Leaf Covered Trails
Celebrating Fall’s Season
Musings, Memories, & a Hike
Framed in a Poem
I took a walk today
Down a leaf covered trail
Fall’s carpet of yesterdays
October’s confetti hail
I took a walk today
Down a leaf covered trail
Reminiscing crunched leaf memories
In full fallen foliage detail
I took a walk today
Down a leaf covered trail
Daydreaming tomorrows
Where renewed hopes prevail
**********
As September faded to October, my wife Robin & I made a weekend road trip up Route 3 towards my Saranac Lake hometown.
We decided to walk the Ampersand Trail into Middle Saranac Lake to admire fall’s colors on Sunday, the 1st of October.
Complete with Added Instructions
This graffiti enhanced Ampersand parking lot sign always cracks me up,
(Especially the “Your Welcome!”).
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve encountered misplaced hikers on Ampersand’s walk-in trail to Middle Saranac. Usually sweat drenched, flip flop or croc shod, sucking the last drops from a water bottle, clearly already near-gassed, asking with some anxiety in foreign accented voice,
“How far to the summit?”
“The summit? You mean of Ampersand Mountain? Well, my friend, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s now a bit further than it was when you started. If you keep heading down this trail, you’ll end up at the lake. I’m afraid the trail you are looking for is on the other side of the highway.”
The look on their faces upon receiving this news cracks me up, every time.
Robin & I hiked on down the trail to Middle Saranac Lake.
Croc free, without breaking a sweat, intentionally.
It’s hard to believe now, but once upon a time, my high school buddies & I routinely hunted small game all along this trail.
I can’t even begin to imagine the ruckus we’d cause if we tried doing that now.
Once Robin & I reached the lake, the shoreline views were spectacular.
When I was a boy, there was a Middle Lake lean-to just off the trail at this site.
Our family camped there quite often. It was a great place for a family with two young boys to camp. Dad could walk in on the trail and drive to work during the week. The water there is shallow, so Mom didn’t have to worry, leaving my younger brother and I free to go exploring, fishing or swimming.
All that’s left is the base of what was at one time the fireplace.
However, the lean-to was removed in the early 1980’s, shortly after I graduated from high school. Apparently, as the walk-in trail’s traffic grew heavier, it had become a favorite local lakeside teen keg party hang out spot.
(I, of course, have no direct knowledge of that.)
So, the DEC took the lean-to out.
It is no longer even a designated camping site.
While I have many fond memories of camping at that Ampersand walk-in site, I suppose nowadays, with the increased hiker traffic, camping there would be a lot less fun anyways.
There are still outhouses though.
Which I guess is good news for the folks who need immediate relief once informed that they are on the wrong trail.
Once we finished at Middle Saranac, Robin & I hiked back out to the road and cruised on up Route 3 to South Creek.
The views were equally colorful there.
Sunday, October 1, 2023
Once we had finished taking pictures at South Creek, my wife & I returned home.
I returned that Friday however, on a solo scouting trip.
It’s amazing what a difference five days can make.
Friday, October 6, 2023
I imagine that by now, after this weekend storm’s wind and rain, most of the foliage is down, & this fall’s Adirondack trails are fully leaf covered.
**********
Until Our Trails Cross Again:
ADKO
About The Author
rdmonroe5
Lifelong NYS resident. Raised in Saranac Lake. Cornell graduate(ROTC). Army veteran, Airborne/Ranger qualified, 10th Mtn Div, stints in Honduras and with JTF VI. 3rd degree Black Belt; 3x cancer survivor; published writer with several featured stories in Adirondack Life Magazine. Residing in Watertown NY with wife Robin & our 3 adult children. Loving Life. Living in the Day I am in.
Dick,
Beautiful pictures. Beautiful poem.
Enjoyed this piece. Felt a little like I was walking with you and Robin. Good thing since I think we’ve missed this year’s chance to see the changing foliage. However, seeing family…priceless.
A few weeks to go…
♥️ Aunt Susie
I have a question, have you seen a frost yet this year? I would suppose so as the colors might indicate. I was surprised to see some color even here where the frost has eluded us. Always thought we needed the frost to signal the trees to turn. Not this year, apparently the tree tops have filled their bottoms to the brim and just gave up trying to push more down there. Great pictures, both image and poetic. Thanks for the ride!
Hello Alan, Sorry for the delayed response, just got back from a canoe duck hunt/scouting trip up on Middle Saranac. So, we have not had anything more than a light frost here as of yet. But I actually live in Watertown, which is a whole different climate than Saranac Lake. I don’t think, judging from the daily weather reports & great deal of time this Sept/Oct I’ve spent up there thus far, that they have had a killing frost yet, though it would not surprise me to learn that they’ve had a few more light frosts than we have. I don’t know if a hard frost is required for trees to turn. It’s funny, actually, my son, who is a Paul Smiths grad with experience in that area, had just finished explaining to me in late September that the colors had not come in yet because it had not gotten cold enough to trigger the turn. Then, BAM! All of a sudden, October hit, and suddenly, the colors were vivid. I don’t know the root cause for the sudden turn, but I do not believe, at least this year, that it was due to frost or cold temperatures. Thanks for the read, & the inquiry. I hope I answered your question.