Long Lake to Axton Landing.

[ADackR]

In our attempts to stay away from delicate soils sara and I will be canoeing Long lake to Axton landing starting on Friday. our goal is to camp near the trail head of Kempshall mtn and climb that on saturday and then proceed to the Falls. probably camp above the falls and finish on sunday.

i was just wondering if anyone else will be out there????

whats' everyones plans for the weekend???

happy hiking/paddleing

 

[woodstrider]

long lake to axton landing

sounds like a nice weekend trip and I wish that I could be out there too. I always wanted to explore this area by canoe- but work calls.

Listen- I heard that the trail up Kempshall Mtn. had been abandoned and is no lnoger maintained..? Not meant as a discouragement.

lol

 

[ADackR]

yeah it's going to be great and the weather is going to be awesome

as far as the trail. yeah i know it's not maintained but the last i knew it wasn't too bad to get up there and with the trees just starting to bud, i'm hoping to maybe see at least somthing throught them....

 

[JJwilliams]

nothing budding here, views should be great, snowed and stuck the other day, monday maybe it was?

waters still real high on raquette, should be a fun trip. take pics.

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/press/pressrel/2004/200439.html

 

[rondak46]

Kempshall trail.....

It was easy to follow when I did it 2 years ago. Towards the top it is easy to get diverted to the left by blowdown. The diversion can make it tricky so just be careful to stay on the old trail as you get higher up.

Mike

 

[Sara]

Well, AdackR and I survived our adventure on Long Lake. The weather was fantastic, beautiful sunset on Friday night and NO black flies. It's great getting in an early paddle before the buggers strike! Kempshall was a fun climb, with the brook running along the entire trail. The top was quite overgrown but manageable. Friday night we enjoyed natures symphony as the calls of loons, owls and coyotes filled the air. We also saw many ducks on the Raquette River. Does anybody know what the name of the white duck with a black head and orange bill is called. The female is brown, smaller and also has an orange bill. We saw four or five couples along the way. I don't recall ever seeing this breed before. Thanks for any info.

 

[oswegatchie]

Merganser? www.birdingamerica.com/.../ bolsachicamorn.htm?

 

[woodstrider]

unknown ducks

Common Merganser, largest of all the mergansers in the USA. The one in formal attire is the male, the female is plainer. The red breasted merganser is also common in the 'dacks.

 

[Mark Schaefer]

Merganser photo on Adirondack Like website

Sara, if you are still looking for further verification check out this photo of a Pair of Mergansers on the Adirondack Life website. The photo was taken at Saranac Lake.

 

[Sara]

Mark, Thanks for the link! That's what we saw. Funny, neither of had ever seen them before. I wish we had seen some of their chicks swimming along with them but it's still a bit too early.