A Visit to ‘Little Canada’
They called it Little Canada. In the latter half of the 19th century, many of those who settled in the area now known as the Siamese Ponds Wilderness were Canadians who came to work for logging companies there. Among the immigrants was one John MacKenzie, who arrived around the time of the Civil War and, according to some historians, lent his name to a beautiful body of water known then as “John’s Pond.”
John Pond is believed to be named for John MacKenzie, who immigrated from Canada around the time of the Civil War.
Today that pond is a stop on the 4.7-mile John Pond and Clear Pond Loop Trail, divided between the Warren County First Wilderness and Hamilton County. On a cold midwinter day, four of us – three on snowshoes, one on spikes – set out around midmorning to hike the loop, starting from the north trailhead toward Clear Pond and immediately ascending through the woods with moderate elevation.
After an eight-inch snowfall a few days earlier, the trail had been broken, evidenced by the recent presence of skiers. Their narrow track made for some occasional tricky steps on snowshoes, and the microspike hiker found that following in the tracks of a snowshoer made for his best footing.
One of the beauties of winter hiking, of course, is the less-obstructed view of your surroundings as you make your way through the forest. The John Pond and Clear Pond Loop Trail is a good example of that advantage, offering striking winter scenes through the trees on a bright winter day.
During the early part of the hike, views to our left showed clearings through the trees, while views to the right were those of a denser hardwood forest. After just under a mile, we approached the spur to Clear Pond and turned left to follow it for a tenth of a mile to the water. After a brief break to enjoy the views of the pond – and discover a rowboat buried under the snow at the pond’s edge – we backtracked to the main trail and continued in our clockwise direction.
For the next half mile, the trail hugs the shore of Clear Pond, on this winter day affording beautiful views of the frozen white surface and the hills beyond under a bright blue sky. Soon we began to catch glimpses of John Pond through the trees, and after another 1.2 miles, we came to the spur leading another tenth of a mile to the shore of John Pond.
The lean-to just off the shore of the pond provided an ideal spot to drop our packs and enjoy our lunch – hot soup on a cold day. The scenes at John Pond were every bit as satisfying as those at Clear Pond, thanks to the perfect weather day we had chosen. For our group, hiking for its own sake is the point of the experience, but spectacular views of mountains, forests, and water are always important to our destinations.
Soon after resuming, we came to the short spur that leads to the most unusual feature of this hike – the gravesite of two of Little Canada’s children, Peter Savarie and Eliza King (half-brother and sister), who perished in a diphtheria epidemic in 1897. The crosses marking the graves, a hundred yards off the main trail, are nestled in a small clearing in the woods, respectfully protected by a low fence. It’s a place to pay respects and reflect on the challenges facing those who settled in the North Country so many years ago.
Victims of a diphtheria epidemic,Peter Savarie and Eliza King tragically died on the same night in 1897.
Much of the rest of the hike followed a frozen creek bed, mostly snow-packed, but with occasional icy patches, making good use of the snowshoe and microspike treads. Here there are views of an expanse of marshland, lined mostly with evergreen trees.
We concluded the hike at the John Pond Trailhead parking area, then walking a few hundred yards – without snowshoes – along the road back to our Clear Pond Trailhead parking spot. This is a winter hike for those of all ages and experience levels, well-marked, scenic, and invigorating during a cold January day.
Directions: From Indian Lake follow state Route 30 toward Speculator to Big Brook Road on the left. Turn down Big Brook Road for 3.6 miles. Turn left onto Starbuck Road for 0.4 mile. Continue straight onto Lakeview Drive until it dead-ends into Wilderness Lane.
Getting There
You’ll find this trail guide on the Warren County Recreation Mapper. It’s #31.
BY DAN FORBUSH
The Smartacus Story Collaborative produces Trip Reports with input from the Warren County Department of Planning and Community Development, the Warren County Historian, and the Warren County Historical Society. Our goal is to make your visits to the First Wilderness maximally rewarding, as amazing as we can.
John Pond is one of those gems we hesitate even to write about, for fear that hordes of hikers will descend on it. But we will.
Both sides of the Northway are breathtaking, but only the west offers the Hudson River and all that history unfolding as Thomas C. Durant drove his Adirondack Railroad 60 miles into the Great Forest, starting in Saratoga Springs and ending three miles beyond North Creek. He had to lay those extra miles to hit 60, the minimum the state required for Durant to satisfy the terms of the deal, which delivered to Durant 700,000 acres of prime Adirondack Forest to develop as he and his son William could.
Skip the Northway and take the scenic route that follows the Hudson and the tracks. From Saratoga Springs, drive north on 9N to Corinth, which once was called Jessup’s Landing because this bend in the river was where the lumbermen backed up their wagons to haul logs around Palmer Falls, the 70-foot drop that was a major tourist attraction in its day, before the dam was built.
As you approach Hadley, look for a small sign on your left that will steer you toward the Parabolic Bridge on your way to Stony Creek Road. Once in Stony Creek, let your GPS be your guide, making a series of turns that will take you into Thurman and the South Johnsburg Road, where you’ll be treated to a spectacular view of Crane Mountain.
Here’s a test. See if you can find the historical marker for Elm Hill, the “forest citadel” developed by John Thurman, whose domain in the early 1800s was so extensive that both Thurman and Johnsburg are named for him.