My original plan was to take advantage of a couple days off of work, and backpack into Stephens Pond for the night to enjoy the last of winter-like conditions in the Adirondacks. The forecast looked pretty good, so I packed up my gear and hit the road, and arrived at the NPT parking area at Lake Durant around 9AM. With my faithful dog, Jenny, leading the way, I set off through the campground with my pulk in tow.
As we made the turn from the campground road onto the NPT, I put on my snowshoes and we headed up the trail. The NPT was well packed, but I was disappointed to see that illegal snowmobile use evidently still occurs on this 'Wilderness' trail. It was also apparent that a group of people before me must have thought that the snowmobile tracks were enough to convince them that they didn't need to wear snowshoes, as there were many post holes along the trail, making the walking somewhat difficult for me, and my dog. Sure enough, about one hour into the hike and halfway to Stephens Pond, my dog twisted her front right ankle. :banghead:
She was just a few yards ahead of me when she took an awkward step, then stopped and began to whimper and lick her paw & ankle area. Thankfully, a quick examination didn't reveal any wounds or broken bones. However, rather than continue any further in, I thought it would be best to turn around and head back. Jenny was limping pretty badly at first and seemed to be in a lot of pain, but she seemed to get much better as we returned closer to the Lake Durant campground.
Being reluctant to pull the plug on the trip completely, I figured why not take a quick walk through the campground on the well groomed road and see how see does? Well, Jenny didn't seem to mind at all! In fact, she was once again running along the road and seemed to be enjoying herself. She was still limping only slightly, but it didn't seem to bother her much anymore, which in turn made me feel a whole lot better.
After doing a loop through the campground, I decided to take advantage of one of the more inconspicuous campsites just off the main road, behind some trees and on the edge of the forest. I wasn't 100% sure if camping at the campground sites during the off season was legal or not, but I didn't see any signs prohibiting it, and I remember reading somewhere awhile back that most campgrounds campsites fall into normal backwoods regulations during the off season. After all, I was only going to be there for one quick night, and it was sort of an emergency ;), so I set up my tent to let Jenny rest as I shoveled out the fire pit.
After resting awhile, I took my empty pulk up the trail a ways and found a nice, dead and downed hardwood tree along the trail, so I engaged in a bit of trail-maintenance, which provided plenty of firewood for the night after only two short trips.
At one point a uniformed member of the DEC rode by on a snowmobile. I waved to him, but he never even saw me, thanks to the inconspicuous campsite that I chose.
After finishing up my camp chores, Jenny and I took a short walk down to the shore of Lake Durant to enjoy the sunny skies and views of Blue Mountain.
The rest of the afternoon was spent just relaxing in camp, and after awhile Jenny was feeling well enough to resume her favorite campsite pastime as a firewood thief.
As the sun began to set, we took another walk down to the shore to watch and snap a few photos.
All in all it turned out to be a very fun trip! After watching the sun set we returned to camp to have dinner, enjoy the campfire, and get to bed early. In the morning we woke up early, and I made some breakfast, packed up, cleaned up the campsite a bit and stacked the leftover firewood next to the fire pit for the next occupants, and we made the short walk out to the parking area.
As we made the turn from the campground road onto the NPT, I put on my snowshoes and we headed up the trail. The NPT was well packed, but I was disappointed to see that illegal snowmobile use evidently still occurs on this 'Wilderness' trail. It was also apparent that a group of people before me must have thought that the snowmobile tracks were enough to convince them that they didn't need to wear snowshoes, as there were many post holes along the trail, making the walking somewhat difficult for me, and my dog. Sure enough, about one hour into the hike and halfway to Stephens Pond, my dog twisted her front right ankle. :banghead:
She was just a few yards ahead of me when she took an awkward step, then stopped and began to whimper and lick her paw & ankle area. Thankfully, a quick examination didn't reveal any wounds or broken bones. However, rather than continue any further in, I thought it would be best to turn around and head back. Jenny was limping pretty badly at first and seemed to be in a lot of pain, but she seemed to get much better as we returned closer to the Lake Durant campground.
Being reluctant to pull the plug on the trip completely, I figured why not take a quick walk through the campground on the well groomed road and see how see does? Well, Jenny didn't seem to mind at all! In fact, she was once again running along the road and seemed to be enjoying herself. She was still limping only slightly, but it didn't seem to bother her much anymore, which in turn made me feel a whole lot better.
After doing a loop through the campground, I decided to take advantage of one of the more inconspicuous campsites just off the main road, behind some trees and on the edge of the forest. I wasn't 100% sure if camping at the campground sites during the off season was legal or not, but I didn't see any signs prohibiting it, and I remember reading somewhere awhile back that most campgrounds campsites fall into normal backwoods regulations during the off season. After all, I was only going to be there for one quick night, and it was sort of an emergency ;), so I set up my tent to let Jenny rest as I shoveled out the fire pit.
After resting awhile, I took my empty pulk up the trail a ways and found a nice, dead and downed hardwood tree along the trail, so I engaged in a bit of trail-maintenance, which provided plenty of firewood for the night after only two short trips.
At one point a uniformed member of the DEC rode by on a snowmobile. I waved to him, but he never even saw me, thanks to the inconspicuous campsite that I chose.
After finishing up my camp chores, Jenny and I took a short walk down to the shore of Lake Durant to enjoy the sunny skies and views of Blue Mountain.
The rest of the afternoon was spent just relaxing in camp, and after awhile Jenny was feeling well enough to resume her favorite campsite pastime as a firewood thief.
As the sun began to set, we took another walk down to the shore to watch and snap a few photos.
All in all it turned out to be a very fun trip! After watching the sun set we returned to camp to have dinner, enjoy the campfire, and get to bed early. In the morning we woke up early, and I made some breakfast, packed up, cleaned up the campsite a bit and stacked the leftover firewood next to the fire pit for the next occupants, and we made the short walk out to the parking area.
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