Adirondacks Hamlets-to-Huts Test Run

North Creek Circuit, May 8 – 13, 2018

This post reviews the  Adirondacks Hamlets to Huts (AdkH2H) concept as a community-based hut-to-hut system, reports the key results of a test run, and outlines unique features and next steps for this new hut-to-hut system.

 Fifteen hardy hikers signed on for a guided test run In early May of Adirondacks Hamlets-to-Huts’ first hut-to-hut trip: the 47 mile North Creek Circuit, which is scheduled to officially open Spring 2019.  But first, as part of a thorough planning process, the founders Joe Dadey (Executive Director of AdkH2H) and Jack Drury (Leading Edge, LLC) wanted substantive feedback from experienced trekkers.  Participating in the opening of a new model for hut systems in USA was a thrill all of us, and a special treat for a hut nut like me!

It was a great trip!  It seems clear they will be ready next year to open this circuit to the public (there may be a “soft opening” in Fall 2018).  This is first of a projected five or more hut-to-hut trails that will be implemented in the amazing 6,000,000 acre Adirondack Park, which is as large as Yosemite, Glacier, Yellowstone, and the Everglades combined. This vast and unique combination of wilderness and private lands makes the park an incubator and lightning rod for ideas about how people and wilderness can live and hopefully thrive next door to each other. 

The AdkH2H Concept

This initiative builds on existing trails and lodging infrastructure and “connects the dots” among a wide range of Adirondacks trails, lodging, scenic wonders, and recreation opportunities. Long term, they plan for 5 or more distinctive, four-season, community-based hut-to-hut recreation experiences.  AdkH2H is grounded in a strong commitment to economic development in an economically depressed region, and is based on a strong ethos of environmental protection.  The idea is to create a series of five or more hut-to-hut trails throughout the Adirondack Park that will eventually be tied together into a park-wide system. 

Each hut-to-hut trail will link multiple Adirondack communities (hamlets).  Skiers and walkers will start and end their journeys by spending the night in one of the communities.  Most importantly, along each of the the Hamlets to Huts trials they will stay each night in existing accommodations and eat in local restaurants (or shape in local grocery stores).  The idea is to:

 

“create a spectrum of lodging, from primitive, yet upscale, planform tents and yurts, to existing rental cabins and bed & breakfast accommodations, to eco-lodges, and five star hotels.  It will range from low-cost, hostel-type lodging to expensive, amenity-rich, upscale lodging. Some lodgings will be self-service, where visitors prepare their own meals, while other lodgings will be full service and provide meals.”

Jack and Joe have clearly done their homework.  Everywhere we went folks had heard about AdkH2H and were excited to see us doing the inaugural run.  This is the result of dozens of community meetings and hundreds of conversations with local and state government officials, park officials and users, environmental groups, and hikers who stop at their welcoming Saranac Lake storefront.  It is hard to imagine a more intensive and successful initiative to listen to and gain support from the communities involved.  A recent editorial in the magazine Adirondack Explorer provides a well-balanced local perspective on AdkH2H’s opportunities and challenges.  Their 300 page report on a three year study funded by the NY Department of State is a model of hut system planning. The North Creek Circuit is one of highest ranking of the 59 conceptual routes they explored, mapped and evaluated as part of this remarkable study.

The Test Crew

The 15 hardy souls who tested the route included:

• • Jack and Joe, who served as our able hosts and guides,
  • Three other local professional guides, who were great fun to have along, 
  • Two great young videographers and one highly skilled photographer,
  • Six other hiking enthusiasts who were game for a unique opportunity,
  • Several AdkH2H Board Members on the trek and others who joined us for dinner, and
  • One “hut nut”.

North Creek Circuit via Indian Lake – Hike and Paddle Route

This 5 night, four day circuit included 27 miles of hiking over three days and 19 miles of rafting in the Hudson River Gorge.  The hike went through four Forest Preserve Units.  The terrain was varied and gorgeous, comprising mostly mountains, hard and softwood forests, and many beaver ponds and lakes.  A group of us did some bush-whacking to explore a planned trail connection route.  There were early spring flowers and tender young leaves on the trees.  The first two days of hiking included optional side trips to the top of wonderful low mountains (Chimney Mountain and Peaked Mountain) affording fantastic views of the Siamese Pond Wilderness Area, many lakes and ponds, and the distant High Peaks.  Mountaintop views of receding ranks of the lovely Adirondack Mountains shrouded in blue mists.  The finale of rafting the Hudson River Gorge with the fabulous Linc and Lori of Square Eddy Expeditions was a blast. 

The wide range of accommodations we sampled included the Copperfield Inn in North Creek the first night, the Garnet Hill Lodge and a really nice nearby AirBNB house,  the Cabins at Chimney Mountain, Binders Cottages in Indian Lakes, and back in North Creek on the final night, Heads in Beds Hostel and Gore Mountain Lodge. 

We ate in several different restaurants, got pack lunches from different deli’s, and had locally catered meals along the way.  A session on Forest Bathing (Shinrin-yoku) was a genuine nature immersion treat.  The final circuit may differ somewhat from the version we took as trail connections and recruiting additional lodging affiliates are still in progress. 

Lessons learned from test run

On the last day we gathered in a yurt near Gore Mountain on the final evening for a de-briefing.   The sense of the group was clearly that the test run was a great success.  Jack artfully led us in a discussion of the trip’s pluses and minuses, and of topics and questions we think AdkH2H should consider.  We  identified lots of pluses, a few minuses, and lots of questions for further study.  Jack and Joe had already thought about nearly all of these, but they were good listeners and genuinely appreciated the feedback.  Some key findings of the group:

Pluses: Joe and Jack’s leadership/guiding, the esprit de corps and group dynamics, Lori and Linc’s energy and warmth, quality of the food and lodging variety, the beauty of the trail and landscape, gear transport, pace and challenge, friendly locals at every stop, pre-trip information, trail options to lengthen or shorten the day’s walk, and price point.

Minuses: need for drying room/facilities at lodging; pre-trip information about specific lodging amenities; cold on the river!

Interesting topics/questions: 

• How to translate this trip as self-guided experience, e.g.: pre-trip information; “last mile” logistics, i.e. transportation from trail end to lodging in town; ways of providing rich interpretive information in the absence of guides; affordability; improved trail marking; completion of two trail segments to avoid bush-whacking; a variety of hostel/lodging  options, including with cooking facilities; availability of gear transport?
• reality check: how does a potential registrant determine if they are physically up to the hike, and/or have appropriate skill level?
• coordination with small businesses in trail hamlets;
• layover days in hamlets for educational workshops?;
• metric measures for international visitors;
• potential for a “Walkers Welcome” and sustainable tourism branding for affiliates;
• drying rooms/facilities with lodgings.

Next steps and unique features of AdkH2H

Before officially opening their first route next spring, the next steps for AdkH2H include working with their partners to:

• Complete affiliation agreements with local businesses, expanding lodging options, and developing a reservations system;
• Develop and implement a marketing plan;
• Develop “last mile” links for self-guided hikers and skiers to and from trail-heads and trail-ends to hamlets; and
• Cut some trail connections along the way.

In my opinion, the unique features of this hut system are:

• It’s very strong community-based ethos and potential for economic development in the region is unique in USA;
• Strong communication with and support from state agencies (e.g. NY Department of State, NY Department of Environmental Conservation, Adirondack Park Agency), and from local governments;
• The potential for building onto a really fun recreational experience strong elements of environmental and cultural education, building out-door skills, and cultivating a strong environmental ethos in participants; 
• Proximity to major population centers (e.g. Syracuse, Rochester, Albany, NYC, etc.) and potential for international visitors;
• The potential for providing a number of routes offering diverse options in terms of terrain, challenge, and activities;
• The exemplary planning process they have undertaken and will continue; and
• The potential for continued and expanded partnering with hamlets, government agencies, businesses, non-profits, guides, clubs, and all kinds of smart folks throughout the Adirondack Park.

Among the many taglines we brainstormed in the debriefing session, my favorite was:

Hikers supporting communities,

Communities supporting hikers.

By Sam Demas, May 2018