Paddling & Hiking

Beyond Big Moose Lake

by Bill Ingersoll

Many prominent camps line most of Big Moose Lake’s shoreline. However, several of its farther reaches touch the pristine Pigeon Lake Wilderness Area, one of the wilder areas of the Adirondack Forest Preserve. There are four marked DEC trails starting from those secluded shorelines, reached only by water, allowing you to spend a day (or an entire weekend) canoeing or kayaking and hiking to remote lakes and lean-tos.

How To Get There
From NY Route 28 in Eagle Bay, follow Big Moose Road for 3.9 miles and turn right onto Higby Road. Follow that road for 1.5 miles to a fork, where a right turn will take you to a dock maintained by the Big Moose Lake Property Owners’ Association. There is room to park off to the right. This is the closest canoe put-in site for the trails across the lake.

Russian Lake
1.3 miles canoeing/kayaking, 0.8 mile on foot, 1 hour, relatively level

From the Property Owners’ dock off Higby Road, paddle out to the right and parallel the right, south shore, entering narrow East Bay. Near the end of the bay, on the north shore, a dock marks the beginning of the Russian Lake Trail, which follows blue DEC markers east along the edge of the bay before heading north to high ground.

The trail passes through one of the most spectacular forest stands in the Adirondacks: huge spruce and hemlock bordering the trail, and giant white pines of the proportion once sought for masts on sailing ships nearer the lake. After only twenty minutes on the short, easy trail, you reach a lean-to in an open area at the west end of Russian Lake. It is in good shape, but as with many lean-tos there are signs of inconsiderate tree cutting nearby. A path leads from the lean-to out onto the slabs of rock along the shore, where you can easily get into the water for a good swim, or to just relax and enjoy the view.

Andys Creek
2.6 miles canoeing/kayaking, 0.5 mile on foot, 1 1/4 hours, easy grades

If you paddle northeast from the Property Owners’ dock and cross the broad eastern end of Big Moose Lake, you will come to the grassy entrance of the inlet. This marshy bay extends northeast from the lake. The bay can be quite shallow, and it is best explored by canoe or kayak, although motors are allowed. The area is rich with wildlife. Its diversity supports a variety of birds, and animals such as deer, otters, and beavers depend on the bay and its shores for food and cover.

To find the trails to Andys Creek and the Sister Lakes, you must locate a channel in the vegetation at the east end of the inlet. Open water extends for a short distance to the right, but you should paddle toward the center of the pickerelweed and grasses where the channel emerges. A 0.3-mile paddle up the channel will take you to the trailhead, a wet little indent on the right side, marked by a sign.

The trail follows blue markers through a muddy section, and after five minutes, 0.2-mile, you will come to a junction where the trail to the Sister Lakes goes right. Your trail to the left passes beneath towering white pines, and it soon crosses Andys Creek on a sturdy bridge with a railing. The lean-to and privy are just ahead, and both are in good condition. They are situated in a spruce grove at the edge of the creek where it tumbles over large rock ledges. This scenic area is popular with sportsmen, and during hunting season the lean-to is sure to be occupied.

Lower Sister Lake
2.6 miles canoeing/kayaking, 3.3 miles on foot, 3 to 3 1/2 hours one-way, 200-foot vertical rise

This trail heads east-northeast from the junction on the Andys Creek trail. Its first part is flat and dry as it passes through a beautiful lowland forest. Such broad expanses of level terrain are rare in the Adirondacks.

This section ends in thirty-five minutes as you drop to cross a small bog on planks at 1.1 miles. The trail then passes between two large white pines and begins to climb steadily for twenty minutes. You reach the height-of-land at 1.8 miles, and a 0.5-mile descent follows, taking you down almost to the level of the meadows surrounding the outlet of Lower Sister Lake. The trail parallels the shore of the lake, but it is set back from the water, with few views. (The side trail shown on topographic maps leading directly to the outlet does not seem to exist.) You glimpse the lake through the trees, and you may want to leave the trail to photograph the outlet area, which is studded with bleached boulders.

After passing through a large blowdown area, you soon arrive at a second area of devastation directly behind the lean-to. It is amazing that the lean-to survived winds that toppled so many trees. Rock ledges in front of the shelter offer outstanding views of the lake, and they provide many places from which to swim, relax, or sunbathe.

Although there is no easy way to walk to it, the natural sand beach at the north end of Lower Sister Lake is well worth any effort to reach, so long as time and energy permits.

Gull Lakes
1.8 miles canoeing/kayaking, 1.2 miles on foot, 1 1/4 hours, 150-foot vertical rise

The landing for the trail to the two Gull Lakes is on the north edge of Big Moose Lake Inlet, where it widens out from the entrance channel. A WILDERNESS AREA sign hangs on a nearby tree. The trail is initially wet, but soon improves as it climbs through tall hardwoods away from the water.

You reach the outlet of the lower lake in twenty minutes, where the ravages of the 1995 microburst become apparent. Certainly, that storm’s most creative rearrangement of any Adirondack forest is found here, at Lower Gull Lake. Trail crews cleared the trail right through the blowdown, but it is still difficult to walk around the stumps and wind-thrown logs. The powerful winds swept trees from the top of a small cliff near the outlet and deposited them on the lakeshore. This awesome sight will be visible for decades.

After following along the southwest edge of the lake for a few minutes, you pass out of the blowdown, climb over a small rise, and then drop to cross a small stream. The southwest end of Upper Gull Lake is just ahead, and its lean-to is nestled in a small opening where you have a scenic view down these peaceful waters.

Bill Ingersoll (hikerbill30@msn.com) lives in Barneveld. He has joined Barbara McMartin in re-vising the Discover series and is co-author of several books. For more information, consult Discover the Central Adirondacks (Lake View Press).

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