On Thursday morning, we’re up before sunrise, with a plan to spend the day hiking and exploring in the Adirondack Mountain Reserve, a privately owned acreage that lies between the High Peaks region and the Dix Mountain Wilderness. Owned and administered by the Ausable Club at St. Huberts, the AMR is a beautiful place, filled with rugged mountains, winding valleys, and pristine lakes and woodlands surrounding the East Branch of the Ausable River. After a breakfast of chocolate croissants with yogurt and juice, we head east in the car, passing by the Plains of Abraham and the Cascade Lakes in the pre-dawn darkness. We continue south, over the Ausable River and through the sleepy towns of Keene and Keene Valley. At St. Huberts, we turn into the private driveway of the Ausable Club, which has a small public lot with a limited spots for hikers. The lot fills by 7 AM on most days, and is jam-packed every weekend during the warmer months. Later arrivals are forced to park several miles down the road, which leads to dangerous traffic issues on the highway, for drivers as well as pedestrians coming back uphill (the Ausable Club, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, and local communities are working on solutions, but over-visitation remains a difficult and sensitive subject for many in the Adirondacks). Fortunately, we are plenty early, and park our car beside two others in the dirt lot before setting off up the driveway toward the Ausable Club
After a long walk along Ausable Road, past golf greens and clusters of quaint vacation cottages, we turn left onto Lake Road just reaching before the clubhouse, with its grand porch and luxurious trappings. After leaving our names on a trailhead register, we head through the gate to the Reserve. To our south, the slopes and treetops of Noonmark Mountain are beginning to catch the light of the morning sun, which comes up over the Giant Mountain Wilderness. We continue our walk to the southwest, along a fire road which follows the East Branch of the Ausable River to its source at Lower Ausable. Along the way, I stop frequently to take photos of the trail, the foliage, and the little tributary brooks and pebbly rills that flow into the river.
Three miles into the reserve, we are in sight of Lower Ausable Lake, a placid blue sheet of water that sits in a narrow valley between two mountain chains . Here, Lake Road begins to curve downhill toward the concrete dam at the outlet of the lake; we first turn to the left here, heading off on a forest trail that climbs steeply uphill toward the rocky outcrop of Indian Head. On our way up the mountain, we briefly lose the trail, which makes a sharp left turn and becomes a narrow dirt path that winds and switchbacks its way along the slope; we end up scrambling up a steep section of fallen rocks of logs, a more adventurous route than intended. Before continuing uphill, we briefly pause at the Gothics Window, a opening in the treeline affording lovely views of the opposing mountain with its trademark, gash-like rockslides. The trail becomes an enjoyable, light scramble over tree roots, boulders, and rock shelves before rising to the ridgeline of Indian Head, where we find a 3-way intersection with the Gill Brook Trail (which heads north and back to Lake Road) and the trail to the Fish Hawk Cliffs (the rocky prominence just south of Indian Head). We take the small path that heads out of the forest to the summit of Indian Head, where we are greeted by an iconic vista over Lower Ausable Lake.
From the cliff top, the lake forms a sinuous curve that runs in from our right, and stretches away to the southwest. It is flanked by Gothics and Sawteeth on one side and Mount Colvin and Nippletop on the other, whose steep mountain walls cast a shadow upon the lake surface until the late afternoon. Beyond the water, in the far distance, we can see Upper Ausable Lake and the rounded hills surrounding Boreas Pond. It is an utterly stunning American landscape, especially when clad in the glorious golds, oranges, and auburns of early October. While I set up my camera gear, Jane clambers down further along the granite cliff. I take a picture of her standing in the distance before joining her on the lower ledge, which offers a more sweeping view of the lake. We grab a few selfies before sitting down to rest, rehydrate, and consume another trail lunch of bread, cheese, and dried fruit.
After descending Indian Head the same way we climbed it, we rejoin Lake Road and proceed downhill, toward the northern end of Lower Ausable Lake. Here, the lake pours over a steep concrete dam with a series of fish ladders, flowing into a beautifully clear stretch of the Ausable River. As evidenced by the nearby gear, tackle, and parked pick-up trucks, this is a favorite local spot for fly-fishing. As we cross the river over a wooden footbridge, we watch a novice fisherman get coaching on his technique; a few minutes later, he successfully lands a sizeable brown trout, much to Jane’s excitement. I stop to take what turns out to be one of my favorite photos of the trip - a long-exposure composition of the opposite riverbank, with its rippled water and colorful blend of maple, birch, and beech trees.
Continuing onward past the lake, we head up the Weld Trail toward Sawteeth and Gothics. A short way into the forest, the path branches off toward the head of a side canyon. We follow the creek here upstream for about half a mile, as a roar of falling water continues to build and build. Rounding a bend, we abruptly find ourselves stepping into a cathedral of towering stone walls, backlit by the glow of the early afternoon sun, which illuminates a canopy of leaves as vibrant and detailed as any stained-glass window. At the center of this sacred room, Rainbow Falls plunges from the mountain above into a crystal wading pool, from which the creek emerges. A stone staircase, like steps to an altar, lead to a ledge in front of the waterfall. Jane and I scramble up over the wet boulders, and she climbs the staircase while I photograph from a distance. Notwithstanding all of the beautiful waterfalls and watery palaces we have visited throughout the world, this is a special one - one of those truly rare places where nature seems to overflow with abundance, and one’s thoughts cannot help but turn to the eternal. We sit here alone for some time, silently enjoying this momentary space in our lives, before gathering our gear and returning the way we came.
The walk back along Lake Road is a long one, but Jane and I reach the gate of the Reserve, round the bend near the clubhouse, and walk back down to our car by the mid-afternoon. The parking lot, true to expectation, is completely full; we leave our spot for a lucky latecomer and make the short drive back to Lake Placid. That evening, exhausted from another long day on foot (11 miles), we grace ourselves with another absence from sunset photography. We spend the time instead in ourcozy apartment, perfectly content to enjoy our cup noodles, drink hot cocoa, and watch TV by the fireplace late into the night.
