Today was a solo hike into Cotter Swamp in the Wilcox Lake Wild Forest. I've been wanting to get back in this area and explore a little and today seemed like a good time to go. I'll admit, I was a little discouraged by the 6° and gusty wind wind when I arrived at the Rt. 8 trailhead (photo 1). Suiting up as best I could, I headed up the trail to the register. There, I noticed a set of Chevy keys in the register box. If anyone's missing some Chevy keys on a DeNoyer key chain, they're in the register box.
After signing in, I was fortunately able to free-boot up the hard packed snowmobile trail and made the first 1/2 mile in short order. The crisp air and mighty wind ensured I didn't have to worry about dropping any layers as I pressed on to the first of three bridges over the Cotter Brook (photo 2). There were some filtered views here of Buckhorn Mt to the north and Moose Mt to the south. It looked cold up there!
I pressed on ahead with alacrity as the trail was cut close to the brook in a most beautiful manner. I crossed a second bridge and then climber away from the frozen stream passing a massive, house sized, erratic. The beautiful trail continued past a small beaver flow and climber high above the brook (photo 3). Soon, I came to the hairpin turn I had read about in "Discovering the Southern Adirondacks". Just past the turn was the final bridge where I took a break to re-hydrate and plot my swamp walk.
I continued up the snowmobile trail until it came close to the southern lobe of Cotter Swamp (photo 4). I put the snowshoes on and headed out onto the frozen marsh to be rewarded with a great view of the north slope of Georgia Mt (photo 5). I followed the marsh back down towards the 3rd bridge, detouring into the woods to cut the path that runs along the north side of the swamp (again, thanks to "Discover"!). The trail was easy to follow for about 15 minutes, then I lost it and headed out to the swamp for a look. There was a great view of the eastern slopes of Georgia Mt from this part of the swamp (photo 6).
After sipping my soup in the bright sun and trying to stay out of the wind, I headed back to the truck. The trail went by quickly as I hitched the snowshoes to my pack and hoofed it out. It felt good to feel the boots on the trail, even if it was packed snow and ice. I figure I did a little over six miles today in about four hours. 4+ miles hiking and a little less than 2 snowshoeing. Definitely not a killer pace, important when you're hiking solo. In the end, the cold wasn't an issue as I had the right gear and more importantly, the right attitude to make it work and enjoy an absolutely beautiful early spring day.
After signing in, I was fortunately able to free-boot up the hard packed snowmobile trail and made the first 1/2 mile in short order. The crisp air and mighty wind ensured I didn't have to worry about dropping any layers as I pressed on to the first of three bridges over the Cotter Brook (photo 2). There were some filtered views here of Buckhorn Mt to the north and Moose Mt to the south. It looked cold up there!
I pressed on ahead with alacrity as the trail was cut close to the brook in a most beautiful manner. I crossed a second bridge and then climber away from the frozen stream passing a massive, house sized, erratic. The beautiful trail continued past a small beaver flow and climber high above the brook (photo 3). Soon, I came to the hairpin turn I had read about in "Discovering the Southern Adirondacks". Just past the turn was the final bridge where I took a break to re-hydrate and plot my swamp walk.
I continued up the snowmobile trail until it came close to the southern lobe of Cotter Swamp (photo 4). I put the snowshoes on and headed out onto the frozen marsh to be rewarded with a great view of the north slope of Georgia Mt (photo 5). I followed the marsh back down towards the 3rd bridge, detouring into the woods to cut the path that runs along the north side of the swamp (again, thanks to "Discover"!). The trail was easy to follow for about 15 minutes, then I lost it and headed out to the swamp for a look. There was a great view of the eastern slopes of Georgia Mt from this part of the swamp (photo 6).
After sipping my soup in the bright sun and trying to stay out of the wind, I headed back to the truck. The trail went by quickly as I hitched the snowshoes to my pack and hoofed it out. It felt good to feel the boots on the trail, even if it was packed snow and ice. I figure I did a little over six miles today in about four hours. 4+ miles hiking and a little less than 2 snowshoeing. Definitely not a killer pace, important when you're hiking solo. In the end, the cold wasn't an issue as I had the right gear and more importantly, the right attitude to make it work and enjoy an absolutely beautiful early spring day.
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