Canoeing & Kayaking

Wild Islands, Wild Shoreline

End of Season Paddling in the Whitney Wilderness

by Bill Ingersoll

Little Tupper Lake is a watery bridge into the wilderness. The northeastern end is anchored in the civilized world by a public parking lot, a ranger station and two private camps; but the far end remains the realm of the loon, the bald eagle and the native brook trout. There, tall pines tower above the rugged shoreline, and wild little islands rise out of the water in rocky and forested mounds.

Little Tupper Lake represents one of the most significant Adirondack Forest Preserve acquisitions in decades. It was formerly part of Whitney Park, and the state bought the 15,000 acres surrounding the lake from the Whitney family in 1998 to preserve the shoreline against development. Two years later, the Adirondack Park Agency designated the Whitney purchase and the adjacent lands around Lake Lila as the William C. Whitney Wilderness Area, thus mandating that these lands and waters be managed in their natural and motor-free state.

I have spent many enjoyable fall weekends paddling on Little Tupper and its close neighbor, Rock Pond. However, these waterways have their temperamental side, which every visitor ought to heed. It was Little Tupper Lake that taught me to respect the special hardships that come with paddling across big, open water – specifically, strong headwinds and sudden changes in weather.

Soon after the state first opened the lake to the public, I was there to explore this new canoe and kayak route. On my first trip down the length of the lake, two separate rain showers swept over my canoe – one in the morning, barely half an hour into my trip, and the second in the afternoon, after a valiant attempt on my part to out-paddle the storm clouds mounting all around me. My next trip a few weeks later was cut short when the lake’s infamous headwind and rolling whitecaps refused to permit my canoe more than a mile or two up the shoreline.

Therefore, I can personally attest to the lake’s inhospitable side – but fortunately that is not its only side. As a rule, canoeists and kayakers ought to plan on getting an early morning or an early evening start whenever traveling across the lake, before the headwind kicks in for the day or after it subsides. Strictly abiding by this rule will yield the most enjoyable experience. There are such things as windless days, when the lake remains calm from sunrise to sunset, but there are also days when the wind never gives up. Weather forecasts play a key role in planning any visit to Little Tupper Lake.

Camping in fall brings many pleasures simply not found on summer trips: cooler nights, crisp mornings, fewer people, no bugs, and more vibrant colors. If the mild weather persists into late October, as it sometimes does in the Adirondacks, I like to keep Little Tupper in mind as a place to bid farewell to the paddling season. The lake has a large loon population, which often remains well into October as black and white feathers fade into a solid gray. Bald eagles visit here, and if you do see any at this time of the year, they are likely to be migrants from the Canadian north. Bears, coyotes and moose all inhabit the woodlands.

How to get there
Finding Little Tupper Lake is not hard, as there are plenty of signs to point the way. Drive north from Long Lake on NY Route 30 for 7 miles to Sabattis Road, which is a left turn. Follow this paved road to the lake. Just after crossing a small bridge, there is an intersection where you should turn left again. A brown DEC sign marks the driveway for Little Tupper Headquarters, where you will find the ranger station and the canoe launch.

Setting off on the water, you will find the only manmade intrusions on the lake to be the ranger station itself and the two large camps on either side, Camp Francis and Camp on the Point. The north shore of the lake consists of a series of large, wide bays and rugged headlands. Look for Regan Point, where there was formerly a small camp built on pillars right on the shoreline. Red pine forests, rock bluffs and natural sand beaches distinguish much of this entire side of the lake.

The south shore is more typically Adirondack, with hemlocks and hardwoods growing at the water’s edge, and with more than its fair share of rocks. Here you will find the widest variety of islands, from those that are really nothing more than a tree-capped rock, to several that are large enough for camping.

The mouth of Rock Pond Outlet flows from the middle of a marsh at the far southwestern end of the lake. This 1.5-mile channel is a wonderful canoe or kayak route. There is a 100-yard carry around some rapids and an abandoned road, and the water levels immediately above this carry have been receding these last few years, but Rock Pond is just around the corner. Very few wilderness lakes compare with Rock Pond in size, remoteness and solitude. There are six campsites here, all in great condition.

There is a system of canoe carries linking Rock Pond with Lake Lila, using the gravel roads and old railroad beds to get from one pond to the next. However, the carries are not marked, and the distances between the ponds can be quite daunting. Such a carry is not a trip to be taken lightly!

Good advice
To protect these waterways and shoreline habitats, the Whitney ranger district asks that visitors heed the following guidelines:

--Carry a PFD (personal flotation device) for each person

--Do not cut any standing trees for firewood – portable stoves work best for cooking

--Camp only at designated sites, with no more than eight people

--All trout fishing in Little Tupper, Rock Pond and connecting waterways is catch-and-release only — only artificial lures are allowed (no live bait)

The nights are getting cooler, the leaves are golden and the loons still call through the night. What a great state to call home, with such sensuous splendor in our backyard!

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

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