adktyler
Active member
“You’re heading NORTH?!?” one of my professors asked when I informed him of my Easter Break plans. I guess he wasn’t too familiar with the typical behavior of the common Adirondack addict. He had heard of the Cranberry Lake 50, though, a loop I had wanted to hike since I was informed about it by our very own DuctTape. An acquaintance from another forum wanted to hike it this Easter weekend, which happened to be the only time I had a long weekend this whole spring, so I happily accepted. As it turned out, he had some problems at work and had to drop out at the last second, so Thursday evening I prepared myself for a long solo hike.
DAY ONE (23.5 miles, 12 hours):
I found myself on the trailhead in Wanakena, NY, at 9 AM on Friday morning. It was chilly, but the warm sun made me smile at the clear day I would have ahead of me. The beginning of the trail was flat and easy to follow. Before I knew it I was at High Rock, which ended up being my first rest stop. It was neat to see it in this season, with the water so high and the landscape so barren. After some trail snacks I headed out again. The part of the trail in-between High Rock and High Falls was some of the most beautiful, in my opinion, on the whole trail. I love hiking among pine trees, and crisscrossing streams and rivulets. I saw a bunch of moose tracks, and “crazy birds” (have you read Hatchet?), aka grouse, scared the heck out of me quite often. The path went back and forth between a hard, flat trail; a soft, muddy trail; and a wet, snowy trail. By the time I arrived at High Falls, I was beginning to feel my feet. I took a long break there, taking pictures, enjoying the sun, eating a bacon cheeseburger, and loving the outdoors.
Once I left High Falls, the difficulty of the trail began to increase in a direct proportion to my sense of humor decreasing. There was a LOT of snow in some sections, up to my thighs in many places. The mud increased quite a bit as well, and I did an excellent job of getting my boots and gaiters plastered. I was very pleased to see the trail sign at the intersection of the Dead Cr. Flow Trail and the Cowhorn Jct. Trail! I took another long break here, and decided that I wanted to climb Cat Mountain as well. Cat ended up being a very nice choice, and the quick .7 miles to the summit was easy and delightful. The view was very enjoyable, and the lack of wind made for a most pleasant time relaxing above the ledges. The hike down was nice as well, and soon I was heading onto Cowhorn Pond. This section of the trail had the worst blow down of the entire loop, I believe. It was quite the challenge, between the snow and the downed trees, to even make it to the Cowhorn Lean-to.
Upon arriving there, I was greeted by people for the first time that day. They were a group of men from Watertown and surrounding areas who had apparently been out in the woods for 8 days. Each of them had a bit of a crazed look in their eyes as they spoke of their difficulty in getting to the lean-to. They informed me that they “wanted to die” as they hiked in via Wolf Ponds, since the snow was over their waist and they were carrying large packs. I figured it was best to let them duke out their angst with nature by themselves, and I excused myself from their presence to continue my hike onto Olmstead Pond. The hike from Cowhorn to Olmstead didn’t seem to take too long, and before I knew it I was eating a delicious quesadilla while sitting on the floor of the lean-to. There were lots of beaver on this pond, and at one point 4 different ones slapped their tails at me at the same time!
GETTING LOST:
After my dinner break I continued on around the loop, and then onto West Flow. This is where the adventure began. Instead of turning to the right and heading back up the trail to find the connecting trail, I hiked down to the water and promptly got myself lost. I had the CL-50 map, the Paddles Map, and the ADK Mt. Club USGS map all out, trying to figure out how to get to Chair Rock Flow. I figured it was a new trail, so maybe it wasn’t marked yet. I saw a faint herd path heading directly East from West Flow, so I figured that was it. Soon I was lost, wandering around on the cliff-like bank of the lake. This entire scenario demonstrates my sheer stupidity at times. I actually thought I was almost to Chair Rock Flow, as I followed the edge of the bank around to SOUTH FLOW! I By this time it was almost dark, and with adrenaline flowing through my veins I bushwhacked though the woods, knowing that if I followed the shore I would eventually find some trail. Finally I arrived at Six Mile Creek, thinking it was Chair Rock Creek. It’s amazing how once I got something fixed in my mind, I didn’t even consider an alternative, I simply tried to make that pre-conceived notion fit the situation. After crossing the creek I decided that I was not thinking rationally, and should really just set up camp and chill out until morning. So that’s what I did, and I’m sorry to say I spent my first night in my hammock about 50 feet off the trail. I apologize for breaking the rules! It was cold, and dark, the GPS couldn’t get satellite reception, and I thought it was the best decision.
The following morning I awoke to 25 degree temperatures, 5 owls hooting loudly, and a welcome stream of sun cutting though the trees. I still had in my mind that I was on Chair Rock Flow, and was heading down a blue trail to the Biological Center, where I didn’t want to go. So I headed BACK down the trail and over Six Mile Creek again, eventually coming to Sliding Rock Falls. At this point I slapped my mind into submission. I sat down, got out the GPS, got out my guidebook, got out my three maps, and got out my open-minded thinking. After reading and thinking and letting my boots thaw out for about 20 minutes, it finally dawned on me that I had NOT been on Chair Rock Flow, but on South Flow. That’s when it clicked; I laughed in embarrassment, and began my actual hike in the correct direction. Looking back I’m ashamed to have made such a dumb series of mistakes, but learned my lesson though it. It also provided me with the opportunity to see the lovely sunset, and the beautiful cascade on Sliding Rock Falls. I would have seen neither if I had not been dumb, so I guess it all worked out in the end.
Moose Track video
High Falls video
Summit of Cat Mountain video
Olmstead Pond video
Sunset on Cranberry Lake video
DAY ONE (23.5 miles, 12 hours):
I found myself on the trailhead in Wanakena, NY, at 9 AM on Friday morning. It was chilly, but the warm sun made me smile at the clear day I would have ahead of me. The beginning of the trail was flat and easy to follow. Before I knew it I was at High Rock, which ended up being my first rest stop. It was neat to see it in this season, with the water so high and the landscape so barren. After some trail snacks I headed out again. The part of the trail in-between High Rock and High Falls was some of the most beautiful, in my opinion, on the whole trail. I love hiking among pine trees, and crisscrossing streams and rivulets. I saw a bunch of moose tracks, and “crazy birds” (have you read Hatchet?), aka grouse, scared the heck out of me quite often. The path went back and forth between a hard, flat trail; a soft, muddy trail; and a wet, snowy trail. By the time I arrived at High Falls, I was beginning to feel my feet. I took a long break there, taking pictures, enjoying the sun, eating a bacon cheeseburger, and loving the outdoors.
Once I left High Falls, the difficulty of the trail began to increase in a direct proportion to my sense of humor decreasing. There was a LOT of snow in some sections, up to my thighs in many places. The mud increased quite a bit as well, and I did an excellent job of getting my boots and gaiters plastered. I was very pleased to see the trail sign at the intersection of the Dead Cr. Flow Trail and the Cowhorn Jct. Trail! I took another long break here, and decided that I wanted to climb Cat Mountain as well. Cat ended up being a very nice choice, and the quick .7 miles to the summit was easy and delightful. The view was very enjoyable, and the lack of wind made for a most pleasant time relaxing above the ledges. The hike down was nice as well, and soon I was heading onto Cowhorn Pond. This section of the trail had the worst blow down of the entire loop, I believe. It was quite the challenge, between the snow and the downed trees, to even make it to the Cowhorn Lean-to.
Upon arriving there, I was greeted by people for the first time that day. They were a group of men from Watertown and surrounding areas who had apparently been out in the woods for 8 days. Each of them had a bit of a crazed look in their eyes as they spoke of their difficulty in getting to the lean-to. They informed me that they “wanted to die” as they hiked in via Wolf Ponds, since the snow was over their waist and they were carrying large packs. I figured it was best to let them duke out their angst with nature by themselves, and I excused myself from their presence to continue my hike onto Olmstead Pond. The hike from Cowhorn to Olmstead didn’t seem to take too long, and before I knew it I was eating a delicious quesadilla while sitting on the floor of the lean-to. There were lots of beaver on this pond, and at one point 4 different ones slapped their tails at me at the same time!
GETTING LOST:
After my dinner break I continued on around the loop, and then onto West Flow. This is where the adventure began. Instead of turning to the right and heading back up the trail to find the connecting trail, I hiked down to the water and promptly got myself lost. I had the CL-50 map, the Paddles Map, and the ADK Mt. Club USGS map all out, trying to figure out how to get to Chair Rock Flow. I figured it was a new trail, so maybe it wasn’t marked yet. I saw a faint herd path heading directly East from West Flow, so I figured that was it. Soon I was lost, wandering around on the cliff-like bank of the lake. This entire scenario demonstrates my sheer stupidity at times. I actually thought I was almost to Chair Rock Flow, as I followed the edge of the bank around to SOUTH FLOW! I By this time it was almost dark, and with adrenaline flowing through my veins I bushwhacked though the woods, knowing that if I followed the shore I would eventually find some trail. Finally I arrived at Six Mile Creek, thinking it was Chair Rock Creek. It’s amazing how once I got something fixed in my mind, I didn’t even consider an alternative, I simply tried to make that pre-conceived notion fit the situation. After crossing the creek I decided that I was not thinking rationally, and should really just set up camp and chill out until morning. So that’s what I did, and I’m sorry to say I spent my first night in my hammock about 50 feet off the trail. I apologize for breaking the rules! It was cold, and dark, the GPS couldn’t get satellite reception, and I thought it was the best decision.
The following morning I awoke to 25 degree temperatures, 5 owls hooting loudly, and a welcome stream of sun cutting though the trees. I still had in my mind that I was on Chair Rock Flow, and was heading down a blue trail to the Biological Center, where I didn’t want to go. So I headed BACK down the trail and over Six Mile Creek again, eventually coming to Sliding Rock Falls. At this point I slapped my mind into submission. I sat down, got out the GPS, got out my guidebook, got out my three maps, and got out my open-minded thinking. After reading and thinking and letting my boots thaw out for about 20 minutes, it finally dawned on me that I had NOT been on Chair Rock Flow, but on South Flow. That’s when it clicked; I laughed in embarrassment, and began my actual hike in the correct direction. Looking back I’m ashamed to have made such a dumb series of mistakes, but learned my lesson though it. It also provided me with the opportunity to see the lovely sunset, and the beautiful cascade on Sliding Rock Falls. I would have seen neither if I had not been dumb, so I guess it all worked out in the end.
Moose Track video
High Falls video
Summit of Cat Mountain video
Olmstead Pond video
Sunset on Cranberry Lake video
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