My first forays into the Plains were on foot and they consumed half a day’s time going and coming. I enjoyed the walk, communing with nature and viewing the historical remnants of a by gone era. It did impinge to a great extent on much of the time we would have devoted to the recreational aspects, which were the whole meat of the trip in the first place. It meant a day lost in fishing, hunting, trapping and doing those things mentioned in the second sentence of this paragraph.
The day arrived when a float plane became part of my wilderness experience. My Uncle Stan, who introduced me to the Plain’s, treated me to a float plane trip into Beaver Lake. Alan Wilcox who owned the Beaver gave us permission to fly into and out of the lake. We were there, unloaded our gear, and were reveling in that which we came for. The plane was gone, leaving no trace of its presence and us in true wilderness silence in less than five minutes.
Believe me it was one of the most memorable experiences of my lifetime. I wanted my own grandchildren to have the same experience and I gave it to them on the July tenth weekend of this year. We flew into the Mitchell Stillwater on the West Canada Creek part of the sixteen hundred acre West Canada Preserve. It is as remote an area as one could find in the Adirondacks. We flew in on Saturday and out late Sunday afternoon.
The grandchildren were fourteen-year-old Tecwyn Williams and eleven-year-old Alec Gousset. Tecwyn had experienced float plane travel before but for Alec it was his first. The look on his face and his reaction were priceless. Tom Williams, owner of the property, and Tecwyn’s father Jim Williams accompanied us. It was a real wilderness experience for all of us and would have been physically impossible for two of us. We camped out and did all of the usual things people do back in the bush this time of year.
Jim Payne and son Tom flew us in with all of our gear and returned us to their base in Inlet along with our garbage. Total time spent getting there and back was one half hour.
There were several remote lakes that offered real wilderness float plane camping experiences before the advent of the Adirondack Park Agency and its many enabling environmental organizations. There is no environmental impact on float plane access to remote areas whatsoever. There is the opportunity for much more impact from backpack campers who may be tempted to not pack out their residue. In the past, rangers were able to monitor conditions throughout their districts much more thoroughly then they are able to now. They were alerted much sooner to trends and illegal activities that degrade the overall quality of the land and those that use it. The public was much safer and rescue efforts were brought into play much sooner.
Weather conditions have precluded forest fire conditions for years here in the Adirondacks. Many long-serving rangers have never had to be concerned with major fires in their careers. That was not the case in the sixties when we were inundated with forest fires. If and when similar conditions should arise in the future, all of the forest preserve and private forest lands as well will be endangered. In the sixties, the float plane operators were the backbone of the fire control efforts. Their help in early detection and suppression activities were invaluable. We could easily have a repeat of the early 1900’s when hundreds of thousands of forest lands and improvements were destroyed by fire. If and when similar conditions should prevail, there will be a critical lack of experienced qualified float plane operators. Due directly to state policies, most Adirondack float plane operators have been forced out of business. Those remaining are the only true endangered species in the Adirondacks.
There are still a handful of state waters left open to the only two remaining operators I am aware of left in the Adirondacks. They are the Payne and Helms operations in Inlet and Long Lake, respectively. If you have never had the pleasure of a float plane camping experience or sight seeing flight do so while the opportunity still exists.
See for yourself if what I have said about float plane travel in the Adirondacks is true or not. If it is, tell your state legislators to rescind the present restrictions on float planes in the Adirondacks and quit instituting regulations that limit employment opportunities and dictate how Adirondack residents maintain their private property.