Lake Lila, NY's Adirondacks

[Robin]

Here's some pictures of a trip to Lila I took a while back. Lila is located off rt 30 in central Adirondack Park, just west of Long Lake, NY

I stopped here to take a look at someone's rock structure.

Alot of work, too much time spent carrying rocks rather than paddling. To each his own.

I paddled over to the southeast corner of the lake and found my favorite "solo" site (#16) vacant. I have used this site before when I visited the lake, one 3 day trip in late October never went above 50F, I burned lots of firewood that week.

This site has a really nice wild beach around it, great for walking and checking animal tracks...and also pretty good for finding lures from the many trout and bass fisherman who visit Lila.

I also managed to get out of bed early enough to get some shots of the morning fog and my canoe.

The lake has great shorelines where bass hang out just waiting for a floating Rapala lure.

Evening paddles are extra special here, the fishing remains good and the sunsets are very nice.

When the lake kicks up, or any time for that matter, a paddle up Shingle Shanty Brook is something I never miss. It meanders thru some wild forest and the chance of wildlife encounters is always good, if the solo paddler remains quiet. I had a black bear swim directly behind my canoe one morning. I think he might have smelled me, but didn't hear or see me, or maybe he just wanted to cross and didn't care if I was there or not.

Lake Lila is one of my favorite canoe destinations, it's easy to get alot of information about it on the web, and always worth the trip there.

 

[ScottB]

Nice report!

 

[Guest]

@ Robin

Lovely lake and pics.

 

[Seeker]

Thanks Robin... Lila's one of my favorites too. My avatar was shot on the beach of Campsite #20, just north of yours.

This is not helping me decide where to go this year, you know... I had almost settled on Low's/Bog River, until this... (keep it up!)

 

[Robin]

Sometimes it's hard to pick which one to visit, Bog River or Lila, maybe LTL, sometimes Cedar River flow, on and on. But, I guess that's a good thing.

I met a guy at Bog River who had started at Lila, he walked the old railroad bed to a pond, then into Lows and down Bog, out to Horsehoe LK., he was hoping to hitchhike back to Lila on rt 30. Lots of State Troopers use that road, I wished him luck.

 

[yellowcanoe]

More Lila

Lows

On the RR...

 

[Murat V]

Thanks Robin & YC for posting those lovely pics

 

[stripperguy]

OK, I've looked and looked to find my photos of the old lodge at Lake Lila...did you know Webshots is no more?? Anyway, I had some photos of Nehasne Lodge from the first time I visited Lila in '83...can't lay my hands on those photos just now, but here's what was left of the lodge the next year. DEC determined the lodge had no historical significance, and burned down the nonconforming structure from the newly designated wilderness area.

And here's the train station in 1984

Train statin in 1992

Here's the washed out railroad trestle, also in 1992

Trestle in 1999

Train station in 1999

That trestle has long since been repaired.


And wait, one more...same train station in 2007

 

[yellowcanoe]

So glad you hung on to old photos..those are really neat!

 

[yknpdlr]

I hiked in from the Stillwater side and visited Lila's Nehasane camp while it was still operating, probably sometime in the late 1970's or 1980. A couple of years later, in the fall, my wife was reading about Adirondack Great Camps, and when the area was officially opened to the public she asked me if we could go. Sure, we'll go in the spring, I said. Comes April, and the DEC burned it down. How disappointing. We went anyway, a couple of weeks later. It was practically still smoking. Several multi-story chimneys with a fireplace on each floor remained standing. It was a spooky scene. Some time later the site was dozed and covered and nothing remains today other than a grassy field. I have some archival photos someplace also, not sure where at this moment.

 

[stripperguy]

MDB and I went there with another in the summer of '83. We camped at a natural beach site just W of the Shingle Shanty. My Darlling Bride and I paddled across the lake to check out the great camp, the other couple said "nah...it's too choppy out there. We'll see it next year".

When we did go back the next year, without that couple, we saw what was left of that too cool lodge. The ranger on duty told us that he was there in March, when the DEC eliminated everything. He said the ice melted 200 yards from shore near the lodge site.
While rummaging through the remains, we met a fellow camper that was just too excited because he found a souvenir brick...a brick.

yknpdlr...I'd love to see those old photos. Mine from when the lodge was still standing were on print film...I'll scan the photos and post up in a few days.

 

[Robin]

Very interesting photos of the area. One day my son hiked the tracks while I went fishing, he said hiking the tracks is tough cause the ties are too close.
I heard they do that (keep the ties too close for a normal gait) just to keep folks from walking the tracks, any truth to that?

 

[Seeker]

I saw a deer on the tracks on my way to climb Mt Fredrica. I doubt it about the track spacing.... i think it has more to do with proper ballasting and weight bearing for the local soil.

 

[Robin]

Well, I guess sitting around a fire after a day outdoors folks come up with all sorts of theory's on just about everything....

 

[yellowcanoe]

Well, I guess sitting around a fire after a day outdoors folks come up with all sorts of theory's on just about everything....

The tracks are dated 1923. Back then someone probably HAD to walk the tracks sometimes; there are a couple of sidings and switches on that portage. I wasn't expecting to Google Railroad Tie Spacing with my AM coffee!

 

[stripperguy]

The tracks are dated 1923. Back then someone probably HAD to walk the tracks sometimes; there are a couple of sidings and switches on that portage. I wasn't expecting to Google Railroad Tie Spacing with my AM coffee!

YC,

William Seward Webb laid those tracks starting in 1891...even had his own private stop. Lake Lila was the place to be for the rich, famous and connected around the turn of the century, 20th, that is.

 

[yknpdlr]

I saw a deer on the tracks on my way to climb Mt Fredrica. I doubt it about the track spacing.... i think it has more to do with proper ballasting and weight bearing for the local soil.

The spacing of RR ties of any tracks I have ever walked is just awful. Completely wrong for a normal human step. Years ago I hiked along the tracks the entire 18 mile distance from Big Moose to Beaver River, and then on to Nehasane. And back. What in the world was I thinking.

 

[yellowcanoe]

YC,

William Seward Webb laid those tracks starting in 1891...even had his own private stop. Lake Lila was the place to be for the rich, famous and connected around the turn of the century, 20th, that is.

No doubt the RR was there before. I just noted the 1923 date stamped on the tracks as I hiked back to get my boat.

 

[oldie moldy]

Well, back when they started laying down tracks most of the track road work was done by men of Irish ancestry and survivors of the potato famine. They were tougher than boiled owls but rather stunted as to stature. Now that we're better feed we're no longer fit to walk in their footsteps. Simple when you think of it; and might even be true. However my motto is "never let the facts or history interfere with a good story". Or even a bad one.
Rob

 

[stripperguy]

Thread resurrection!!
I just got back from a weekend at Lila... the train station is not long for this world.

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