Dana
Member
In some ways it was neat, in some ways it was the trip from hell. The plan was to start from Star Lake and hike to Cage Lake on Saturday afternoon. Sunday we'd go to Sand Lake the next day, hopefully arriving early enough to relax for awhile, then start heading back on Monday and get reasonably close to the trailhead for an easy morning hike out on Tuesday.
That was the plan. We arrived a bit late, hitting the trail around 2:30 p.m. in a relentless drizzle. Still, it was warm enough that we shed the raingear after a short time. The trail wasn't too bad at first, but we soon joined up with the main trail which is shared with snowmobiles and ATV's going to a private inholding on Buck Pond. From there on the trail is a MESS! As much mud (foot deep mud puddles the full width of the trail) as dry spots. We slogged on, anyway.
Around Little Otter Pond the trail (an old railroad bed) goes underwater due to beaver flooding around the lake. There is a trail that goes around some of the worst of it, but at one point the only logical way around was to shuck our boots and wade across. Wouldn't have been fun at all if it wasn't warm.
Beyond the pond there are more flooded areas.
We slogged on, some dry spots and lots more mud, until arriving at Buck Pond near the private camp. Here we got a bit messed up after taking an unmarked trail around some nasty mud, and it was getting dark, but we pressed on, arriving at Cage Lake lean-to around 9:00pm. Fortunately the ATV's aren't allowed past Buck Pond so the trail was in much better shape. A very nice spot, but for the bags of garbage left behind by slobs. Lots of pots and pans in the lean-to, also.
The next morning the rain had stopped and it promised to be a nice day. We headed out, nothing notable except for some very neat old beaver dams,
until we reached the swamp before Wolf Pond. The ADK guide book says "it can be crossed on beaver dams." Well, there were no beaver dams, but there were stretches of open water 10' wide and 6' deep. At the worst point, there was the remains of an old log bridge, 2' underwater and very shaky... maybe 10% chance of making it across and staying dry.
It was here that we turned back, and after some brief discussion we decided it was too late in the day to try to bushwhack around it, even if we could find a way across, knowing also that we'd have to return Monday (which would be a long day's hike as it is), so we reluctantly hiked back to Cage Lake for a second night, where we ate the steaks and drank the Scotch and wine we had hoped to enjoy at Sand Lake.
Monday morning we hiked back to Little Otter Pond and spent the night there. Off a side trail up the hill we found the remains of an old cabin, really a log frame tent that somebody had built and tacked plastic over, with a stream nearby. However, Alan wanted to camp closer to the lake, so I gave in and we found a spot near a dry section of the old trail (where it had been bypassed by the new trail due to flooding). Big mistake.
After setting up and cooking dinner, we lay back and looked at the stars... didn't look like rain so we didn't set up the tarp (we use bivy sacks and tarps, never a tent). Around midnight I woke up to a few drops of rain, so we got up, set up the tarp, and went back to sleep.
Sometime later, perhaps around 3 a.m., we awoke to a thuderstorm of biblical proportions. Oh well, the combination of the tarp and my bivy were keeping me dry and warm... but Alan's old bivy sack was leaking from underneath, yes, water was running down the hill and under us. Around 6:00 a.m. he couldn't take it any more, it was still pouring, but we packed up our soggy gear and hit the trail. The only real loss was my digital camera, which despite being in a ziplock bag and inside my pack, covered by the pack cover, somehow managed to get soaked. A few hours later we were heading down the road in dry clothes, and at 11:00 a.m. we were consuming burgers and beer in Tupper Lake.
We'll be back next fall, only this time we'll either hike in from Wanakena via the 5 ponds, or paddle up the Oswegatchie as far as we can, then hike from there.
-Dana
That was the plan. We arrived a bit late, hitting the trail around 2:30 p.m. in a relentless drizzle. Still, it was warm enough that we shed the raingear after a short time. The trail wasn't too bad at first, but we soon joined up with the main trail which is shared with snowmobiles and ATV's going to a private inholding on Buck Pond. From there on the trail is a MESS! As much mud (foot deep mud puddles the full width of the trail) as dry spots. We slogged on, anyway.
Around Little Otter Pond the trail (an old railroad bed) goes underwater due to beaver flooding around the lake. There is a trail that goes around some of the worst of it, but at one point the only logical way around was to shuck our boots and wade across. Wouldn't have been fun at all if it wasn't warm.
Beyond the pond there are more flooded areas.
We slogged on, some dry spots and lots more mud, until arriving at Buck Pond near the private camp. Here we got a bit messed up after taking an unmarked trail around some nasty mud, and it was getting dark, but we pressed on, arriving at Cage Lake lean-to around 9:00pm. Fortunately the ATV's aren't allowed past Buck Pond so the trail was in much better shape. A very nice spot, but for the bags of garbage left behind by slobs. Lots of pots and pans in the lean-to, also.
The next morning the rain had stopped and it promised to be a nice day. We headed out, nothing notable except for some very neat old beaver dams,
until we reached the swamp before Wolf Pond. The ADK guide book says "it can be crossed on beaver dams." Well, there were no beaver dams, but there were stretches of open water 10' wide and 6' deep. At the worst point, there was the remains of an old log bridge, 2' underwater and very shaky... maybe 10% chance of making it across and staying dry.
It was here that we turned back, and after some brief discussion we decided it was too late in the day to try to bushwhack around it, even if we could find a way across, knowing also that we'd have to return Monday (which would be a long day's hike as it is), so we reluctantly hiked back to Cage Lake for a second night, where we ate the steaks and drank the Scotch and wine we had hoped to enjoy at Sand Lake.
Monday morning we hiked back to Little Otter Pond and spent the night there. Off a side trail up the hill we found the remains of an old cabin, really a log frame tent that somebody had built and tacked plastic over, with a stream nearby. However, Alan wanted to camp closer to the lake, so I gave in and we found a spot near a dry section of the old trail (where it had been bypassed by the new trail due to flooding). Big mistake.
After setting up and cooking dinner, we lay back and looked at the stars... didn't look like rain so we didn't set up the tarp (we use bivy sacks and tarps, never a tent). Around midnight I woke up to a few drops of rain, so we got up, set up the tarp, and went back to sleep.
Sometime later, perhaps around 3 a.m., we awoke to a thuderstorm of biblical proportions. Oh well, the combination of the tarp and my bivy were keeping me dry and warm... but Alan's old bivy sack was leaking from underneath, yes, water was running down the hill and under us. Around 6:00 a.m. he couldn't take it any more, it was still pouring, but we packed up our soggy gear and hit the trail. The only real loss was my digital camera, which despite being in a ziplock bag and inside my pack, covered by the pack cover, somehow managed to get soaked. A few hours later we were heading down the road in dry clothes, and at 11:00 a.m. we were consuming burgers and beer in Tupper Lake.
We'll be back next fall, only this time we'll either hike in from Wanakena via the 5 ponds, or paddle up the Oswegatchie as far as we can, then hike from there.
-Dana
the water.
