I was able to take a day off from work today to fit in a solo re-visit to the Frie Flow logging camp in the Shaker Mt. Wild Forest. The site of the old camp sits over two miles back in the "wilderness" on an old road that's a starts as a marked trail. Then, the route is flagged and finally it's an un-marked path that requires a few wayfinding skills to keep on track. I didn't let a cloudy day stop me as I pulled into the Holmes Rd. parking area. The road was pretty rough, but by going slow and having a medium clearance vehicle, I was OK.
1a TH.jpg
The marked snowmobile path heads uphill and in a few minutes passes a beautiful beaver flow.
1c trail - Copy.jpg
Just past the beaver flow is the site of an old turning mill. The footings, foundations and some equipment still littler the area. The trail to Holmes Lake bears right at a junction and in ten minutes, brought me to the lean-to. The overall condition of the lean-to was not bad. The thunderbox, however is totaled and needs to be replaced. The Holmes Lake lean-to is not on the lake, but still sees quite a bit of use. However, I was the first entry in the log book since January. What's up with that?
2b LT - Copy.jpg
After picking up some small trash from the lean-to, I walked the 100 yards to the lake shore. While Holmes Lake is only about 17 acres in size, it is very beautiful. The local Osprey didn't seem too thrilled that I was there as he (?) kept squawking the entire time I was there. Maybe they have a nest?
2e Holmes Lake - Copy.jpg
Walking down the length of the lake, I set my compass for a bearing to intersect the path to Little Holmes Lake. Bushwhacking through the open hardwoods was an absolute joy this morning.
2g bushwhack - Copy.jpg
In a few minutes, I arrived at the sparsely flagged path to Little Holmes Lake. The path is fairly easy to follow, but has quite a bit of blowdown that needs to be avoided. It climbs gently to a saddle between the two ponds. At 2000' elevation, this is the divide between the Hudson and Mohawk River drainages.
2i path - Copy.jpg
In no time, the path starts an easy downhill towards Little Holmes Lake. At only 6 acres, this is an absolute gem of a pond.. The tree stumps and exposed rocks along the shoreline made for and easy half hour of exploring.
2m LHL - Copy.jpg
The old road, now even more sparsely marked with red ribbon, continues past the outlet and skirts the shores of Frie Flow.
2s Frie Flow - Copy.jpg
The amount of blowdown increased dramatically along this section and I was on my own. After some searching, I found the old logging camp site. Perhaps the most dramatic feature is the huge boiler located in between several sets of stone ruins. The boiler is fairly intact with a complete set of water tubes attached to the fire box. It seems to be the same size as the big boiler at Rock Pond in the Pharoah Lake Wilderness Area. And yes, there was still several patches of snow here. Not a lot of sun gets through these balsams.
3k boiler - Copy.jpg
Perhaps my favorite little feature was the 90° cut in this rock that was made to fit a beam or board to cross the small creek. I noticed this the last time I was here, but failed to get a good picture. I'm just amazed that someone cut that rock with a chisel over a hundred years ago and it looks good to go.
3j3 rock cut - Copy.jpg
As I sat down amidst the ruins to have my lunch, I wondered about all the lumber jacks who 120 years ago did the same thing. Although, they probably didn't have a sammich from Stewart's. After contemplating the past and enjoying the warbler songs, I headed back down the way I came. I took the Little Holmes Lake path all the way to the Irving Pond snowmobile trail and walked it back to the turning mill site. It was a quick walk back to the truck and a short drive through Bleeker and back down the hill. Not a bad way to spend the morning.
1a TH.jpg
The marked snowmobile path heads uphill and in a few minutes passes a beautiful beaver flow.
1c trail - Copy.jpg
Just past the beaver flow is the site of an old turning mill. The footings, foundations and some equipment still littler the area. The trail to Holmes Lake bears right at a junction and in ten minutes, brought me to the lean-to. The overall condition of the lean-to was not bad. The thunderbox, however is totaled and needs to be replaced. The Holmes Lake lean-to is not on the lake, but still sees quite a bit of use. However, I was the first entry in the log book since January. What's up with that?
2b LT - Copy.jpg
After picking up some small trash from the lean-to, I walked the 100 yards to the lake shore. While Holmes Lake is only about 17 acres in size, it is very beautiful. The local Osprey didn't seem too thrilled that I was there as he (?) kept squawking the entire time I was there. Maybe they have a nest?
2e Holmes Lake - Copy.jpg
Walking down the length of the lake, I set my compass for a bearing to intersect the path to Little Holmes Lake. Bushwhacking through the open hardwoods was an absolute joy this morning.
2g bushwhack - Copy.jpg
In a few minutes, I arrived at the sparsely flagged path to Little Holmes Lake. The path is fairly easy to follow, but has quite a bit of blowdown that needs to be avoided. It climbs gently to a saddle between the two ponds. At 2000' elevation, this is the divide between the Hudson and Mohawk River drainages.
2i path - Copy.jpg
In no time, the path starts an easy downhill towards Little Holmes Lake. At only 6 acres, this is an absolute gem of a pond.. The tree stumps and exposed rocks along the shoreline made for and easy half hour of exploring.
2m LHL - Copy.jpg
The old road, now even more sparsely marked with red ribbon, continues past the outlet and skirts the shores of Frie Flow.
2s Frie Flow - Copy.jpg
The amount of blowdown increased dramatically along this section and I was on my own. After some searching, I found the old logging camp site. Perhaps the most dramatic feature is the huge boiler located in between several sets of stone ruins. The boiler is fairly intact with a complete set of water tubes attached to the fire box. It seems to be the same size as the big boiler at Rock Pond in the Pharoah Lake Wilderness Area. And yes, there was still several patches of snow here. Not a lot of sun gets through these balsams.
3k boiler - Copy.jpg
Perhaps my favorite little feature was the 90° cut in this rock that was made to fit a beam or board to cross the small creek. I noticed this the last time I was here, but failed to get a good picture. I'm just amazed that someone cut that rock with a chisel over a hundred years ago and it looks good to go.
3j3 rock cut - Copy.jpg
As I sat down amidst the ruins to have my lunch, I wondered about all the lumber jacks who 120 years ago did the same thing. Although, they probably didn't have a sammich from Stewart's. After contemplating the past and enjoying the warbler songs, I headed back down the way I came. I took the Little Holmes Lake path all the way to the Irving Pond snowmobile trail and walked it back to the turning mill site. It was a quick walk back to the truck and a short drive through Bleeker and back down the hill. Not a bad way to spend the morning.
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