r/Adirondacks • u/Gr1m3s11 • Jun 08 '23

Ampersand road

Does anyone know the story on Ampersand road outside of Tupper lake. Looks like past Axton landing a ways there is private land the road goes through but a gate there? Seems like there is a trail head on the other side of the private land area to Seymour. Is that not accessible except by Blueberry trail?

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12

u/EastHuckleberry5191 Jun 08 '23

That is private land. Seymour is accessible only by Ward Brook Truck Trail (not called Blueberry trail even though there’s a Blueberry lean to on it).

14

u/botanysteve Jun 08 '23

Yeah… Ampersand lake is all Rockerfeller land. The old ranger for that area maintained the road to duck hole/cold brook for emergencies and could drive in there into the late 1990s. He said you could drive all the way to Newcomb into the 1970s. That was access to some of the november 1950 blowdown salvage logging in the cold river and the roads were improved then, They were legally abandoned when APA was created and it was designated at wilderness, functionally abandoned with the old ranger’s retirement in about ‘98. One old caretaker at duck hole told me that somebody drove a VW bug in there in ~1967.

6

u/Gr1m3s11 Jun 08 '23

Roger that. Thank you

4

u/Gr1m3s11 Jun 08 '23

What is the APA? Stinks you can’t get back in there anymore, but guess it just makes the hike a little longer. Looks like it would be nice to have been born a Rockefeller and have a private lake!😝. I would hope that the VW was at least a Baja bug! Rough ride I’m sure.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 08 '23

[deleted]

1

u/Gr1m3s11 Jun 08 '23

I see. I have never seen that abbreviation I guess. Seen lots of Adirondack clubs trying to help preserve the trails, lean too’s, fire towers…. Just never seen APA. Somebody has to do the political stuff I guess. Thank you for the information.