Biking to Great Camp Santanoni

[Justin]

I don't want to get sucked into this debate again, but...I enjoy hiking, bushwhacking, paddling, and mountain biking, but I'm also of the opinion that there should be areas within the Adirondack park where bicycles are not allowed, and I'm thankful that such places exist, whether a trail is suitable for bike use or not, and I hope it stays that way. Just my two cents.

[OntarioSkiBum]

On a semi related note, I biked out there last month and there were two cars parked near the fork to Moose Pond. Would those belong to State employees?

[Trail Boss]

Originally Posted by montcalm

Who is the problem? The people? Or the equipment they carry and discard? Or their means of transportation?

The issue is what people are allowed to do in a Wilderness Area and still maintain some semblance of (ersatz) wilderness.

So really the answer is to ban people from the wilderness.

I no longer recall the question ... but I don't think that's the answer.

And I'd be perfectly fine with a "no-trailer" rule if you thought that would solve the problem of "moar".

Who me? Not offered that as a solution; I never even thought it.

The Eastern High Peaks don't need anymore of anything. Especially people.

I can support that ... but I think others eager to get in would disagree.

I'm not advocating that every area that has a truck trail allow bikes on it. But I am an advocate of what TCD said.

Which brings us back full-circle to:

As Gary points out in his guide, it would make sense to regulate biking based on the suitability of each trail.

Well, the Marcy Dam Truck Trail is a suitable cycling trail ... but its destination doesn't need a faster delivery system.

All this to say, it's not just the route's suitability for cycling but the destination's ability to handle the impact of more people delivered by an easier and faster means (15-20 minutes via bike vs 40-50 minutes on foot).


Sure seems simpler to just restrict cycling to Wild Forest Areas.

[peskypup]

Originally Posted by OntarioSkiBum

On a semi related note, I biked out there last month and there were two cars parked near the fork to Moose Pond. Would those belong to State employees?

Not sure of the legality, but I think the people working on restoring the camp drive in. A couple years back when I was in there there was a truck and a van parked at the camp, and there were a couple of contractors with a pick-up truck doing stone work on one of the bridges.

[OntarioSkiBum]

Originally Posted by peskypup

Not sure of the legality, but I think the people working on restoring the camp drive in. A couple years back when I was in there there was a truck and a van parked at the camp, and there were a couple of contractors with a pick-up truck doing stone work on one of the bridges.

When I was there, no one was doing any work. Also, if it was for work on the camp you'd think they'd drive the whole way rather than park at the branch to Moose Pond.

I guess it's possible they were working on something towards Moose Pond... I still haven't had the chance to take that cutoff. That said, all that grass on the overgrown road looks like it could be rife with ticks. Maybe if I could take my bike it wouldn't be so bad...

[cityboy]

The ride to the Great Camp is one of my favorites. Did it about a month ago and noticed right away they fixed up the road. Gone were the sand traps in the middle of the road.

If you're talking new additions my vote would be the Moose Pond extension. I've ridden it twice before they put up the no bike sign. First time I thought Moose Pond Campsite was heaven. Second time garbage was tossed all over the place and a tarp was under the water. I was so angry I've never been back.

I understand that the Cornell road has a right of way to give snowmobile access to Goodnow and beyond. That also is 5 miles and very rough. I dream of some day using it to bike access the Essex chain.

Lake Lila is a nice ride too. If you park in the parking lot at Little Tupper its a nice ride in to Lila.

Another favorite is into Horseshoe Lake. It's a lonely desolate ride on a paved road although last time I tried it the pavement was badly broken up.

The ride from Newcomb past Tahawus to Henderson Lake is another favorite.

And for younger legs the Blue Ridge Road to the Northway was awesome. Coming back was a different story. I did it once and swore I'd never do it again. Toughest ride I've ever done. Much tougher than Long Lake to Blue Mountain. I'd rather go up the mountain by the Adirondack Museum any day than try to do the Blue Ridge return from the Northway.

[JohnnyVirgil]

Originally Posted by montcalm

People don't make decision based on data. It's 100% emotion. They then look for data (even data that doesn't exist) to back up their feelings.

Nothing personal about either of you, I'm just picking on you because we all do it. That's why this law exists. It has nothing to do with what is sustainable, a good use of resources, what people actually do with bicycles, or anything else tangible. It's all based on some ideal which when bypassed in certain areas, doesn't even present an issue.

I'll also point out if this is a matter of tradition and keeping out new-fangled things like hoverboards, that bicycles were ridden on dirt since their beginning. It just didn't happen to be called mountain biking.

Yeah, I generally have nothing against bikes. I was just responding to the hypothetical hoverboard comment. It painted a great visual in my head, that's all. I have been passed by bikes many times on the road in to Santanoni and I don't have a problem with them. I did get almost run over by someone riding down the escarpment trail in the Catskills near North/South Lake on a skinny section of trail that was basically on a ledge. Neither of us had any place to go. So that I wasn't too crazy about.

If we're using Santanoni as an example, I don't mind someone on a bike or someone on a horse at all. I've seen large groups of bikers together, and I think Santanoni and its wide roads is a perfect place for something like that. I get much more of a bug up my ass when someone with two horses and a flatbed trailer carry a tent village complete with a television and generator in and basically ruin everyone's experience except their own. (saw that one last year, and heard their genny for 3 days from the other side of the lake.) So maybe we should change "no motorized vehicles" to something more specific like "No idiots."