I recently finished a trip where our plan was to portage from Cranberry Lake to Grass Pond/Low's Lake via the Chair Creek Trail. Having never been on this trail previously (in fact, this was our first trip to the Adirondacks), I didn't quite know what to expect. Was I naïve to think we could handle it? I had researched as much info as I could find on this trail, but what little info I found was limited and somewhat dated (and in some cases, inaccurate) so I figured I would post my experience here as input for anyone else considering this route to carry between these two lakes.
First let me say that we had kayaks, which are inherently more difficult to portage than lightweight canoes. However, we've done it before over some pretty arduous terrain, so we know it can be done. (Doesn't mean it's fun though.) We had wheeled carts with us (NRS Yak Yak), as well as system I had rigged up using sled-pulling harnesses that would allow the two of us to lift and carry two kayaks at once using shoulder straps.
The research I had done found a few posts mentioning that the trail is well-maintained, and "85% wheelable." I also had seen differing reports of the length, anywhere from 3.25 miles, to 3.5 miles, to four. That's a long way, but if truly was wheelable, I figured it could be done.
We camped the day before at site #17 in the Chair Rock Flow of Cranberry Lake. I decided to walk the trail that afternoon with a load of gear to both get a sense of what we were in for and lighten the next day's load. Let me tell you, it is not for the faint of heart. It is nowhere near 85% wheelable. I would say maybe 50% wheelable, and the parts that aren't would be a major challenge carrying any boat -- large downed trees, rocky creek crossings, muddy stretches, etc. And the true distance, according to my Garmin, was 4.37 miles measured from site 17 to the put-in at Grass Pond.
The first major problem I ran into was when the trail completely disappeared into a marsh with tall grass to the east of Fishpole Pond. I retraced my steps several times, each time going back to last trail marker I could find and trying again. Eventually I gave up on what I thought was the trail and simply bushwhacked through the forest, thinking if I found the trail again, I could find where it goes in the opposite direction. Here's my GPS track from that section:
Secondly, the actual trail does not match what is shown on the Adirondack Paddlers Map. It swings quite a bit to the east, which probably is why it ended up being longer than I expected. Here's the full route:
When I reached the end, I stashed my load of gear behind some trees at the put-in and headed back. On the walk/jog back, I contemplated if we really should do this. (I also was not able to find the trail where I lost it on the way there.) When I got back to our campsite, I proposed an alternate plan to my wife: If she wasn't gung-ho about this, we'd skip this part of our trip and stay on Cranberry. So that's what we did. The next morning, I got up and made the trek BACK to Grass Pond to retrieve our gear and carried it back. So that was about 18 miles back and forth to come to that decision (which was the right one).
So here's my final take: I do think it can be done, but takes some serious muscle, balance, will-power, and navigational skills if you are planning to make this carry. Good luck.
First let me say that we had kayaks, which are inherently more difficult to portage than lightweight canoes. However, we've done it before over some pretty arduous terrain, so we know it can be done. (Doesn't mean it's fun though.) We had wheeled carts with us (NRS Yak Yak), as well as system I had rigged up using sled-pulling harnesses that would allow the two of us to lift and carry two kayaks at once using shoulder straps.
The research I had done found a few posts mentioning that the trail is well-maintained, and "85% wheelable." I also had seen differing reports of the length, anywhere from 3.25 miles, to 3.5 miles, to four. That's a long way, but if truly was wheelable, I figured it could be done.
We camped the day before at site #17 in the Chair Rock Flow of Cranberry Lake. I decided to walk the trail that afternoon with a load of gear to both get a sense of what we were in for and lighten the next day's load. Let me tell you, it is not for the faint of heart. It is nowhere near 85% wheelable. I would say maybe 50% wheelable, and the parts that aren't would be a major challenge carrying any boat -- large downed trees, rocky creek crossings, muddy stretches, etc. And the true distance, according to my Garmin, was 4.37 miles measured from site 17 to the put-in at Grass Pond.
The first major problem I ran into was when the trail completely disappeared into a marsh with tall grass to the east of Fishpole Pond. I retraced my steps several times, each time going back to last trail marker I could find and trying again. Eventually I gave up on what I thought was the trail and simply bushwhacked through the forest, thinking if I found the trail again, I could find where it goes in the opposite direction. Here's my GPS track from that section:
Secondly, the actual trail does not match what is shown on the Adirondack Paddlers Map. It swings quite a bit to the east, which probably is why it ended up being longer than I expected. Here's the full route:
When I reached the end, I stashed my load of gear behind some trees at the put-in and headed back. On the walk/jog back, I contemplated if we really should do this. (I also was not able to find the trail where I lost it on the way there.) When I got back to our campsite, I proposed an alternate plan to my wife: If she wasn't gung-ho about this, we'd skip this part of our trip and stay on Cranberry. So that's what we did. The next morning, I got up and made the trek BACK to Grass Pond to retrieve our gear and carried it back. So that was about 18 miles back and forth to come to that decision (which was the right one).
So here's my final take: I do think it can be done, but takes some serious muscle, balance, will-power, and navigational skills if you are planning to make this carry. Good luck.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire