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.
Launching a new hut system! Photo by John DiGiacomo, courtesy AdkH2H
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.
-
- Brook waterfall, Photo by John DiGiacomo, courtesy AdkH2H
-
- Hamlet of North Creek, Photo by John DiGiacomo, courtesy AdkH2H
-
- Thirteenth Lake, Photo by John DiGiacomo, courtesy AdkH2H
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.”