ADK Heart Lake Proposal - Pro or Con?

[skiguy]

Are you a member of any outings clubs? If so, what if any demographic changes have you observed?

Cheers, Cliff

I have had on and off membership with both the ADK and the AMC over an almost fourty year hiking Career. I have had continued Membership with the RMC (Randolph Mountain Club) for about twenty five years. Right now I am registered with all three. I am probably the closet in touch with the RMC because that is where most of my involvement has been over the years aside from just paying dues. The RMC has also been seeing a decline in membership and number of hiker visits. They too are somewhat fiscally challenged at this point and are and have been trying to understand why while looking for ways to boost revenues. The RMC is a vey small club and operates on an amazingly small budget quite effectively. I think that we can all probably agree that demographics of the hiking and outdoor community have changed since the eighties. Also I feel that the present economy certainly plays a role in these declines. Again this is why I feel that a more systematic/phasic approach to this project would have been better. I do believe some effort has gone into the challenges that the ADK has but at the same time it is unfortunate that the Vision seems to cradle the ideals of a contrasting Outdoor Enthusiasts whom does not embrace the ideals of what the ADK has been in the past.

 

[Mike P.]

I'm largely agasinst it but did just skim the plan. I'm okay paying some parking fees when I use the lot trusting they will be used (for the most part) appropriately.

Last summer I stopped in at the Loj to pay my membership dues & show the family the lodge. (We were playing tourist in Lake Placid) I had stayed a couple of times, last time in 2005. It's much nicer than AMC huts but still rustic enough not to be thought of like the Highland Center.

Considering the HPIC center & this lot is the ADK equivalent of say the PNVC trail access or Crawford Notch, it's far less built up. I enjoy the moment I pull onto Loj Rd. with the superb view, the drive over the one lane bridge & the drive through the woods. Should any sanitation & pollution issues be addressed, sure. Odd they would be looking at lowering the number of bunks at the Loj, the couple of times I've stayed they have been near capacity & last year I tried calling a few weeks before the Iron Man for a space that weekend & they were booked. Speaking of which, I need to find out when that is this year so I can plan around it.

 

[Little Rickie]

Are you in favor of the proposed changes to the ADK property near Heart Lake?

For reference:

Original thread

ADK Web Page with more information

ADK High Peaks Thread

That's a lot of reading.

The vote seems split. With so few responders and the lack of protest the plan will probably be implemented.

Lets all cheer for the "ADK Inn!"

 

[kd9truck]

southmedow is so much more plesent than the loj it will be sad to see it closed I loved the wilderness feel of that aproach come and go as you please .

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

In response to Black Spruce (post #15), Parking at the Garden, provided and maintained (outhouse, snow plowing, etc.) by the Town of Keene Valley, is only $5 a day, which I don't consider to be expensive by any means. You could always park at Rooster Comb and walk the 2 miles uphill. It's a very nice walk, by the way.

And why do you suppose that this thread has over 1000 views and only 31 replies to the survey?

 

[Tom Rankin]

And why do you suppose that this thread has over 1000 views and only 31 replies to the survey?

I'm not sure what you are implying.

But in any case, that's the way this board works. There are a lot of lurkers here. Some can't get registered because they can't get sponsored. Some don't care and just read anyway. Other registered users, like myself, check back regularly, because they want to follow the discussion.

Consider this: If only 31 people cared about this thread, (the # of responders), and each read every post singly when it was posted, (which I'm pretty close to on this thread, but I started it!), we would have 31x25=775 views right there. And I'd bet there are more people than that who care.

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

I hadn't thought about lurkers, but I realize that many people have multiple viewings of any thread. What I really meant was that if hundreds of people read about a topic like this and only thirty care to vote, it may indicate a lack of enough interest to influence changes, or to prevent unwanted change to an area that so many of us love and visit frequently. I suppose that low "voter turnout" is a normal part of society.

That said, some of the changes detailed in the HLMP and the High Peaks UMP may never come to pass; it's a plan, and is subject to alteration. Though I would miss the ability to crash on South Meadow Road at 1 AM after driving up after work, I don't see a problem with closing the road to cars and offering more camping and lodging opportunities at Heart Lake. I've seen enough evidence of car break-ins at S. Meadow (broken glass on the ground) that I won't leave my car there unattended overnight, and consequenty have never walked the truck trail from there to Marcy Dam. I do have questions regarding the unaddressed specifics of the plan to relocate the trails that eminate from the HPIC. This includes changing the TH for the VH trail, and if so, the trail to the MacIntyres that branches off of the VH trail well before it reaches Marcy Dam.

 

[Little Rickie]

I hadn't thought about lurkers, but I realize that many people have multiple viewings of any thread. What I really meant was that if hundreds of people read about a topic like this and only thirty care to vote, it may indicate a lack of enough interest to influence changes, or to prevent unwanted change to an area that so many of us love and visit frequently. I suppose that low "voter turnout" is a normal part of society. .

Sad but true, apathy. If people had more than a passing interest they'd post.

 

[Little Rickie]

And I'd bet there are more people than that who care.

I don't think so. They are all talking about global warming or something else.

 

[Grumpy]

Well, I started hiking in the High Peaks during the early 1960s, not long adter the Adirondack Mountain Club acquired Adirondack Loj from the Lake Placid Club.

So I remember the pleasant but limited parking in a grassy field fronting the Loj, and the cooling-off dips in Heart Lake at the end of a hike and before the 5-hr road trip back to Syracuse. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the new parking lot and Hikers’ Building that came along in the 1970s, at first. But I got accustomed to it.

More than three score years of living and better than a half century of hiking have taught me, finally, that change is the constant. I don’t especially like change, particularly when I’ve grown reasonably comfortable with the way things are. But I do accept it, both as a reality and as a necessity.

And so, we come to the planned changes at Heart Lake and South Meadow Road.

I endorse the plan.

It’s not that I think the proposed changes will achieve perfection. But I think for one thing they will help ADK and Adirondack Loj survive into the future. I believe ADK is an important and constructive institution, and I believe Adirondack Loj is an important site. So the long term viability of both is important to me. The plan seems carefully considered to help achieve that end. I applaud ADK for taking the bull by the horns and attempting to secure its future.

That’s where I stand, and that’s how I “voted” in the mini poll here not long after it was initiated. I haven’t posted text in this thread before because I didn’t think it was especially necessary to explain myself or that there was a whole lot to discuss. I doubt seriously that anything I have to say will sway opnion one way or the other.

G.

 

[BobK]

I'm for it given the realities of the situation

Thanks Grumpy - nice summary & it reflects my feelings. I too will miss access from the S. Meadow lot as I am mostly in the area in winter for skiing including overnight. With the growth of visitors (even if trail head sign-ins might be down a bit) and the deteriorated facilities, the plan seams reasonable.

The partnership between NY State and ADK also seems reasonable. As an ADK member, I support it too.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Grumpy -

That says it for me, too. I voted for it, despite some misgivings. No organization's perfect, but the ADK does a reasonably good job representing its diverse constituency. Their expansion plan deserves the support of the membership.

 

[skiguy]

I have not been using the Daks this Spring and Summer. Has anyone been in touch with this situation as of late? Thanks

 

[J.Dub]

I have not been using the Daks this Spring and Summer. Has anyone been in touch with this situation as of late? Thanks

Somehow, I missed this thread back when it was first posted, but when I was up in the ADK's last week (staying at the Loj campground) I didn't see any signs of construction and the South Meadow lot was still open.

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

The discussion has been about the Heart Lake Master Plan, and long term changes that will likely come, but have not yet begun. Enjoy South Meadow Road while you can. By the way, is the "temporary" bridge still there on Loj Road?

 

[Little Rickie]

Where could one find an update on this thing? I don't recall reading more about it their magazine.

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

I don't know that there is an update. I think the plan is in place, and the next step may be for the DEC to move forward with their part of it. You could contact ADK directly (good luck contacting the DEC), or if you are a member of ADK, ask your chapter chairman to obtain that info from the club.

 

[Tom Rankin]

By the way, is the "temporary" bridge still there on Loj Road?

It was still there Monday...