A visit to Long Lake

I was greeted by a beautiful February day when I got to the trailhead at Rte 29A in Stratford. Fulton County. This is the very Southern edge of the Adirondacks, an area that draws me back again and again to enjoy it's quiet beauty. The trail to Third Lake and Long Lake passes along Burnt Vly (sometimes spelled Vlei) with a number of spots that offer views of the open marsh and beaver meadows. The trail has a few slight elevation changes, but is well maintained and easy to follow. It is nearly 4 miles to Third Lake. At about 2 1/2 miles you will pass Fourth Lake on the East just a bit off the trail. From Fourth Lake to where the trail turns East towards Third the woods opens up offering a very tranquil scenes as you pass through the area. Once you turn towards Third the trail becomes wet in spots, but nothing that a good pair of waterproof boots will not conquer. This first photo is the sky over Third Lake. For some reason the shots from this day were not well exposed, it could have been that the high temperature was only 15 degrees and the camera was not handling it well. Whatever the reason, they are still useful as records of my visit.

Just before you get to Third Lake there is a trailhead with a sign showing you the way towards Avery Place. About two miles down this trail will bring you to another trailhead that is the intersection of the trails from Good Luck Lake on the North and Stoner Lakes to the South. Third Lake is within sight at this point. As you follow the trail along the West side of Third Lake it is apparent that there is much less snowmobile activity coming from this direction on the trail toward Long and Spectacle Lakes. It is no more than a 1/2 mile until you get to an opening where the main trail bears to the right and the trail to Southern side of Long Lake begins going left. While it is easy to see the beginning of the trail, there are fallen trees across the trail that show it's disuse. The next photograph is of Long Lake, a long, narrow body of water that is becoming more of a marsh due to beaver activity. There are trails on both the north and south sides, going along it's very marshy shores. I followed the trail that takes you along the Southern shore.

On this trip I traveled as far as an active beaver dam, with a lodge nearby and I would assume occupied. This dam cuts across much of what was once the Eastern third of the lake. The photo above was taken from the far Eastern end of the lake. Across the lake you can see some unnamed hills that are just North of Ayers Lake. Be aware that the trails on either side of the lake are not well maintained, though there are still snowmobile trail markers in spots. It would also suspect that the area is very wet most of the year. After returning to the main trail, I traveled further towards Spectacle Lake and started down the trail that leads to the North shore of Long Lake. I did not travel very far on this trail before turning back due to very wet conditions that would have forced me to do a lot of bushwacking. I started heading back close to Noon and was back to my car by about 2:30, having traveled about 11 miles in 5 1/2 hrs. I will close with a photo of me from that day looking much like an Evil Snow Ewok......