The Road Less Travelled-A Series
Volume 8-Ambler NY State Forest
Welcome back to my continuing series about exploring the outdoors. I encourage you to get outside and enjoy.
On the first full day of Spring, I recently visited this NY state forest near Holmesville, NY. Even though temperatures were near 60 degrees, snow was still found here, especially on the road.
The 1.75 mile dead end road through this 690 acre forest was created by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) back in the 1930s. I often visit here in the summer for mountain biking. Once I complete the 3.25 mile round trip on the road, I then ride nearby Pat Farley Road to add to my biking distance. Pat Farely road is a great paved back road with little car traffic.
This day, however, was all about hiking. As I indicated above, the road was still pretty much snow covered, packed down and preserved by the snowmobile traffic throughout the winter. It’s amazing how long it takes for this packed down snow to melt. It solidifies and turns icy, almost like a mini glacier covering the road.
As I started my hike, the rumble of a few 4 wheelers and a dirt bike became louder and louder. Sure enough, they turned from Pat Farely road and headed down Fire Lane, the name of the road through Ambler State Forest. The friendly riders waved and passed, quickly disappearing into the woods, which became quiet again. They never returned, therefore they must have continued on through the snowmobile trail which this road is only part of.
Although relatively small for a NY State Forest, this is a beautiful area which sits at an elevation ranging from 1700 to 1800 feet. The road has some hills, but they are fairly gentle creating a good hiking or biking experience. I also have cross country skied here before, but not this winter.
As I made my way down the road, I saw the round cistern in the woods, built with laid up stone. Still full of water, this cistern was built by the CCC for forest fire protection. A tremendous amount of work went into these structures which still are intact today through various State forests in this area. In this case, the water (probably from a spring) was funneled underneath the road, and down through the woods into the cistern.
As is true in many of the NY State forests, there are sections nestled within that are still privately owned. In this case, there is a hunting cabin and some farm fields. Obviously once an old farm, remnants of a stone foundation can be seen near the the newly constructed hunting cabin. NY State purchased this land years ago to create these public areas, much of it was previously farm land.
As I passed from sunny areas into the more shaded areas, I could feel the cool air from the snow that still covered the road. It felt like someone turned on air conditioning. As I had removed my fleece on this warm day (by Central NY standards), it felt so good. Snow cooled air, nature’s air conditioning.
Continuing my hike, I noticed that apparently an old road once paralleled this one. I could definitely tell that it was at one time a road, now blocked in places by trees that grew long ago. The CCC built the “new road” in the 1930s to provide better forest access for the planting of trees, and for forest management. There is history around us everywhere. Sometimes you have to look hard to find it.
I soon reached the end of the road, and headed back towards my car. It was a beautiful day for a hike and to welcome the first day of Spring. I will return here once the snow melts and the road dries up, with my bicycle, to once again explore the area.