LOCALadk Magazine

22 Fall 2018 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk Town of Webb TOBIE Trail Story and Photos By Linda Grace One sunny day in mid-September, I set out to ride my bike the entire length of the TOBIE Trail, which winds through the Towns of Webb and Inlet, in the west-central Adirondacks. TOBIE is an acronym for the communities that it connects: Thendara, Old Forge, Big Moose, Inlet and Eagle Bay. The trail begins in west Thendara, south of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad, and travels approximately 14 miles ending at Inlet's Arrowhead Park. The majority of the trail runs along a multi- use back-countr y dirt road, which functions as a snowmobile trail in the winter. There are multiple access points, so the trail can be done all at once or in sections. It is well-marked and well-maintained for hiking and biking throughout its entire length. The trail connec- tions were completed in 2012, with the help of a multi-year federal grant. There are many places along this trail to enjoy the beauty of nature and also this area's intriguing histor y. As I rode over the trail bridge that connects Thendara and Old Forge, my imagination carried me away to the late 1800s and early 1900s. In the days of the area's early travel- ers, there were ver y few roads and those that existed were muddy, rocky, and rutted. It must have been a rough ride for those who traveled on horseback or rode in horse-drawn carriages. The most convenient means of travel was by the steamer ships that ran up and down the Fulton Chain of Lakes. The best way for people to get to the steamboats was by train, but even those that traveled by train were not exempt from discom- fort. There are accounts of trains struggling over the terrain in the early days of the railroad. On occasion, passengers had to get out and help push the train up hills. The railroad brought travelers from the south to Minne- haha Station, where they would transfer to the steamer fer- r y known as The Fawn, which navigated up the Moose River. The Lock and Dam in Thendara was built to raise the river level to accommodate the steamer. Upon reaching where the Moose River now flows beneath the NYS Route 28 overpass, passengers had to transfer from the Fawn to wagons, called buckboards, to finish their trip to Old Forge Pond, where they could again board a steamer ferr y. In 1896, a railroad spur was built from the existing railway to allow a more direct connection to the lakes. The current TOBIE Trail Bridge was built on the same footprint where that connecting rail line used to cross over the river. The trail begins at the corner of State Route 28 and Se- quoia Road in Thendara, heads northeast to Forge Street past the Thendara train station and connects back to the side of Route 28. It follows Route 28 for about a half mile, turns right onto Hemlock Lane, then left over the TOBIE Bridge. I stopped to get off my bike to view the Moose River which never fails to offer a beautiful photo opportunity. From the Old Forge side of the bridge the trail runs along Railroad Avenue, which turns into Park Avenue and then skirts the base of Maple Ridge Mountain. Beginning in 1939, this wide ridge was a ski mountain with a rope tow that was a rope attached to the axle of a truck's wheels after the truck was mounted securely at the top. As someone ran the truck, the wheel axle would turn: the pulley for the tow rope. Many generations of schoolchildren learned to ski on this hill and it even produced a few Olympians. Part of the ridge also ser ved as the town's premier sled- ding hill. Although Maple Ridge is no longer a winter sports hub, the hull of an old truck still sits atop the mountain to- day. Hiking and mountain biking trails have been constructed in some of the most heavily wooded areas of the ridge and can be accessed directly from the TOBIE trail. The bottom section of the trail system passes a fitness loop. It weaves along the edge of the woods and offers multiple stations including a chin-up bar, a sit-up plank, a balance beam and parallel bars.

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