Walk or Ski off
the Conley Road
Clearly Bob #20
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There is a nice little hour long walk at the western end of
Lake Clear that we do quite often. It is
also a good place to cross country ski (or snowshoe). Because the trail surface is mostly very
smooth very little snow is needed to have decent skiing.
It is almost all flat with just a couple of very small
hills. You get to check out Little Clear
Pond down a short side trail. Little
Clear is used by the nearby state fish hatchery and, although you cannot camp
on it, provides access to other ponds of the St Regis Canoe Area.
The route I'll describe is a lollypop. You start out on the stick, go around the
candy counterclockwise, and end up returning to the start on the stick. Got it?
It is a few
minute drive to the start. Head south on
route 30 from the Lodge and then turn right on Conley Road a bit after you
cross over Lake Clear outlet. The trail is located on the left opposite and
just barely past the driveway marked with a number “72” sign. Park on the side
of the road. Four large boulders are
placed across the trail at the tree line.
There are several trails in this area and no trail markers so I'll demarcate junctions and and other landmarks as a number
of minutes from the start. When I noted
these times we were walking at a moderately brisk pace with no stops. So adjust your times accordingly. Of course skiing would be faster. I apologize for corrupting a pleasant journey
through the woods with a stringent time frame but my goal is to help you make
the correct turns and avoid the incorrect ones.
You'll also see a bunch of posted signs along the route. Don't worry – you are on state land so it's
not a problem. In 30 years of walking
and skiing this trail numerous times a year we've encountered angry shot gun
wielding property owners only a few times.
Take the wrapper
off the lollypop and start your stop watch.
The trail initially climbs a slight incline before leveling out. This area seems to be a veritable deer
haven. In the winter, when you can easily see the tracks, the early part of the
trail especially is crossed by numerous deer herd paths. Someone living near the end of Conley Road
used to feed the deer in the winter I was told.
In 8 minutes you'll see a parallel trail on the right. Stick to the trail you're on even though the
2 trails meet later. Any of these other
trails may not be obvious in the winter if no one has tracked them out. The trail makes a couple of sweeping right
turns in somewhat more cleared areas and then, at 11 minutes, a trail joins
from the left. Continuing straight and
just a few seconds walk past this junction there is an obvious 3 way fork with
a whole bunch of posted signs visible.
(Scan the woods for angry property owners to the right.) The fork to the left goes downhill to Little
Clear Pond in a couple of minutes – well worth it. The fork right goes onto the private
property. You want to keep going
straight on the center tine of the fork.
At 16 minutes you will be on top of a small hill you go up and
over. You'll no doubt need to take a
break at the top – it's a brutal 10'
vertical climb. Don't take the right
turn at the bottom of the far side of the hill – that trail goes onto the
private property. 1 ½ minutes from the
hilltop (that would be 17 ½ minutes from the start as I'm sure you have already
figured out) a trail diverges to the
right. This is where you leave the stick
and start on the candy part of the route.
Before you make the turn you'll see a “state land – forest preserve”
sign straight ahead on a tree. After the
turn the trail goes slightly down hill, passes a marshy area on the left,
climbs a short rise and then comes to a “T” junction at 23 minutes where you
turn left. Just after the left turn there
is a large boulder in the middle of the trail.
At 28 minutes there is a small grassy clearing. An old road continues straight but you are
going to turn left. (The road straight
eventually connects to the road into the Girl Scout camp that is located on the
opposite side of the lake from the Lodge.)
There is quite of bit of small tree blowdown on this section of the
trail which is a very minor hassle on foot; more of an annoyance
on skis. You'll see a good size
pond through the woods to the right.
There is a trail that leads to it if you're so inclined. In 33 ½ minutes, after you loose sight of the pond and go up a
gradual incline, there is a sharp left
turn. There are now some small ups and
downs and a possible wet area depending on the recent weather before rejoining
the lollypop stick at 38 minutes.
You'll go through the 3 way fork, followed immediately by the trail the
diverges right (go straight), followed immediately by a fork where you keep
right. (The left fork is the parallel trail
noted at the 8 minute mark.) You are back at the car at 55 minutes if you
travel at our exact speed on the day I made the effort to actually time it. A highly unlikely occurrence.
