I've always been annoyed that there isn't a trail to the summit of St. Regis Mt. from St. Regis Pond or any of the other ponds south of the peak. I'm sure there are perfectly logical reasons for this, but it seems sort of ridiculous that if you're camping on St. Regis Pond with beautiful views of summit, you have to head back to the Lake and paddle past all the houses on the shoreline to access the trailhead. Sort of ruins the magic, right?
With that in mind, I was exploring the possibility of bushwhacking to the summit directly from our camp on St. Regis Pond in a few weeks. I checked out the satellite imagery and I've charted a path that avoids the swamps, spruce groves, and keeps the incline reasonable. I was wondering if anyone has done such a bushwhack (especially in winter) and if they had any good info.
A bit of background to minimize the finger wagging: we are experienced hikers. I've done a ton of bushwhacking (I tend to prefer it to hiking). We'll have GPS devices, paper maps, and compasses, all in duplicate, along with a DeLorme. We'll have plenty of warm gear and all the proper first aid equipment, along with headlamps and back up lithium batteries. We also realize that things might end up tougher than expected and we'll have to turn around before getting to the summit to insure that we make it safely back to camp before dark. It's a call I've made plenty of times before (discretion, valor, and all that.)
I spoke to the ranger, and she recommended against it - not like "don't do that" but "you probably don't want to". But she also said we should camp at Fish Pond instead of St. Regis, since it's snowmobile accessible and easier for rescues... a rather odd way to pick a campsite. In my experience some rangers treat everyone like an idiot, which is understandable given their line of work, but it makes me take what she said with a grain of salt.
All that said, is this feasible? Foolish?
With that in mind, I was exploring the possibility of bushwhacking to the summit directly from our camp on St. Regis Pond in a few weeks. I checked out the satellite imagery and I've charted a path that avoids the swamps, spruce groves, and keeps the incline reasonable. I was wondering if anyone has done such a bushwhack (especially in winter) and if they had any good info.
A bit of background to minimize the finger wagging: we are experienced hikers. I've done a ton of bushwhacking (I tend to prefer it to hiking). We'll have GPS devices, paper maps, and compasses, all in duplicate, along with a DeLorme. We'll have plenty of warm gear and all the proper first aid equipment, along with headlamps and back up lithium batteries. We also realize that things might end up tougher than expected and we'll have to turn around before getting to the summit to insure that we make it safely back to camp before dark. It's a call I've made plenty of times before (discretion, valor, and all that.)
I spoke to the ranger, and she recommended against it - not like "don't do that" but "you probably don't want to". But she also said we should camp at Fish Pond instead of St. Regis, since it's snowmobile accessible and easier for rescues... a rather odd way to pick a campsite. In my experience some rangers treat everyone like an idiot, which is understandable given their line of work, but it makes me take what she said with a grain of salt.
All that said, is this feasible? Foolish?
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