Lake Kushaqua and Little Haystack Mountain

I often have conversations about what is the perfect winter day.  Some think that watching the snow come down while reading a good book meets the definition.  Others say ice fishing on a frozen river.  Some feel that racing down a mountain on skis is the pinnacle of a perfect winter day.  For me it is a sun filled blue sky, temperature hovering in the high twenties, while hiking through the forest.  Last weekend everything came together for me to have the perfect winter day.  A day of hiking, picture taking and a little mountain climbing.  Welcome to Lake Kushaqua and Little Haystack Mountain.

The warm winter sun was already starting to warm the inside of my truck as I pulled out of the driveway.  It was the first time this winter that I could feel a change in it’s heat.  I could tell that the season was starting to shift and it wouldn't be long until the snow was gone and the trees would be blooming.  I made a quick stop at my wife’s bakery for a quick on the go breakfast and headed out to pick up my hiking partner for the day.  We pointed the truck south and headed towards Paul Smiths.  It had been a while since I had explored some new terrain in Franklin County so I was excited when I came across this trail in one of my many map books.  We spent the hour and a half drive discussing what our plan was going to be.  My initial thought was to hike the trail between the Buck Pond Campground and the  Kushaqua Mud Pond but as I reviewed my map I came across an additional trail that ventured off to a small mountain.  We decided to play it by ear and make a decision as we went.  As we approached the entrance  to the campground we noticed right away that the road hadn't been plowed in quite some time.  The tree lined road looked like a snowmobile expressway filled with the tracks of many happy snowmobilers.   We got out and took a quick look around. Other than a few faint vehicle tracks no one had driven down that way in quite some time.  Not wanting to get the truck stuck in the middle of nowhere and ruin what appeared to be a pristine snowmobile route we made the decision to approach the trail from the other side.  We quickly reviewed the map and headed up to the northern end of the lake. 

The seasonally maintained roads lead us past several camps and other lake access locations.  We found a safe place to park and checked our map one more time.  It appeared we were only about a quarter mile from the trailhead so we figured it would be a perfect place to start.  We put on our winter gear, grabbed our snowshoes and started off on our adventure.  The hard packed snow along the road made for easy walking.  We decided to carry our snowshoes to the start of the trail.  Down the steep hill and around the bend we strolled.  We came to the small bridge that crossed the lake. 

We stopped for a moment to admire the large Adirondack lake that we would be admiring all along this trail.  Once across the bridge we found the open gate to our trail.  The trail was heavily packed down with snowmobile tracks so we again decided to carry our snowshoes.

We worked our way along the flat trail through the snow dusted trees.  We periodically stopped to take pictures of the lake and enjoy the peaceful winter's day. In the distance the brilliant winter sun shined on the snow covered mountains in the distance making them appear to pop right off of nature's canvas.

Before we knew it we had already covered a mile of trail.  I took a quick look at the map I had downloaded onto my phone and realized we were very close to the mountain trail.   Just a few yards ahead of us we found what appeared to be the start of the trail.  There were no signs or trail markers but the snow had been packed down with many foot prints so we decided to give it a go. 

The narrow footpath weaved through the trees as the bright sun cast shadows on the snowy ground.  We came upon a natural quarry of rocks that lined the side of the mountain. 

We discussed how amazing it was that the glaciers decided to drop all of these in this one location.  The trail wound its way over and through the snow covered boulders. About two thirds of the way up the mountain we came upon a gigantic stone wall. 

A large wall of icicles cascaded down the side.

We followed the trail around the back side of the outcrop and to our surprise the trail stopped.  Not another footprint in the snow was found.  We pondered for a minute why so many people had come this far only to turn around. It was time to make a decision.  Do we break a trail to the top or turn around like everyone else had.  The decision was made, We moved on.  With no trail markers to lead the way the only direction we knew we needed to go was up.  We stuffed our snowshoes into the snow and decided to ascend without them.  We could tell that the snow wasn’t super deep and they would be a challenge to navigate around the rocks and through the trees.  We worked our way up the steep incline. 

At some places we had to drive our hands and feet into the snow and ice to advance up the mountain.  We used trees to support ourselves to prevent us from sliding back down.  Our hearts raced as we dug deep to catch our breath.  After a half hour of tough climbing we made it to the top. The flat mountain peak was more of a tree covered plateau.  I was quite discouraged when I couldn’t even see the large lake that sat below us.  We had exhausted ourselves to get to the top and there was no view of the landscape that surrounded us.  My partner Ken noticed a large rock face about 150 yards away.  He thought we should go check it out, as discouraged as I was, I agreed.  As we approached the rock face there appeared to be a bit of an opening in the trees.  We walked around to the front of the rock face and to our surprise there was a vast opening with a large ledge to stand on.  We had found what we were looking for.  The panoramic view of snow covered high peaks and mountain ponds filled the landscape. 

It was everything I had been hoping for.  We spent twenty minutes admiring our surroundings and decided it was time to head down.  We cautiously worked our way back down the steep mountain grabbing our snowshoes along the way.  Back at the main trail we decided it was time to head home so we hiked back to the truck.  On our way home, tired and a bit sore from the climb, we discussed how very few people will get the chance to have a Northern NY Adventure like we had just shared. 

About this Location:

Lake Kushaqua and Little Haystack Mountain sit about 10 miles northeast of Paul Smiths in Vermontville, NY located in Franklin County.  This area is part of the 71,500 acre Debar Mountain Wild Forest. 

All trails labels the main trail as the Kushaqua rail trail.  The rail trail follows the east side of Lake Kushaqua and is approximately 2.6 miles long.  This trail is used all winter long for snowmobiling.  It is a great flat trail for snowshoeing and cross country skiing.  The seasonal road to the trailhead is not maintained but there is plenty of traffic on this road so it is packed down well.  We chose to stop the truck before the large downhill portion of the road in fear of getting stuck.  There are several pull off locations along the way to park.  Once you make it to the trail it's easy walking.  It would be perfect for a warm winter walk or in the summer it could be part of a wonderful camping weekend at the Buck Pond Campground.  The trail up Little Haystack starts out rather smooth but it becomes very steep and full of rocks.  I’d love to see exactly where the trail is supposed to go once the snow is off the ground.  We knew we wouldn’t get lost as our boot prints in the snow were very easy to follow but I don’t recommend everyone just start heading up random mountains unless you are confident in your navigation skills. 

Once we got to the steep portion of the mountain it gained elevation quickly. There was a layer of ice under the snow which made the climb that much tougher to traverse.  Again I wouldn't recommend climbing like this unless you are confident in your skills.  Overall I think this area would make a great winter day trip or summer getaway. 

Between the lake, campground and trails, there is a lot to discover that would be suitable for a whole family Northern NY Adventure.  

Aaron Hardy

Northern NY Adventures

“Make Life an Adventure”