Today's hike involved a little more brain cells than the past few Tredhed and I have been on. While we enjoy putting one foot in front of the other on groomed snowmobile trails, we also like challenging ourselves a little. So this was a good excuse to get up in the western Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area and do some winter land navigation.
We hit the Spectacle Pond trailhead (photo 1) a little before 9:30 and were soon on our way. I've always enjoyed the Spectacle Pond trail (photo 2) and it didn't let me down today. The "path" to Harrison Marsh was just before the third bridge on the Spectacle Pond trail, but it was hard to find and even harder to follow. Fortunately the woods were open and the walking was very easy on the hard packed snow.
Within thirty minutes of leaving the car, we arrived at the south end of Harrison Marsh (photo 3). We took a break and admired the view and then plotted several routes across the marsh should the solid looking ice not be so solid. Fortunately, the ice was in great shape and we soon arrived at our step off point for the bushwhack up to Gull Pond.
After verifying the compass heading we headed up the hill and within ten minutes we arrived at the south corner of Gull Pond. We stopped for a few minutes to orient ourselves and then proceeded up the south slope of Gull Pond Hill. The going was slow due to the boulders, but we soon cut another snowshoe track and our pace picked up. After searching around the top of the hill, we finally found a good overlook of the pond (photo 4). Besides the beautiful view of the pond, we could see Hoffman Mt and several high peaks to the northwest.
Re-tracing our steps, we quickly made it back down the hill and on to the pond. We were planning on following the snowshoe tracks across the pond to the ledges at the end of the marked trail, but the ice started to get very slushy. We left the pond and continued on shore, glad that we missed this man-sized-hole right in the trail (photo 5). That's a cold walk back to the road that we were glad we didn't have to take.
After lunch on the ledges, we headed back down the Gull Pond trail to the East Shore Road trailhead (photo 6). From there, it was a quick 20 minute walk down the road to the Spectacle Lake parking area for a loop of 3.5 miles of trail walking, bushwhacking and road walking. Not a strenuous hike by any means, but it's always reassuring that you can use a compass to navigate, communicate your intentions with your hiking partner and use some common sense to avoid a potentially icy bath. Besides, we had to get up to the Pharaoh before the snow melted. That was our real objective today!
We hit the Spectacle Pond trailhead (photo 1) a little before 9:30 and were soon on our way. I've always enjoyed the Spectacle Pond trail (photo 2) and it didn't let me down today. The "path" to Harrison Marsh was just before the third bridge on the Spectacle Pond trail, but it was hard to find and even harder to follow. Fortunately the woods were open and the walking was very easy on the hard packed snow.
Within thirty minutes of leaving the car, we arrived at the south end of Harrison Marsh (photo 3). We took a break and admired the view and then plotted several routes across the marsh should the solid looking ice not be so solid. Fortunately, the ice was in great shape and we soon arrived at our step off point for the bushwhack up to Gull Pond.
After verifying the compass heading we headed up the hill and within ten minutes we arrived at the south corner of Gull Pond. We stopped for a few minutes to orient ourselves and then proceeded up the south slope of Gull Pond Hill. The going was slow due to the boulders, but we soon cut another snowshoe track and our pace picked up. After searching around the top of the hill, we finally found a good overlook of the pond (photo 4). Besides the beautiful view of the pond, we could see Hoffman Mt and several high peaks to the northwest.
Re-tracing our steps, we quickly made it back down the hill and on to the pond. We were planning on following the snowshoe tracks across the pond to the ledges at the end of the marked trail, but the ice started to get very slushy. We left the pond and continued on shore, glad that we missed this man-sized-hole right in the trail (photo 5). That's a cold walk back to the road that we were glad we didn't have to take.
After lunch on the ledges, we headed back down the Gull Pond trail to the East Shore Road trailhead (photo 6). From there, it was a quick 20 minute walk down the road to the Spectacle Lake parking area for a loop of 3.5 miles of trail walking, bushwhacking and road walking. Not a strenuous hike by any means, but it's always reassuring that you can use a compass to navigate, communicate your intentions with your hiking partner and use some common sense to avoid a potentially icy bath. Besides, we had to get up to the Pharaoh before the snow melted. That was our real objective today!
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