DSettahr
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This past weekend, my friend Anna and I spent Saturday night at Tub Mill Marsh in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness.
We arrived at the Short Swing Trailhead at about 6:45 in the afternoon, and ended up hiking in to the lean-to in the dark. The trail in to Tub Mill Marsh is about two and a half miles, and while the first tenth of a mile is rough going, most of the way in is on an old road bed and was easy hiking, even in the dark. Fortunately, the rains that had preceded the weekend had finally given way to clear skies, and so our hike in was accompanied by stars that became clearer as the darkness spread. Along the way, we passed the junction for the old road to the Pyramid Life Center. This junction was much more obvious than when I had passed on a circuit of the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness 2 summers ago, as PLC had put up a sign indicating the old road and clearing indicating that it led to private property.
Further down the trail, we encountered a somewhat disturbing sight... apparently, the folks at PLC had taken it upon themselves to mark a trail up Bear Mountain. It wouldn't be so bad if they had done this inconspicuously, but instead, they chose to use bright orange spray paint to do it. The start of the trail, where it turns off the old road, is pretty well marked now with bright orange arrows on the trees, and bright orange dots on all the trees along the path up the mountain.
After making the climb up over to the ridge and descending to Tub Mill Marsh, we finally reached the lean-to in the darkness. We quickly got dinner cooking and then promptly eaten, and then scrounged for firewood. It was difficult finding good wood, thanks to the recent heavy rains, but we were able to find enough small kindling and some larger branches that were dry on the inside, and soon we had a nice roaring camp fire going.
The log book at Tub Mill Marsh has numerous entries, but I don't think the lean-to gets much overnight use, and I think most of the entries are from day hikers. It's pretty obvious just looking around the lean-to that the camping pressure here is limited, as you don't have the numerous cut stumps and damaged tree trunks that you unfortunately so often see at more popular camp sites.
While Anna stayed up near the fire, I took some time to explore around the lean-to. In the darkness, it was a little difficult to locate the marsh, which is some distance downhill of the lean-to. There was an old clearing down there that looked like an old campsite. It looks like obtaining drinking water from the marsh could be tricky, and a better source of water for the lean-to is probably Rock Pond Brook, which is a few tenths of a mile further down the Short Swing Trail.
The next morning we packed a day pack and headed further down the Short Swing Trail. Crossing Rock Pond Brook was tricky due to the swollen nature of the stream after the heavy rains, but the water had come down enough that it wasn't impossible. We stopped to take a few pictures at Honey Pond, and then continued uphill to Lillypad Pond, where we took a left at the trail junction, leaving the Short Swing Trail to head over to Rock Pond.
The lean-to on Lillypad Pond is a nice one, and is situated in a beautiful grove of pines a little ways up from the pond. There is a trail down to a rocky point on the water, which we took only to discover that Lillypad Pond was completely devoid of lilly pads!
From Lillypad Pond, we continued east along the trail to Rock Pond, which first descends back downhill to the waterfall on Rock Pond Brook. The waterfall is not visible from the trail, but it's quite easy to hear, and after walking a few hundred feet through the woods you can easily reach the base of the falls. The falls are probably about 40 or 50 feet in height, with several cascades. Definitely worth checking out if you are headed by this area.
From the waterfall, we continued on a steady uphill grade until we reached Rock Pond. We decided to follow the trail clockwise all the way around the pond, which necessitated crossing Rock Pond Brook again immediately. The crossing here was similar to the one on the Short Swing Trail downstream, tricky but not impossible.
In addition to the lean-to on the east shore, Rock Pond has several designated campsites on the west and north shores. We decided to stop for lunch in a nice spot on the north shore in which someone had kindly erected a stone table and chairs. The north shore in general was sunny and warm despite the chilly weather and the low angle of the sun.
After lunch, we continued eastward around the pond. At the old graphite mine, we pulled out our headlamps and headed in to take a look. While we were there, a group of four younger people showed up and also went in to check it out. The inside of the mine is pretty muddy (we were both covered up to our ankles in muck, despite the numerous tree trunks people have hauled in over the years to put down as a sort of walkway). It only goes back maybe a few hundred feet before ending in a short climb up into a small room. From the far end you can still clearly see the entrance.
Having satiated our appetite for checking out an abandoned mine, we continued on our way. Just past the mine are some neat foundations and an old boiler. Before long we were at the lean-to, where we met a nice couple with a young girl who had day hiked from Putnam Pond. They had been spending their weekends exploring the different ponds in the area, and they they found out I was somewhat familiar with the area, they seemed eager to pick my brains for some nice day hike destinations that they had not yet visited. I recommended Clear Pond and Grizzle Ocean to them, as well as a climb up Treadway Mountain.
By this point, the sun was obviously dipping lower in the sky, and so we hurried around the south shore of the lake and back along the trail to Tub Mill Marsh. As it had been that morning, beyond (west) of Rock Pond the trails were completely devoid of people, which I found surprising for a Sunday with such nice weather. Eventually we returned to the Tub Mill Marsh Lean-to, and after packing up and walking back down to the marsh to take some pictures in the day light, we headed out.
The hike out, being mostly downhill, was easier than the hike in, and we arrived back at the trailhead right around dusk. We threw our packs into our cars, and headed to Warrensburg for the nearest Stewart's that I new of. I had been craving Stewart's chili all afternoon, and finally getting my hands on a bowl of it was a perfect way to end a nice weekend in the woods with great weather.
This past weekend, my friend Anna and I spent Saturday night at Tub Mill Marsh in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness.
We arrived at the Short Swing Trailhead at about 6:45 in the afternoon, and ended up hiking in to the lean-to in the dark. The trail in to Tub Mill Marsh is about two and a half miles, and while the first tenth of a mile is rough going, most of the way in is on an old road bed and was easy hiking, even in the dark. Fortunately, the rains that had preceded the weekend had finally given way to clear skies, and so our hike in was accompanied by stars that became clearer as the darkness spread. Along the way, we passed the junction for the old road to the Pyramid Life Center. This junction was much more obvious than when I had passed on a circuit of the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness 2 summers ago, as PLC had put up a sign indicating the old road and clearing indicating that it led to private property.
Further down the trail, we encountered a somewhat disturbing sight... apparently, the folks at PLC had taken it upon themselves to mark a trail up Bear Mountain. It wouldn't be so bad if they had done this inconspicuously, but instead, they chose to use bright orange spray paint to do it. The start of the trail, where it turns off the old road, is pretty well marked now with bright orange arrows on the trees, and bright orange dots on all the trees along the path up the mountain.
After making the climb up over to the ridge and descending to Tub Mill Marsh, we finally reached the lean-to in the darkness. We quickly got dinner cooking and then promptly eaten, and then scrounged for firewood. It was difficult finding good wood, thanks to the recent heavy rains, but we were able to find enough small kindling and some larger branches that were dry on the inside, and soon we had a nice roaring camp fire going.
The log book at Tub Mill Marsh has numerous entries, but I don't think the lean-to gets much overnight use, and I think most of the entries are from day hikers. It's pretty obvious just looking around the lean-to that the camping pressure here is limited, as you don't have the numerous cut stumps and damaged tree trunks that you unfortunately so often see at more popular camp sites.
While Anna stayed up near the fire, I took some time to explore around the lean-to. In the darkness, it was a little difficult to locate the marsh, which is some distance downhill of the lean-to. There was an old clearing down there that looked like an old campsite. It looks like obtaining drinking water from the marsh could be tricky, and a better source of water for the lean-to is probably Rock Pond Brook, which is a few tenths of a mile further down the Short Swing Trail.
The next morning we packed a day pack and headed further down the Short Swing Trail. Crossing Rock Pond Brook was tricky due to the swollen nature of the stream after the heavy rains, but the water had come down enough that it wasn't impossible. We stopped to take a few pictures at Honey Pond, and then continued uphill to Lillypad Pond, where we took a left at the trail junction, leaving the Short Swing Trail to head over to Rock Pond.
The lean-to on Lillypad Pond is a nice one, and is situated in a beautiful grove of pines a little ways up from the pond. There is a trail down to a rocky point on the water, which we took only to discover that Lillypad Pond was completely devoid of lilly pads!
From Lillypad Pond, we continued east along the trail to Rock Pond, which first descends back downhill to the waterfall on Rock Pond Brook. The waterfall is not visible from the trail, but it's quite easy to hear, and after walking a few hundred feet through the woods you can easily reach the base of the falls. The falls are probably about 40 or 50 feet in height, with several cascades. Definitely worth checking out if you are headed by this area.
From the waterfall, we continued on a steady uphill grade until we reached Rock Pond. We decided to follow the trail clockwise all the way around the pond, which necessitated crossing Rock Pond Brook again immediately. The crossing here was similar to the one on the Short Swing Trail downstream, tricky but not impossible.
In addition to the lean-to on the east shore, Rock Pond has several designated campsites on the west and north shores. We decided to stop for lunch in a nice spot on the north shore in which someone had kindly erected a stone table and chairs. The north shore in general was sunny and warm despite the chilly weather and the low angle of the sun.
After lunch, we continued eastward around the pond. At the old graphite mine, we pulled out our headlamps and headed in to take a look. While we were there, a group of four younger people showed up and also went in to check it out. The inside of the mine is pretty muddy (we were both covered up to our ankles in muck, despite the numerous tree trunks people have hauled in over the years to put down as a sort of walkway). It only goes back maybe a few hundred feet before ending in a short climb up into a small room. From the far end you can still clearly see the entrance.
Having satiated our appetite for checking out an abandoned mine, we continued on our way. Just past the mine are some neat foundations and an old boiler. Before long we were at the lean-to, where we met a nice couple with a young girl who had day hiked from Putnam Pond. They had been spending their weekends exploring the different ponds in the area, and they they found out I was somewhat familiar with the area, they seemed eager to pick my brains for some nice day hike destinations that they had not yet visited. I recommended Clear Pond and Grizzle Ocean to them, as well as a climb up Treadway Mountain.
By this point, the sun was obviously dipping lower in the sky, and so we hurried around the south shore of the lake and back along the trail to Tub Mill Marsh. As it had been that morning, beyond (west) of Rock Pond the trails were completely devoid of people, which I found surprising for a Sunday with such nice weather. Eventually we returned to the Tub Mill Marsh Lean-to, and after packing up and walking back down to the marsh to take some pictures in the day light, we headed out.
The hike out, being mostly downhill, was easier than the hike in, and we arrived back at the trailhead right around dusk. We threw our packs into our cars, and headed to Warrensburg for the nearest Stewart's that I new of. I had been craving Stewart's chili all afternoon, and finally getting my hands on a bowl of it was a perfect way to end a nice weekend in the woods with great weather.
