Today, I was able to log another solo hike on an absolutely beautiful early spring day. This time it was to Conglin Lakes in the Ferris Lake Wild Forest. I've been eyeballing these ever since I went into the area with the Adirondack Wilderness Explorers http://ift.tt/1N5CV6E While we bypassed the Conglin Lakes on that trip, it certainly was on my radar for a return trip. Today was the perfect chance to check out this part of the North Creek Lakes area of the FLWF.
I hit the trailhead at the intersection of Seeley and Hall Rd (photo 1) and headed uphill to the summer trailhead. The one mile went by quickly and soon I was at the old house (photo 2) and merged onto the mainline snowmobile trail. The first mile of the trail was very flat and passed through some beautiful hardwoods (photo 3). After about a mile, it dropped down and crossed North Creek on a good bridge. I detoured into the woods to check out the waterfall, but it was frozen solid with just a dribble of water audible.
Back on the trail, I was soon at McKinney Vly, my bushwhack start point. I strapped on the Havelick's and headed towards the Lower Congling Lake. The snow shoes were built for days like today. The open woods and firm base were a joy to snowshoe through. After a few minutes, I came to a nice looking campsite at the outlet of the Lower Conglin Lake (photo 4). This was the largest of the three lakes and had some nice rocks by the campsite and a large rocky point just across the lake.
I plotted my course for the other two lakes, careful to stay off the ice and numerous inlet streams. After a couple hundred yards, the Middle Conglin Lake came into view (photo 5). This was the smallest lake of the three and I noticed some otter sign; tracks, slide and a hole. I hung around for a little bit to see if they would show up, but no luck. I quickly walked the 20 yards separating Middle from Upper Conglin Lakes and was impressed with this last pond (photo 6). Upper Conglin Lake was irregularly shaped, had some steep shorelines and looked like it would be fun to explore in the soft water season.
Finding a nice spot in the sun, I sat down at Upper Congling Lake and had my lunch. Needless to say, I had the place to myself and basked in the solitude of these three little lakes in a really cool part of the southern Adirondacks. After cleaning up, I retraced my steps back to the snowmobile trail and walked back to the truck. I'm guessing I did about eight miles today, kind of my upper limit to having "fun". The beautiful weather, light wind and gorgeous scenery made for a truly memorable day in the woods.
I hit the trailhead at the intersection of Seeley and Hall Rd (photo 1) and headed uphill to the summer trailhead. The one mile went by quickly and soon I was at the old house (photo 2) and merged onto the mainline snowmobile trail. The first mile of the trail was very flat and passed through some beautiful hardwoods (photo 3). After about a mile, it dropped down and crossed North Creek on a good bridge. I detoured into the woods to check out the waterfall, but it was frozen solid with just a dribble of water audible.
Back on the trail, I was soon at McKinney Vly, my bushwhack start point. I strapped on the Havelick's and headed towards the Lower Congling Lake. The snow shoes were built for days like today. The open woods and firm base were a joy to snowshoe through. After a few minutes, I came to a nice looking campsite at the outlet of the Lower Conglin Lake (photo 4). This was the largest of the three lakes and had some nice rocks by the campsite and a large rocky point just across the lake.
I plotted my course for the other two lakes, careful to stay off the ice and numerous inlet streams. After a couple hundred yards, the Middle Conglin Lake came into view (photo 5). This was the smallest lake of the three and I noticed some otter sign; tracks, slide and a hole. I hung around for a little bit to see if they would show up, but no luck. I quickly walked the 20 yards separating Middle from Upper Conglin Lakes and was impressed with this last pond (photo 6). Upper Conglin Lake was irregularly shaped, had some steep shorelines and looked like it would be fun to explore in the soft water season.
Finding a nice spot in the sun, I sat down at Upper Congling Lake and had my lunch. Needless to say, I had the place to myself and basked in the solitude of these three little lakes in a really cool part of the southern Adirondacks. After cleaning up, I retraced my steps back to the snowmobile trail and walked back to the truck. I'm guessing I did about eight miles today, kind of my upper limit to having "fun". The beautiful weather, light wind and gorgeous scenery made for a truly memorable day in the woods.
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