Ray Curran and Dan Spada

Join Ray Curran and Dan Spada on this field trip to explore a small portion of a unique “old growth forest” that covers more than 10,000 acres. Truly of landscape scale the entire “first growth forest” is generally located east of Middle and Lower Saranac lakes, south of the Saranac River and north and west of Ampersand Mountain and her foothills. This trip will explore a portion known as the “Valley of the Giants,” in recognition of the impressive size of the northern hardwood and conifer assemblage found therein. Stands and communities that are available to explore are yellow birch, sugar maple, hemlock, white pine, red pine, white cedar fens, black spruce and tamarack bogs, and medium fens. These are all embedded in a matrix of first growth forest that shows varying degrees of disturbance from natural events. So many of the individual specimens are centuries old and many are young.

Topographic features include glacial erratic assemblies, a mile long esker, wetlands and pristine streams. The topography is generally flat and rolling and accessible to hikers. For this reason it will tolerate exploration without damage to the biota. We expect to walk a round trip of approximately 4.5 miles through this terrain.

Ray Curran served as the Supervisor, Resource Analysis and Scientific Services division at the NYS Adirondack Park Agency for 31 years. Dan Spada served in the same capacity for 7 years. Both have a tremendous amount of experience exploring and interpreting the Adirondack landscape.

Sturdy foot wear, tick and other biting insect protection, adequate water and a lunch and snacks are required.

There is a limit of 18 participants for the trip so please register early. We will send you more details on the trip and the meeting place after completing registration. If you have any questions about the trip before registering, contact ampersand@nyflora.org.