Looking for a little help

[chaser]

Is there any new trails that are not on any of my older maps that connect the High Peaks Area to the new Boreas area? For instance from Elk Lake area or from Little Nippletop trail? Thanks in advance for any info. - Russ

[MTVhike]

What/where is Little Nippletop? Regarding the Elk Lake area, you could follow the Elk Lake March trail until you get onto State land, near where the new leanto is located. Otherwise, you would be crossing Elk Lake Lodge private property, which is not allowed. Of course, if you're staying at the Lodge, you could hike up to Boreas Mountain, the summit of which is the property line (and the site of a former fire tower).

[Hear the Footsteps]

Don't think any of these are built. Mentioned in the High Peaks Wilderness Complex UMP Amendment, July 2018. For a map with routes see numbered page 108 (PDF page 120). White Lily Connector from East River Trail to Boreas Ponds. For part was on same route as the Adirondack Park Road DEC ripped up. Casey Brook Connector connecting from the Elk Lake Marcy Trail to Boreas Ponds.

[chaser]

Thanks for the info Footsteps, I think I'll bushwhack my way to there.

[MTVhike]

A couple of years ago I discovered the 2018 book "Boreas Ponds - Roads, trails, and beyond" by Alex Kent. In 175 pages Kent describes everything in great detail, including very detailed maps at a scale of 1:12,500. I don't know where he got all the information, because I haven't seen it published anywhere. From his comments, I suspect he hiked most of it, following old topo maps.

[Justin]

Not sure about any new trails but there is an old trail that does not show on most maps. A friend of mine hiked from Boreas Ponds to Pinnacle Mountain in the Colvin Range a few years ago. I am pretty sure he mentioned that he was able to follow the trail all the way through to the Elk Lake/Panther Gorge trail.

[MTVhike]

There are a couple of problems with your posted map. 1. The trail to Boreas Mountain goes through Elk Lake Lodge property and is not open to the public (unless you are staying at the Lodge). 2. Part of the Elk Lake-Marcy trail shown as going through Elk Lake Lodge property actually goes through what is now State owned, known as the Casey Brook tract. This is the NW portion of Elk Lake property, so now the state-owned property is continuous between Boreas Ponds and the Pinnacle Ridge trail, including the Colvin range.
I have attached another map: The purple trail is my hike to Pinnacle following the Elk Lake-Marcy Trail from the Elk Lake PA to the turnoff to Pinnacle. At the lower right, you can see my canoe trip in the Ponds in orange. Where I stopped, there is a bridge over the stream connecting two of the ponds; a dirt road there is shown as dotted. The blue lines connecting that "road" network are from Alex Kent's book and where the light blue one connects with the EL-Marcy trail at the location of a new lean-to, called the Casey Brook lean-to. The orange property lines surrounding that area is the Casey Brook Tract.

[Justin]

Thanks for the clarification. I just grabbed that map off of Google and can?t comment on the accuracy, I knew there was a connector trail through there somewhere, and the map I saw years ago looked kind of similar.

[chaser]

Thank you both, I'll be coming north to south into the Boreas country right through that area, if there is a trail I'll find it, if not it isn't a far bushwhack. Thanks again, I appreciate it.

[MTVhike]

Some of these old trails/roads are "approximated" on the Mt. Marcy USGS quad, both the 1980 and 1999 editions. Not earlier ones.

[DSettahr]

Originally Posted by Justin

Not sure about any new trails but there is an old trail that does not show on most maps. A friend of mine hiked from Boreas Ponds to Pinnacle Mountain in the Colvin Range a few years ago. I am pretty sure he mentioned that he was able to follow the trail all the way through to the Elk Lake/Panther Gorge trail.

To make this connection entirely "on trail" necessitates passing into the private AMR trail network on their property- which is not open to the public. A few hikers have already gotten into trouble as a result of trying to make this connection.

There is an alternate route that sticks entirely to state land but it follows an old logging road that is pretty badly overgrown and in rough shape.

[Justin]

Originally Posted by DSettahr

To make this connection entirely "on trail" necessitates passing into the private AMR trail network on their property- which is not open to the public. A few hikers have already gotten into trouble as a result of trying to make this connection.

There is an alternate route that sticks entirely to state land but it follows an old logging road that is pretty badly overgrown and in rough shape.

Thanks again for the clarification. Again, I knew there was a connection through there somewhere that my friend successfully navigated a few years ago, but I am not 100% sure where it is. Seems like anyone that works for the DEC could and should step up and make this clearer as to where it actually is to help avoid further trouble & confusion.

[DSettahr]

FWIW... To make it to the AMR boundary via the Boreas tract demands some level of advanced planning and research with regards to the route, as the logging road network on the Boreas tract itself is anything by straightforward. There's numerous junctions passed on the way to the AMR property line and successfully navigating the route means knowing which way to go at each junction.

There is also a "Posted: No Trespassing" sign very clearly posted at the boundary with the AMR where hikers are most likely to end up trying to access the AMR from the Boreas tract.

So it's not like folks are at risk of casually or accidentally wandering onto AMR property.

[Justin]

Originally Posted by DSettahr

FWIW... To make it to the AMR boundary via the Boreas tract demands some level of advanced planning and research with regards to the route, as the logging road network on the Boreas tract itself is anything by straightforward. There's numerous junctions passed on the way to the AMR property line and successfully navigating the route means knowing which way to go at each junction.

There is also a "Posted: No Trespassing" sign very clearly posted at the boundary with the AMR where hikers are most likely to end up trying to access the AMR from the Boreas tract.

So it's not like folks are at risk of casually or accidentally wandering onto AMR property.

Good to know, thanks. I myself have only made it as far north as White Lily Pond from Boreas Ponds so far, and have seen many of the side trails/roads leading off the main road. With nothing marked I can see where it could get confusing, at that far. Always wanted to get back in there to explore more. Hopefully later this summer or fall after those deer flies subside a bit, some of the worse swarms I have ever experienced back in there!

[Bunchberry]

Here is an interesting recording on all trails:

This person did Allen from Boreas:

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/map-647bba3--32

This Person wandered around in the Boreas:

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/re...onds-trail--78

This was considered an easy mountain bike ride in 2021:

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/tr...as-ponds-trail

[Justin]

Originally Posted by Bunchberry

Here is an interesting recording on all trails:

This person did Allen from Boreas:

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/map-647bba3--32

This Person wandered around in the Boreas:

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/re...onds-trail--78

This was considered an easy mountain bike ride in 2021:

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/tr...as-ponds-trail;

All trails? You mean there is an app for that?
Woah that is definitely gonna get even way more confusing for us older folks.

[DSettahr]

Originally Posted by Bunchberry

This was considered an easy mountain bike ride in 2021:

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/tr...as-ponds-trail

Much of this particular route is not legally open to mountain bikes, as it is located within the boundaries of the High Peaks Wilderness. Bikes can be ridden up to the dam at the outlet of Boreas Ponds, but no further.