Women who float...Women who fly

     Maybe my wife doesn't need to know about this but I've been hanging out with some wild women lately. But that's not as risque as it sounds,  since they all came to me safely enclosed between the covers of a book. In this post I'ld like to introduce you to several female adventurers whose exploits ranged from Africa to the Grand Canyon to the Adirondacks.

     Beryl Markham's West with the Night is a whoosh of a ride on horseback and in airplanes.  She was born in England in 1902 and moved to East Africa with her father while still a toddler (Her mother went in a different direction with a different man!) She grew up free and unfettered by convention...think hunting warthog by spear with the local Murani. Along the way she learned to tell really good stories.

     Her dog's name was Buller and "He fought anything that needed to be fought, and when there was nothing immediately available in this category, he killed cats." One night a leopard slipped into Beryl and Buller's sleeping hut and dragged the dog into the bush. Buller, though badly chewed, managed to survive while the leopard got the worst of the encounter. In another 'only in Africa' incident Beryl was "moderately eaten by a large lion" and lived to tell about it. Then came the warthog hunt and, well, you've got to read it to believe it.

     Those adventures all happened while she was still a young girl. As an adult she became a trainer of race horses and then a bush pilot in the early days of aviation. As you might guess these pursuits led to more stories of thrilling 'by a nose' races and 'by a hair' close calls in the air. What West with the Night is not, is a tell all. She never mentions her three husbands and numerous lovers. You'll have to look elsewhere, for example, to find the story about her affair with Prince Henry, Duke of Glouchester, where she had to hide in a Buckingham Palace cupboard when Queen Mary came into the room!

Beryl up there

On horseback and in a plane

     You might think cataloging the botany of the Grand Canyon to be a rather staid achievement compared to flying solo over Africa and across the Atlantic. Don't be so sure. Not when you consider that the only way to access much of the canyon was in a raft when the Colorado river had been run only a few times. Brave the Wild River tells the story of two women, Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter, who took on the challenge in 1938. 

     The 2023 book by science journalist Melissa Sevigny tells of the  half-baked 43 day expedition and its colorful cast of characters. There are personality conflicts, near catastrophe's and a lot of interesting history, geology and botany. While not considered 'women's work' at the time it should be noted that the plants they collected and the notes they took are still an invaluable resource for botanists and land managers to this day. A fun and inspiring read.

Along these lines...a few related books of interest:

* Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine De Saint-Exupery is the lyrical classic of the early days of flying.

 

* Amelia Earhart's The Fun of It and Jean Batten's My Life are two books by famous women flyers.

* Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen shares time, geography and bedmates with Markham's book. Made famous by the Robert Redford/Meryl Streep movie.

     You don't have to go out west or to the other side of the world to find remarkable women adventurers. Doc - Orra A. Phelps, M.D. - Adirondack Naturalist and Mountaineer is Mary Arakelian's biography of her aunt Orra, who lived in Wilton just a little north of Saratoga Springs. This book resonated with me because of personal connections on several levels. My mother grew up in Wilton just a short distance from Orra's Parkhurst Road home and she often spoke of her famous neighbor. In the book there's a chapter on Dr. Phelps service in the Navy during the second world war. My grandfather ran a store in Wilton during those years and knew everyone in the community including the Phelps family. He was drafted in the final months of the war just before he aged out of eligibility and was killed in action in Europe as the fighting was winding down.

The Phelp's Homestead on Parkhurst Road

This is privately owned and not open to the public

The public preserve is on the opposite side of the road

     After the war Orra returned to Wilton and the Adirondacks, taking a job with theVeterans Administration. Upon retirement she devoted herself fully to the mountains and natural history education. She had previously written the first two editions of the Adirondack Mountain Club's guide to High Peaks trails. In retirement she became the club's first ranger-naturalist at Heart Lake. When I joined ADK in the mid-80's there were many people who had known Orra personally and held her in high esteem. Finally, I visit the Phelps Preserve frequently. This is the part of her family farm that has been preserved by Saratoga PLAN. Walking the trails Orra walked, beneath oak and ash, alongside several headwater streams of the Snook Kill is my way of connecting with both an amazing person and the community of my family's heritage. 

Gwenne's photos from a hike at the Phelp's Preserve this spring

   

     

Spring Comes to Sucker Brook

      

     Sometimes it seems like there is 'Washington County' and then there is 'Dresden and Putnam'. The two northern most towns can feel like a world apart from their more southerly cousins.  Cross over South Bay and things become sparer, leaner. There are more rock cuts than houses and those rock cuts are huge. Rt. 22 takes on the feel of an overgrown roller coaster with long slow uphills and thrilling descents. And the towns themselves further divide into the Lake George hugging hamlets of Huletts, Gull Bay and Glenburnie  while Clemons, Dresden Station and Putnam center are Lake Champlain oriented.

Google Earth image of Dresden and Putnam looking north

Lake Champlain Narrows right and Lake George upper left

     Because it takes me an hour of driving just to get there, I haven't explored this area as much as I'd like. But that's going to change and this spring is off to a good start. I've already made two trips to the Sucker Brook Preserve with, hopefully, more to come. If streams in the Town of Putnam took a vote it would be two against one with Charter Brook and Mill Brook both flowing east into the Narrows of Lake Champlain while Sucker Brook takes a turn to the west emptying into Lake George. Because much of the Sucker Brook watershed is owned and protected by the Lake George Land Conservancy it is easily accessible with a network of trails and viewpoints.

In this image from the LGLC's website the Sucker Brook Preserve is on the right with

Lake George left and center. Looking north. 

Uncredited but almost certainly a Carl Heilman photo

 

     The LGLC has been protecting land here since 1998. Today there is a block of conserved land from Flat Rock just south of the Essex County line all the way to Gull Bay Road. Three parking areas and trailheads give access to these properties. A trail off Schwerdfeger Road leads to the summit of Record Hill where there are great views of Lake George. Then there are trails into the Sucker Brook Preserve from Warrick Road near Glenburnie and Sagamore Road near Gull Bay. All the trails in Sucker Brook interconnect so you could explore the entire preserve from either the north or south but that would make for a long day. For most hikers it makes sense to split their visit into two trips. That's what I did recently with a walk from Warrick Road on the blue trail down to the lake and then a few days later using the yellow trail from Sagamore Road to the Cedar Swamp.

 

 

This map and list shows protected properties near Lake George 

in the Town of Putnam

     The LGLC maintains a seasonal dock so boaters can access the Sucker Brook Preserve from the lake. The blue trail connects the dock and lake shore to the North parking lot. While the distance and elevation change won't challenge experienced hikers it is a somewhat rocky, rugged trek. Lake George sits in its graben surrounded by cliffs and ledges and all the trails in the basin are challenged to find a route that isn't a rock climb. The woods here are fairly open with a mix of hemlock, pine and various hardwoods. I noted three different oaks: red, white and chestnut. Just before reaching the lake there is a spur to a viewpoint but this can be skipped. The trees have grown so as to obscure any view which once existed.

Lake George ice out at bottom of blue trail

Gwenne and Zia enjoying the view

     From Warrick Road there is also a short trail to an overlook of a large beaver pond. It might be possible to canoe here for the adventurist.  Below the beaver dam Sucker Brook tumbles steeply down to the lake. After hiking you should take a few minutes to drive down to Glenburnie if for nothing more than the gorgeous view of Anthonys Nose and Record Hill.

     Many people visit the southern section of Sucker Brook just to see the heron rookery. The birds use standing dead trees in a beaver pond to build their nest. It's thought that water surrounding the trees prevents many predators from climbing the trunks to steal eggs. Over time the dead trees fall and the area becomes less attractive to the herons. That seems to be happening here. As I walked the yellow trail a couple of days ago I couldn't see any activity but did spot a few nests that seemed abandoned. Fortunately the pond is still home to other wildlife as a flock of ducks near shore attested. 

Once upon a time

A heron on her nest at the Sucker Brook pond

(web image)

Evicted?

The herons don't seem to be using these nests anymore.

Sucker Brook has broke thru a small beaver dam

Cedar and hemlock on the east side of the swamp

The feathery spray of Northern White Cedar needles

     My next destination was the White Cedar Swamp. While I did see some Northern White Cedars there were many more hemlocks than arbor vitae where I was. Perhaps I wasn't in the right spot but I was reluctant to explore the wetland by myself late in the day. It would be interesting to come here with an experienced naturalist familiar with the place. The trees are known to prefer calcareous environments which makes me wonder if there might be marble bedrock. After poking around a bit a jammed camera lens convinced me to call it a day. On previous trips I checked out the beaver dam and climbed the sketchy red trail to a viewpoint and scene of a fire. From the parking lot staying on the blue trail will bring you to a Lake George overlook complete with a picnic table. It's a sweet spot to cap off your explorations.

(web image)