then following a mix of red hiking trail and snowmobile disks down into the trees. Because most winter users seem to follow the marked snowmobile trail, the return is described accordingly.

From the observer’s cabin, both trails descend steeply for 0.2 mi. Here the red-marked hiking trail continues a steep descent while the snowmobile route traverses left across the face of the mountain to the north ridge. First dropping steeply off to the northwest for 100 yards, the grade moderates as the trail swings right and regains the crest of the ridge from which there are views of the lake. The snowmobile trail continues down several steep switchbacks with more moderate grades in between before reaching easier going and rejoining the hiking trail at just under one-mile from the summit. Now it is a mostly gradual downhill to the junction with the Lapland Pond Trail and the return to the start at 6.6 mi.

Tony Goodwin (tgoodwin@kvvi.net), a resident of Keene, is director of the Adirondack Trail Improvement Society and the Adirondack Ski Touring Council. Descriptions and maps excerpted from Ski and Snowshoe Trails in the Adirondacks (© 2003 Adirondack Mountain Club). Used with permission of the publisher

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