Bushwhack to Railroad Notch from the Garden

[buddy]

I'm thinking of bushwhacking up to Railroad Notch/Little Meadows from the Garden for a few days of Camping/Bushwhacking this winter. I'm looking for any usefull info concerning that approach or any recommendations for a better approach. I was also considering an approach from the Cascade Mountain trail head, heading south then turning east at Meadow brook. It's 500' less elevation to climb but at least a mile longer. My gut tells me that this route could be more troublesome and offer more terrain challenges in the form of blow downs and dense vegatation. Once there we will attempt to whack up to the Brothers trail to go over to Big Slide. We will also be poking around Little Porter and anything else that looks interesting. Any suggestions, advice and/or relevant info would be very much appreciated. Buddy

 

[TCD]

I've been in there both ways. Approaching from the Garden is definitely easier. On the Cascade approach, the ridge that extends SW and then W from Porter is very rugged, and there are sections of moderately thick woods. The Garden approach is open and beautiful.

To optimize the Garden approach: Take the trail toward Big Slide via the Brothers. Before the steep climb begins to the first Brother, break right (N) from the trail and then contour around the N side of the Brothers ridge. If you stay at least a few hundred feet downhill to the N of the steep ridge, the going is easy and very open. You will enjoy the view of the spectacular ice and rock formations on the Brothers ridge!

A nice through trip would be to spot a car at the beginning of Meadows Lane along the Loj road.

Sounds like fun!

 

[JoeCedar]

In the 1800s, there was a road through there between Keene Valley and North Elba--no kidding! Here is a LINK to the 1895 USGS Mount Marcy Quad (select the NE & NW corners and follow the dashed line). I haven't been up there, but you can probably see evidence of the old road in some places. They usually, but not always, took the path of least resistance.

 

[iceNsnow]

Buddy- I have done the b/w between Big Slide and Porter Ridge a number of times. Starting just below the summit trail jct on the Bros. Trail and heading down to RR Notch was quite open and easy going - as was the climb up to the Porter Ridge. I did over shoot the trail coming off Porter once b/c the leaves camo'd the track. It was very park-like and enjoyable between these points. One day I saw remnants of a camp and some other artifacts. Having lunch on the beaver dam another day, I felt as if I was being watched. Looking around I almost fell into the water after seeing a huge beaver staring at me (I guess that is vain to say...he probably just had an eye for my sandwich!)
Another beautiful section of the park!

 

[buddy]

Great info

Thanks for the great info. The link to the old maps brings additional points of interest to an area like this. Does anybody know the origin of the Railroad Notch designation? I assume it has to do with a logging railroad that may have been there at one time. It seems like the perfect valley (through a lumbermans eye's) for a logging line to cable logs off the mountain sides. Any directs towards links that may fill that piece of history in would be much appreciated. Thanks again for the help so far. Buddy

 

[TCD]

I'm not an expert on the history, but IIRC there was no railroad actually built through the notch. I think the notch was originally surveyed for a railroad, and there was a plan to put a railroad through there, but it was never actually completed.

 

[tgoodwin]

If you start up the Big Slide trail and then break right as was suggested, you will find traces of the old road. Coming from Cascade Pass, you can follow the ski trails to the end of the Big Rock Loop and then continue down to South Meadow Brook. Open woods there as well - at least the last time I did it. Another alternative is to climb Little Porter and then break left on a wide, flat shelf that leads past several ponds to the notch.

The name "Railroad" came from a proposed railroad that would have extended the line from Ausable Forks through this notch to get to Lake Placid. It was promoted in one newspaper article as being a "scenic" route to Lake Placid. The real motivation was apparently to get someone else to build it so that J.J. Rodgers Company could haul pulp wood to their mill in Ausable Forks rather than having to drive the river. Climbing 500 feet higher than Cascade Pass made this an impractical route to begin with, and the 1903 fire ended any chance that this could be called a "scenic" route.

The name "Railroad Notch" has also been applied to Klondike Notch with the story that it was on the Underground Railroad to John Brown's Farm. There is no credible historical evidence that this was the case - Russell Banks' "Cloudsplitter" novel notwithstanding. The "Timbucktoo" settlement near John Brown's Farm was for freed slaves and was not on the route to Canada.