An Adirondack Anniversary Tour

Posted On September 30, 2025

Fall Foliage, BBQ Chicken, Broken Bridges & an Ampersand SOS

My wife Robin & I celebrated our 35th wedding anniverary in our traditional way, with a day trip to take in the fall foliage in and around my heart’s home of Saranac Lake. Due to life circumstances beyond our control, we were a week later than usual this year, and thus missed out on peak foliage, but the colors along the Route 3 corridor were still nice.

Our day began with a stop at South Creek to check on the water levels. It must have rained a good bit there recently, because the water has come up at least two inches since our family’s camping trip into Middle Saranac at the beginning of the month.

From there we had thoughts of a mid morning hike into MIddle Saranac Lake, but the Ampersand Walk In parking lot was a zoo, so we decided to jettison that plan & head on into Saranac Lake, with hopes of trying it again on the back end of our trip.

We stopped by th Adirondack Rail Trail at Triangle Park, across the street from my boyhood home, and admired the Saranac River view from the trestle.

From there, we took a quick spin around Moody Pond. From the number of parked cars lining both sides of the road, as with Ampersand, it looked like the trail up Mount Baker was quite the zoo too!

With no particluar agenda in mind, we then decided to skirt around town via the McKenzie Pond Road & head over towards Lake Placid. Once there, we took a quick trip around Mirror Lake, admiring the array of million dollar waterfront homes we couldn’t even in our wildest dreams comprehend two simple north country kids like us ever affording.

So, seeing no prospects of acquiring a lakeside mansion anywhere in our future, we then headed out towards the Adirondack Loj Road & what was once my high peaks stomping rounds.

We drove up towards the NYSDEC access road to South Meadows with thoughts of possibly hiking up towards Marcy Dam via the old truck trail, but the South Meadows trailhead parking lot was filled with cars too. So we instead drove on up to Adirondack Loj, where we had a notion to eat lunch, but the Hungry Hiker snack shack there wasn’t open yet, so we replotted our route & headed back towards SL .

Since it was such a nice sunny day, at that point I decided it was time to flesh out my wife’s Saranac Lake resume by treating her to an outdoor lunch at Ray Brook’s Tail O’ the Pup.

Now, when I was a younger man, working at NYSDEC’s next door Meadowbrook campsite, many a late night caretaker’s cabin poker game was fueled by chicken wings from Tail O’ the Pup.

I told my wife, “You can’t legitimately claim Saranac Lake Bona fides without having eaten at least once at Tail O’ the Pup.”

Appropriately, Robin ordered the BBQ chicken basket. As I prepared to join her with a quick tube fed rocket fuel meal, much to my horror, she began eating her BBQ chicken by peeling away the skin!

“What are you doing? It’s BBQ Chicken. That’s where all the flavor is. The skin’s the best part!”

“I don’t do chicken skin.”

“You don’t do chicken skin!?! What do you mean, “I Don’t do chicken skin?!? Are you serious? I’ve never herad of such a thing!”

In my book that statement fell somewhere between nonsense & blasphemy. Some might even consider it grounds for divorce! However, taking into consideration my advancing age & diminishing prospects, I decided to overlook this transgression as my wife continued peeling back sauce slathered chicken skin the mere aroma of which made my mouth water.

Once we finished our skinless BBQ chicken Tail O’ the Pup lunch, we headed back though Saranac Lake and stopped by St. Bernard’s Cemetery to say hello to my dad.

As the final stop on our anniversary trip, we decided to make one more attempt at a hike into Middle Saranac lake via the Ampersand Walk In. This time we were in luck. There were actually several vacant spaces in the parking lot.

We encountered a few other hikers along the way, but for the most part, had the trail to ourselves.

As we made our final approach towards the old wooden stringers bridging the bog access to the lake, we encountered a jerry rigged bridge repair job that I don’t think even MacGuyver would have ever considered.

Someone had temporarily covered the bridge’s loose, rotting boards and holes with the doors from both outhouses! A trail bridge construct I at one and the same time somehow found both resourceful and somewhat perversely grostesque.

Robin & I somewhat gingerly navigated our way across this rather unique outhouse door flooring & continued on down to the lake, where the water level had also risen a bit since our last MIddle Saranac foray. I spotted this very cool perfectly split rock nestled in a driftwood tree root base. I’m not sure where the rock’s other half was.

Robin & I admired the view & snapped several photos.

Now, when I was a boy, the Ampersand Walk In Trail led to one of the best camping spots on Middle Saranac Lake, complete with a lean-to.

That’s no longer the case.

There’s no longer a lean-to there. It’s not even a NYSDEC authorized camping site.

The NYSDEC took the lean-to out in 1981. It sat right here:

My dad said he had it removed because it had become too much of a teen keg party spot, something I may or may not have had any direct knowledge of. I ain’t admittin’ to nuthin’.

All I know is that at least back then the outhouses had doors.

On our way back across what now must be dubbed “Outhouse Door Bridge”, Robin & I briefly lifted the doors & snapped photos of the bridge stringers’ dilapidated & deteriorating condition.

Now, I don’t have any imperical data to back this claim up, but the Ampersand Walk In has to be one of the most frequented trails, & this one of the most heavily travelled stringer bridges, in the entirety of the Adirondack Park. And, while this bridge has been in a state of increasing disrepair for as long as I can remember, I can’t for one moment imagine that trails repaired with outhouse doors is the image or impression the powers that be want to project to the public of “The Adirondack Experience”, the NYSDEC, or the Adirondack Park.

Not being someone who pinpoints problems without offering solutions, if the state of this bridge is a simple staffing issue, I’m available to lend a hand with repairs. With 30+ years managing The Monroe Wildlife Area’s network of bridges & trails, as well as 3 seasons of NYSDEC trail crew experience on my resume, as anyone who well knows me will affirm, even at 62, I’m a bona fide one man trail crew.

And if it’s not lack of staffing, but lack of funding for such projects that’s the problem, once the bridge is fully & finally restored & repaired…

Just send me the bill.

P.S. If anyone by chance ever does go in for repairs, I’d recommend they take along a selection of hardware, ’cause there’s two outhouse doors badly in need of some hinges.

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Until Our Trails Cross Again:

ADKO & Robin