Tredhed and I hit the trail to get one last good hike in before the start of deer season. Our effort today was focused on the new trailhead for Tenant Creek Falls in the Wilcox Lake Wild Forest. A week ago, DEC announced the opening of a new trail to Tenant Creek Falls that by-passes some private land.
http://ift.tt/2etNbtg
We wanted to check out the new trailhead and hike the freshly carved trail to the lower falls. If all was right with the world, we planned on exploring the other two falls on this small creek as well as checking out the view from Rand Mt. as described in "Discover the Southern Adirondacks", # 114/115.
The new, 10+ car parking area, on Hope Falls Rd. (photo 1), was about .3 miles short of the Brownell Camp. It was well graded and came with an ADA compliant outhouse! :) We signed in at the new register (32nd entry since last week) and hit the damp yellow disked trail (photo 2). There was definitely that "new trail smell" around as the sometimes rough foot tread wound uphill, around the posted property.
Half an hour later, the trail switch backed down the hill and we came to the lower falls on Tenant Creek (photo 3). After a short break, we followed the unmarked footpath upstream. The path was easy to follow as it traced the creek upstream (photo 4). There were some rocky stretches as well as some easy glides through stately hemlocks (photo 5).
Another half hour of walking brought us to the middle falls (photo 6). This was a smaller set of cascades, but had a large pool. Since it was just a little too cold for swimming, we walked up to the upper falls (photo 7), to enjoy the sights and plan the next phase of our hike.
Walking about 100 yds. from the upper falls, we cut the 200+ year old road that runs through this area (photo 8). The old road was a dream to walk and too soon we came to the saddle between Buck and Rand Mts. We left the old road and began our bushwhack up Rand Mt. The woods were leafy, but reasonable easy to get around in. We soon made it to the summit after dodging some unexpected ledges and thick blow down.
The summit ledges provided great views to the west of the hills surrounding the valley (photo 9) as well as to the south looking down the East Branch of the Stoney Creek (photo 10). Distant views of Cathead, Wallace and Three Ponds mountains were a bonus. The trek down the hill was fairly straight forward and we made it back to the new trail in good spirits.
We enjoyed another great walk in the woods today. The waterfalls were spectacular. Walking on the old road was nostalgic. Navigating up Rand Mt. with a map and compass gave us a great sense of accomplishment. It's always good to push yourselves a little bit and the rewards seem that much sweeter. Thanks to Tredhed for some of the pictures and another great day in the woods.
http://ift.tt/2etNbtg
We wanted to check out the new trailhead and hike the freshly carved trail to the lower falls. If all was right with the world, we planned on exploring the other two falls on this small creek as well as checking out the view from Rand Mt. as described in "Discover the Southern Adirondacks", # 114/115.
The new, 10+ car parking area, on Hope Falls Rd. (photo 1), was about .3 miles short of the Brownell Camp. It was well graded and came with an ADA compliant outhouse! :) We signed in at the new register (32nd entry since last week) and hit the damp yellow disked trail (photo 2). There was definitely that "new trail smell" around as the sometimes rough foot tread wound uphill, around the posted property.
Half an hour later, the trail switch backed down the hill and we came to the lower falls on Tenant Creek (photo 3). After a short break, we followed the unmarked footpath upstream. The path was easy to follow as it traced the creek upstream (photo 4). There were some rocky stretches as well as some easy glides through stately hemlocks (photo 5).
Another half hour of walking brought us to the middle falls (photo 6). This was a smaller set of cascades, but had a large pool. Since it was just a little too cold for swimming, we walked up to the upper falls (photo 7), to enjoy the sights and plan the next phase of our hike.
Walking about 100 yds. from the upper falls, we cut the 200+ year old road that runs through this area (photo 8). The old road was a dream to walk and too soon we came to the saddle between Buck and Rand Mts. We left the old road and began our bushwhack up Rand Mt. The woods were leafy, but reasonable easy to get around in. We soon made it to the summit after dodging some unexpected ledges and thick blow down.
The summit ledges provided great views to the west of the hills surrounding the valley (photo 9) as well as to the south looking down the East Branch of the Stoney Creek (photo 10). Distant views of Cathead, Wallace and Three Ponds mountains were a bonus. The trek down the hill was fairly straight forward and we made it back to the new trail in good spirits.
We enjoyed another great walk in the woods today. The waterfalls were spectacular. Walking on the old road was nostalgic. Navigating up Rand Mt. with a map and compass gave us a great sense of accomplishment. It's always good to push yourselves a little bit and the rewards seem that much sweeter. Thanks to Tredhed for some of the pictures and another great day in the woods.
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