Pine Orchard, Wells, NY
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2015 10:55 pm
NTS,
Today I spent some time in Hamilton County, NY, at a place called the Pine Orchard. I'm sure most of you are familiar with or at least have heard of this forest, but I didn't find any reports on it on the bulletin board. Perhaps it's on the old site, or I missed it, but just in case, I'm starting a new thread.
This was my first visit to the Pine Orchard, after driving within five miles or so of it probably a couple of hundred times. It's relatively easy to get to, with access via NY State routes 8 and 30, though the walk is much shorter from the Rt. 30 entrance. The Sierra Club Guide to the Ancient Forest of the Northeast has excellent directions. The weather was great, bugs weren't a problem at all, and the forest overall was a beautiful experience. Wildlife seemed to enjoy itself, as well; I spooked a deer and a turkey, and saw several small snakes and toads.
Now, on to the trees. The Pine Orchard features Eastern White Pines, and lots of them. After walking a mile or two through unremarkable Red Spruce-Balsam Fir forest with old hemlock, young white pine, and the native northern hardwoods, the white pines get much larger and more frequent. According to the Sierra Club Guide description, these trees grew in openings left by a hurricane in 1815, making them exactly 200 years old. This age seems appropriate to me; the pines lack the character, if not the size, of the Elders Grove in Paul Smiths.
Some views from among the giants: I measured nine white pines; these are the heights in ascending order (the second column is the CBH):
125.4'
130.9'
131.7' 11'4"
132.6' 9'10"
136.4'
144.7' 11'4"
146.1' 13'4"
151.0' 12'10"
14'10"
The largest circumference pine I wasn't able to get a clear shot at the top, but it seemed to be around 125' tall. A double-trunked pine next to it was much larger, probably 18' or so, but it was clearly a fusion.
Before getting into the tall pines, I measured two Balsam Firs at 90', one alive and one dead. The best I got for hemlock was a 92.6', 6' CBH individual. The tallest Red Spruce I measured was 82.3'; the species was abundant but not as tall as they looked. There's probably one over 90' in the vicinity, but I didn't find it. I also measured two tamaracks at 84.6' and 89'.
These are the hardwoods I measured, mostly to get a Rucker Index. There may have been taller examples at this site for each species, but not by much.
Northern Red Oak 78.0'
Red Maple 99.4' 6'1"
Red Maple 99.0'
White ash 80.5'
Bigtooth aspen 78.9'
Black cherry 81.0'
Paper birch 83.0' 6'7"
The Paper birch, Bigtooth aspen, and Balsam Fir were personal bests for heights. Here's a couple of shots of the birch: Overall, this trip was really exciting. Though I only measured nine white pines, there are probably more than a dozen over 130' in height, and maybe another one or two over 150'. My favorite tree in the woods today had to be the Paper birch - I've never seen one even close to that in size. If I had to choose to visit either the Pine Orchard Paul Smiths's Elders Grove, I'd have to go with the Pine Orchard. What a cool place!
Elijah
P.S. On the return trip, I drove a loop east, north, and back west along NY Rt. 28N. East of Huntington Forest in Newcomb, I measured a roadside Balsam Fir to 104.6, with a CBH of 5'1", breaking my personal record earlier in the day by almost 15'.
Today I spent some time in Hamilton County, NY, at a place called the Pine Orchard. I'm sure most of you are familiar with or at least have heard of this forest, but I didn't find any reports on it on the bulletin board. Perhaps it's on the old site, or I missed it, but just in case, I'm starting a new thread.
This was my first visit to the Pine Orchard, after driving within five miles or so of it probably a couple of hundred times. It's relatively easy to get to, with access via NY State routes 8 and 30, though the walk is much shorter from the Rt. 30 entrance. The Sierra Club Guide to the Ancient Forest of the Northeast has excellent directions. The weather was great, bugs weren't a problem at all, and the forest overall was a beautiful experience. Wildlife seemed to enjoy itself, as well; I spooked a deer and a turkey, and saw several small snakes and toads.
Now, on to the trees. The Pine Orchard features Eastern White Pines, and lots of them. After walking a mile or two through unremarkable Red Spruce-Balsam Fir forest with old hemlock, young white pine, and the native northern hardwoods, the white pines get much larger and more frequent. According to the Sierra Club Guide description, these trees grew in openings left by a hurricane in 1815, making them exactly 200 years old. This age seems appropriate to me; the pines lack the character, if not the size, of the Elders Grove in Paul Smiths.
Some views from among the giants: I measured nine white pines; these are the heights in ascending order (the second column is the CBH):
125.4'
130.9'
131.7' 11'4"
132.6' 9'10"
136.4'
144.7' 11'4"
146.1' 13'4"
151.0' 12'10"
14'10"
The largest circumference pine I wasn't able to get a clear shot at the top, but it seemed to be around 125' tall. A double-trunked pine next to it was much larger, probably 18' or so, but it was clearly a fusion.
Before getting into the tall pines, I measured two Balsam Firs at 90', one alive and one dead. The best I got for hemlock was a 92.6', 6' CBH individual. The tallest Red Spruce I measured was 82.3'; the species was abundant but not as tall as they looked. There's probably one over 90' in the vicinity, but I didn't find it. I also measured two tamaracks at 84.6' and 89'.
These are the hardwoods I measured, mostly to get a Rucker Index. There may have been taller examples at this site for each species, but not by much.
Northern Red Oak 78.0'
Red Maple 99.4' 6'1"
Red Maple 99.0'
White ash 80.5'
Bigtooth aspen 78.9'
Black cherry 81.0'
Paper birch 83.0' 6'7"
The Paper birch, Bigtooth aspen, and Balsam Fir were personal bests for heights. Here's a couple of shots of the birch: Overall, this trip was really exciting. Though I only measured nine white pines, there are probably more than a dozen over 130' in height, and maybe another one or two over 150'. My favorite tree in the woods today had to be the Paper birch - I've never seen one even close to that in size. If I had to choose to visit either the Pine Orchard Paul Smiths's Elders Grove, I'd have to go with the Pine Orchard. What a cool place!
Elijah
P.S. On the return trip, I drove a loop east, north, and back west along NY Rt. 28N. East of Huntington Forest in Newcomb, I measured a roadside Balsam Fir to 104.6, with a CBH of 5'1", breaking my personal record earlier in the day by almost 15'.