DSettahr
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- Apr 23, 2005
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Took a short and easy day hike in to Hemlock Hill today from Stony Creek (in Coreys). I'd never explored the Raquette River area of the Western High Peaks before, so it was all new to me. As always, it was nice to be out exploring a new place.
When I arrived at the trailhead, the day was warm and sunny. The road beyond the snowplow turnaround hadn't been plowed in some time, but the surface was mostly solid ice so I had no trouble driving all the way to the bridge. Beyond the bridge looked a bit slushy, so I elected to park in a plowed out area just before the bridge.
The truck trail to Raquette Falls had been well packed down thanks to constant snowshoe and ski use all winter long. In spots, though, there was a bit of an icy "spine" beginning to form, as the snow around the packed out path melted more quickly than the path itself. All in all, the going was decent, and I made good time on my snowshoes.
As I hiked, a bank of gray clouds came in and enveloped the sun. Before long, the sun was completely hidden from view, but the day was still warm.
About 2 miles in, I noticed what appeared to be an old logging road split off to the west from the main trail. An old set of ski tracks went down it. I decided to investigate. The road lead me to an old beaver flow, which had filled in and become a bog. The ski tracks disappeared here, but I was able to follow the old road fairly easily. In spots, the snow was quite deep, and my snowshoes sank in 6 inches at times, so the going was slow, but not too bad.
I figured that I was in the vicinity of Hemlock Hill, and before long I struck a trail. At first, I thought I was back on the truck trail again, but I soon realized the markers were a different color (the truck trail markers had been yellow, and the markers on this trail were blue). I decided that this was the side trail to Hemlock Hill, and sure enough, after starting west down the trail, I soon saw the lean-to through the trees. I had seen some flagging on the old logging road, and decided after viewing the map that is is used by "those in the know" as a shortcut to Hemlock Hill that bypasses a section of the main truck trail that climbs up and over a hill. (I looked for this road on old topo maps, but can find no record of it!)
It seems like the Hemlock Hill lean-to gets a lot of use. The register was full of entries from the previous fall, but was lacking a pencil or pen, and so I was not able to add an entry of my own. I imagine that, since the lean-to is on a major paddling route, most of the occupants are canoers and kayakers. The lean-to itself is in decent shape, but unfortunately, much of the melting snow had run beneath the lean-to, and the space in front of the shelter was filled with a puddle of water several inches deep.
While I was eating lunch at the lean-to, it started to rain. Not hard, fortunately, but enough that it was noticeable. I contemplated pulling out my rain gear, but decided that it was warm enough that I'd be ok.
On the way back, I went by way of the truck trail rather than the old logging road. The junction where the trail to Hemlock Hill splits off the truck trail is marked, but the sign is far enough down the side trail that it would be easy to miss.
As I continued hiking, the rain steadily increased, but I still never felt the need for a rain jacket. It felt nice to be hiking in weather warm enough to get away with being wet and not have to worry about hypothermia.
There had been a car parked at the stony creek trailhead when I started in, and it was still there when I returned. As I walked by, the window rolled down and I saw a couple sitting inside... it turned out that they were stuck in the snow. They said they had someone coming to help, though, so I wished them luck and headed back to my car.
The drive out was interesting, to say the least. The hard packed snow had turned to slush in the rain, and I knew that if I hit the breaks I'd lose control, and if I stopped I probably wouldn't be able to start moving again. Fortunately, I made it out without any problems. I certainly wouldn't recommend driving beyond the snowplow turn around to anyone without 4WD until the snow has melted though!
Took a short and easy day hike in to Hemlock Hill today from Stony Creek (in Coreys). I'd never explored the Raquette River area of the Western High Peaks before, so it was all new to me. As always, it was nice to be out exploring a new place.
When I arrived at the trailhead, the day was warm and sunny. The road beyond the snowplow turnaround hadn't been plowed in some time, but the surface was mostly solid ice so I had no trouble driving all the way to the bridge. Beyond the bridge looked a bit slushy, so I elected to park in a plowed out area just before the bridge.
The truck trail to Raquette Falls had been well packed down thanks to constant snowshoe and ski use all winter long. In spots, though, there was a bit of an icy "spine" beginning to form, as the snow around the packed out path melted more quickly than the path itself. All in all, the going was decent, and I made good time on my snowshoes.
As I hiked, a bank of gray clouds came in and enveloped the sun. Before long, the sun was completely hidden from view, but the day was still warm.
About 2 miles in, I noticed what appeared to be an old logging road split off to the west from the main trail. An old set of ski tracks went down it. I decided to investigate. The road lead me to an old beaver flow, which had filled in and become a bog. The ski tracks disappeared here, but I was able to follow the old road fairly easily. In spots, the snow was quite deep, and my snowshoes sank in 6 inches at times, so the going was slow, but not too bad.
I figured that I was in the vicinity of Hemlock Hill, and before long I struck a trail. At first, I thought I was back on the truck trail again, but I soon realized the markers were a different color (the truck trail markers had been yellow, and the markers on this trail were blue). I decided that this was the side trail to Hemlock Hill, and sure enough, after starting west down the trail, I soon saw the lean-to through the trees. I had seen some flagging on the old logging road, and decided after viewing the map that is is used by "those in the know" as a shortcut to Hemlock Hill that bypasses a section of the main truck trail that climbs up and over a hill. (I looked for this road on old topo maps, but can find no record of it!)
It seems like the Hemlock Hill lean-to gets a lot of use. The register was full of entries from the previous fall, but was lacking a pencil or pen, and so I was not able to add an entry of my own. I imagine that, since the lean-to is on a major paddling route, most of the occupants are canoers and kayakers. The lean-to itself is in decent shape, but unfortunately, much of the melting snow had run beneath the lean-to, and the space in front of the shelter was filled with a puddle of water several inches deep.
While I was eating lunch at the lean-to, it started to rain. Not hard, fortunately, but enough that it was noticeable. I contemplated pulling out my rain gear, but decided that it was warm enough that I'd be ok.
On the way back, I went by way of the truck trail rather than the old logging road. The junction where the trail to Hemlock Hill splits off the truck trail is marked, but the sign is far enough down the side trail that it would be easy to miss.
As I continued hiking, the rain steadily increased, but I still never felt the need for a rain jacket. It felt nice to be hiking in weather warm enough to get away with being wet and not have to worry about hypothermia.
There had been a car parked at the stony creek trailhead when I started in, and it was still there when I returned. As I walked by, the window rolled down and I saw a couple sitting inside... it turned out that they were stuck in the snow. They said they had someone coming to help, though, so I wished them luck and headed back to my car.
The drive out was interesting, to say the least. The hard packed snow had turned to slush in the rain, and I knew that if I hit the breaks I'd lose control, and if I stopped I probably wouldn't be able to start moving again. Fortunately, I made it out without any problems. I certainly wouldn't recommend driving beyond the snowplow turn around to anyone without 4WD until the snow has melted though!
