DSettahr
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- Apr 23, 2005
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My friend Anna and I decided to do an easy overnight this past weekend. Since I'd yet to stay in any of the lean-tos in the Lake George Wild Forest, and the drive wasn't too far, we decided to head to the east shore. Our original plan was to stay at either Lapland Pond or Black Mountain Ponds, but when we arrived to find the Lapland Pond Lean-to occupied, we elected to move on to Millman Pond instead, as I had heard it was a nice lean-to.
When the guidebook says that the trail beyond Lapland Pond turns into a little-used path, it isn't kidding. Looks like the vast majority of traffic from the Pike Brook trailhead is people doing the Black Mountain Loop. The trail south, when not coinciding with the snowmobile trail, was pretty narrow and not well worn. Fortunately, it was fairly well marked.
We did encounter a couple of confusing junctions with snowmobile trails though that aren't marked on the map. Some of them are mentioned in the guidebook, some aren't. Basically, if you keep an eye out for and follow the "Foot Trail" and "Trail" markers, you'll be all right.
Whoever said that Millman Pond is nice wasn't lying. The caretaker keeps the lean-to in very good condition, and while it doesn't have much of a few, it sits on a nicely wooded bluff overlooking the water, with the pond visible through the trees. There's also a dock, but thanks to beaver activity, much of the dock is now underwater. Definitely one of the nicest lean-tos I've stayed in. We noted in the lean-to register that a group staying there the previous weekend had reported that the pond was still iced over, but it was open when we arrived.
Sunday morning, we decided to take a walk down to Fishbrook Pond to check out the lean-tos there before heading out. The trail mostly follows the snowmobile trail, and it is a bit wet and muddy in spots but not too bad going. Mostly it was downhill to Fishbrook Pond. We visited the northern most lean-to first, Fishbrook Pond #2. This too was a very nice lean-to, situated in an open spot along the shore facing the south, where it gets plenty of sunlight. There were two guys camped there, one of whom had been there since Tuesday. They said that the ice had only gone out on the pond on Thursday. They had already caught a nice supply of Brookies, and went right back to fishing as soon as we moved on.
The southern lean-to, Fishbrook Pond #1, was also a very nice lean-to set on a point jutting out into the water and surrounded by pines. In our trip around the lake, we also noted several campsites, however none were designated and all were within 150 feet of the water. It looks like Fishbrook Pond gets a lot of use, in contrast to Millman Pond with seems to get very little use. One of the two guys we talked to at the northern lean-to indicated that the lean-to at Greenland Pond is also very nice and gets little use.
We returned to Millman Pond, and found the hike back to seem shorter than the hike down to Fishbrook Pond. After relaxing in the sun on the dock for a little while longer, we packed up and headed back to the trail head, taking a short break at the Lapland Pond lean-to on the way.
Overall, trails are drying out pretty nicely, but we did still encounter a few muddy spots. No mosquitoes or black flies to be seen yet. No sign of any ice or snow either. We did hear lots and lots of woodpeckers on both days. Judging by the trail register, quite a few people went up Black Mountain on both days.
My friend Anna and I decided to do an easy overnight this past weekend. Since I'd yet to stay in any of the lean-tos in the Lake George Wild Forest, and the drive wasn't too far, we decided to head to the east shore. Our original plan was to stay at either Lapland Pond or Black Mountain Ponds, but when we arrived to find the Lapland Pond Lean-to occupied, we elected to move on to Millman Pond instead, as I had heard it was a nice lean-to.
When the guidebook says that the trail beyond Lapland Pond turns into a little-used path, it isn't kidding. Looks like the vast majority of traffic from the Pike Brook trailhead is people doing the Black Mountain Loop. The trail south, when not coinciding with the snowmobile trail, was pretty narrow and not well worn. Fortunately, it was fairly well marked.
We did encounter a couple of confusing junctions with snowmobile trails though that aren't marked on the map. Some of them are mentioned in the guidebook, some aren't. Basically, if you keep an eye out for and follow the "Foot Trail" and "Trail" markers, you'll be all right.
Whoever said that Millman Pond is nice wasn't lying. The caretaker keeps the lean-to in very good condition, and while it doesn't have much of a few, it sits on a nicely wooded bluff overlooking the water, with the pond visible through the trees. There's also a dock, but thanks to beaver activity, much of the dock is now underwater. Definitely one of the nicest lean-tos I've stayed in. We noted in the lean-to register that a group staying there the previous weekend had reported that the pond was still iced over, but it was open when we arrived.
Sunday morning, we decided to take a walk down to Fishbrook Pond to check out the lean-tos there before heading out. The trail mostly follows the snowmobile trail, and it is a bit wet and muddy in spots but not too bad going. Mostly it was downhill to Fishbrook Pond. We visited the northern most lean-to first, Fishbrook Pond #2. This too was a very nice lean-to, situated in an open spot along the shore facing the south, where it gets plenty of sunlight. There were two guys camped there, one of whom had been there since Tuesday. They said that the ice had only gone out on the pond on Thursday. They had already caught a nice supply of Brookies, and went right back to fishing as soon as we moved on.
The southern lean-to, Fishbrook Pond #1, was also a very nice lean-to set on a point jutting out into the water and surrounded by pines. In our trip around the lake, we also noted several campsites, however none were designated and all were within 150 feet of the water. It looks like Fishbrook Pond gets a lot of use, in contrast to Millman Pond with seems to get very little use. One of the two guys we talked to at the northern lean-to indicated that the lean-to at Greenland Pond is also very nice and gets little use.
We returned to Millman Pond, and found the hike back to seem shorter than the hike down to Fishbrook Pond. After relaxing in the sun on the dock for a little while longer, we packed up and headed back to the trail head, taking a short break at the Lapland Pond lean-to on the way.
Overall, trails are drying out pretty nicely, but we did still encounter a few muddy spots. No mosquitoes or black flies to be seen yet. No sign of any ice or snow either. We did hear lots and lots of woodpeckers on both days. Judging by the trail register, quite a few people went up Black Mountain on both days.
