Spent a day exploring off trail in the Silver Lakes Wilderness.
Hit the TH bright and early around 7am. Within 10 minutes of walking I saw a white tail just off the trail oblivious to my presence. Most hikes I see very few animals other than birds and squirrels. But seeing a deer this early on a hike is starting to become a foreshadowing event on my trips.
I didn't spend much time on the trail before hopping a brook and traveling a short distance up an old road. There were some fairly recent footprints so it must get some level of use still :Peek:. I checked out a pretty neat campsite and some cool rusted stuff before abandoning the road for the my first POI.
The first target of the day way Three Ponds. The climb up to the ponds were through fairly open and easy to navigate woods. I'm really starting to love how open the woods are in the Silver Lake area! Upon reaching the first pond, I realized I was not alone.
I took advantage of the wind coming off the pond to take a relatively bug free break and have a snack. Working my way further into the wilderness, I stopped at each of the other two ponds before making tracks to the next target of the day.
Helldevil Dam is a wonderful little area. Once again I was not alone. At first I thought I might be looking at a moose far off on the other side of the clearing, but it just turned out to be another white tail with big ears tracking my noise. I spent a little time exploring the area and the site of the old dam.
At this point I wisely decided to bail on my more ambitious plans and mapped a route to the Silver Lake lean-to for a siesta. I was working my way up a narrow pass, and once again I realized I was not alone. This time it was a black bear perhaps 50 yards in front of me. Didn't get a great view of it (just peaks between and over the brush :Peek:) and there certainly wasn't a chance for a photo op but we both were quite content in going our own ways.
After a long break at the lean-to, I decided that I'd be better off to save the 8 mile trek out for the next morning. I got to work cutting some fire wood, cleaning the fire pit and reading my book. Had the place to myself for a peaceful night with a gentle soothing rain. The rain continued into the morning and made for a wet walk out.
Hit the TH bright and early around 7am. Within 10 minutes of walking I saw a white tail just off the trail oblivious to my presence. Most hikes I see very few animals other than birds and squirrels. But seeing a deer this early on a hike is starting to become a foreshadowing event on my trips.
I didn't spend much time on the trail before hopping a brook and traveling a short distance up an old road. There were some fairly recent footprints so it must get some level of use still :Peek:. I checked out a pretty neat campsite and some cool rusted stuff before abandoning the road for the my first POI.
The first target of the day way Three Ponds. The climb up to the ponds were through fairly open and easy to navigate woods. I'm really starting to love how open the woods are in the Silver Lake area! Upon reaching the first pond, I realized I was not alone.
I took advantage of the wind coming off the pond to take a relatively bug free break and have a snack. Working my way further into the wilderness, I stopped at each of the other two ponds before making tracks to the next target of the day.
Helldevil Dam is a wonderful little area. Once again I was not alone. At first I thought I might be looking at a moose far off on the other side of the clearing, but it just turned out to be another white tail with big ears tracking my noise. I spent a little time exploring the area and the site of the old dam.
At this point I wisely decided to bail on my more ambitious plans and mapped a route to the Silver Lake lean-to for a siesta. I was working my way up a narrow pass, and once again I realized I was not alone. This time it was a black bear perhaps 50 yards in front of me. Didn't get a great view of it (just peaks between and over the brush :Peek:) and there certainly wasn't a chance for a photo op but we both were quite content in going our own ways.
After a long break at the lean-to, I decided that I'd be better off to save the 8 mile trek out for the next morning. I got to work cutting some fire wood, cleaning the fire pit and reading my book. Had the place to myself for a peaceful night with a gentle soothing rain. The rain continued into the morning and made for a wet walk out.
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