Austin Falls, JRWF, 21 Sep, 2022

I'm so happy the Forum is back on-line. Thanks to all the folks who rebuilt it and for the upcoming migration (hopefully the old threads make it).

I had a great opportunity this morning to take my youngest daughter for a short hike on the last day of summer. Austin Falls in the Jessup River Wild Forest was our destination. Pulling up to the old Rt. 8/30 bridge, we quickly got ready for the short walk on an "abandoned" highway.

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After walking around the barricade and dodging copious amounts of poison ivy, we took in the views of the mighty Sacandaga River.

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We were both surprised to see a very active logging operation going on right on the other side of the bridge (in the Speculator Tree Farm tract). We sat here for a while and watched them load huge hardwood logs on to the trailer for the journey to the mill.

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Eventually, we pulled ourselves away from watching other people work and headed up the old road. It was neat to see the old guardrails alongside the steep stretches of embankment.

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The road is an easy walk as it skirts the boundary of the tree farm (right) and the JRWF (left). The sound of the river was always in our ears.

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Soon, we arrived at the designated campsite along the route. It's actually a nice little spot right alongside the river. The old maps list it as a "picnic area".

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The neat thing about late summer hiking are the large amounts of wildflowers around. These New England Asters attracted a hungry bee.

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As if the roaring water wasn't an indication, a sign that let us know we arrived at our destination.

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A small herd path led down to the bottom of the falls and provided a great place to soak in the majesty of the falls.

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Pictures can't do justice to the power of the river and the sound and feeling of the crashing water.

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After a nice long break, we headed straight back down the way we came. The logging truck had passed while we were at the falls, so we took our time walking and daydreamed about the beauty of the forest. Any time I get to spend with my kids is special and I cherish these memories.

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adkforum

As you all know we are moving these forums to the latest vBulletin 5 version. This process has begun already, and beginning Friday morning the forums will be unavailable as we move to the next phase.

Please check in to the ADKHighPeaks forums for updates on the upgrade.

Thank you.

Thank you to the people who did all the work to get the site back up

I'm very grateful to the brave folks who do all the work to maintain this site and to rescue it when it gets stolen. Thank you very much for keeping this resource here, it's very helpful.

adkforums

We are working on the site, in the meantime, checkout adkhighpeak forums. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Benson Mines Solar Brownfields Project

https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/s...rEZWw-TqP3PUbQ

Bushwhacking in Pigeon Lake WA

I'm curious about the practicality of bushwhacking in the large northern reaches of the Pigeon Lake WA. There are few to no trails there, so any significant travel through that region would be mostly bushwhacking with perhaps a bit of paddling.

Has anyone successfully bushwhacked from Russian Lake to Inlet, between Andy's Creek and Big Moose Lake? Just looking at a map, the bushwhack from Constable Pond to Russian Lake over the saddle looks very doable, but the trip from Russian Lake to Inlet appears to be over very low-lying ground that could easily turn out to be swamp.

If some of these areas can be paddled with a packraft, that could work well. My concern is that they may be "too thin to plow, too thick to drink," as some described certain Western rivers. Too much water to walk through, not enough water to paddle through...

I'm intrigued at the idea of exploring the northern half of the WA with a backpack and a small packraft, north of Inlet (the inlet off Big Moose Lake, not the town), but it looks like it's difficult to access this area without a boat that is capable of handling Big Moose Lake (which would be too much for my little packraft, though paddling Inlet or any of the smaller lakes should be fine).

I've read with interest some of the trip reports to Gull Lakes, Andy's Creek, and even Terror Lake, but I haven't read any that didn't start out with a boat trip up Big Moose Lake, something that wouldn't fit into my current trips.

Just curious...

Pillsbury Mtn Trailhead/ Old Military Rd

I see on the dec backcountry notes that the road was repaired in June, I thought that I had read this summer that the road was still not drivable. I can?t find posts referencing that now though. Just thought I would check on here to see if anyone can confirm driving to the actual trailhead is possible again? Thank You.

Vanderwhacker reveals the true size of the Adirondacks!

Well the gravel road into the Vanderwhacker parking lot is closed. There are signs on the one bridge that the bridge is out. We walked over the bridge and it appears completely fine. Then again I am not an engineer. I just walked over the bridge.

I was glad that the road was closed for 2 reasons. I would have been nervous taking my 2008 Honda CR with over 200,000 miles 3 miles into the woods on a unknown road. This summer was a stressful one and I needed stress reduction. I wanted a long walk woods.

The stats from all trails: Length 12.55 mi Elevation gain 2,306 ft Time 6:51:23

2 hikes this summer there have been bird calls that are persistent and easily recognizable. The first bird the oven bird on Treadwell. This hike had the red breasted nuthatch! With the help of the Merlin app I was able to identify it. It sang constantly throughout the day and I think I have it down so If I hear it again in the future I will recognize it.

I feel that this hike is required for anyone who wants to get an understanding of the size Adirondacks. You really get a feeling for the vast scale of the park from this vantage point. While the views of peaks like Marcy and Colden are great and inspirational, Vanderwhacker shows the High Peaks as one corner of the park. There is a whole middle area.

After standing in the cab of the fire tower I am changed. It's not everyday that can happen. Anyone can look at a map and say 'Wow the Adirondacks are 6 million acres! What a huge park!' This hike takes you to the exact place where you can experience it.

In the cab I had another experience that was magical too. Hundreds of dragonflies were whirling around the cab. I have no idea if they were mating or was it just a "last days of summer" dance. I loved it.

Everyone is always talking about all the far away places they want to visit. There is only one place I really want to go and that is the Northville-Lake Placid Trail. This trip made that desire even stronger.

Good book

I just finished a really good book about mountains & hiking: The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd. She had spent much of her life hiking, camping, & exploring the Cairngorms in Scotland. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves mountains. I want to share the last 2 paragraphs:

"So my journey into an experience began. It was a journey always for fun, with no motive beyond that I wanted it. But at first I was seeking only sensuous gratification -- the sensation of height, the sensation of movement, the sensation of speed, the sensation of distance, the sensation of effort, the sensation of ease: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. I was not interested in the mountain for itself, but for its effect upon me, as puss caresses not the man but herself against the man's trouser leg. But as I grew older and less self-sufficient, I began to discover the mountain in itself. Everything became good to me, its contours, its colours, its waters and rock, flowers and birds. This process has taken many years, and is not yet complete. Knowing another is endless. And I have discovered that man's experience of them enlarges rock, flower and bird. The thing to be known grows with the knowing

"I believe that I now understand in some small measure why the Buddhist goes on pilgrimage to a mountain. The journey is itself part of the technique by which the god is sought. It is a journey into Being; for as I penetrate more deeply into the mountain's life, I penetrate also into my own. For an hour I am beyond desire. It is not ecstasy, that leap out of the self that makes man like a god. I am not out of myself, but in myself. I am. To know Being, this is the final grace accorded from the mountain."

Coastal Cutthroat Trout with A Japanese Style Tenkara Fly Rod.

I don't know anything about fly fishing but this looked like something you maybe interested it. I know people need light gear because they are carrying it into the back country. This Tenkara rod looked interesting. This guy has a youtube channel called mouse trap mondays. He posts a lot of videos about mouse traps. He also posts videos about his other adventures. He seems like a nice guy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcnsI0oDbts

Lost on the Boreas River

On 9/8 on the Northwoods Club Road at the Boreas River. A Sage fly rod with a Hardy reel.
It has great sentimental value. I'm offering a substantial reward if found.

Hornbeck 10 Ft Classic

Used but in pretty good shape.

Replacement seat, huge improvement in comfort IMO. Bow and stern skid plates.

Some scratches but no structural issues whatsoever.

Asking $950.

Can meet in CNY or NW ADK, (Town of Fine).

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Lightweight canoe -- Hornbeck?

My husband and I have been paddling for many years. After learning to paddle a canoe as a kid, I bought a couple of Stearns self-bailing inflatable kayaks for whitewater, and we paddled a lot of Class 2 in North Carolina with them.

Eventually we moved to a place with more flatwater and less whitewater, and we quickly became tired of sitting in a couple of inches of water. We sold them and bought a Saranac 146 polyethylene canoe. It has been an excellent flatwater boat, but weighs 79 pounds. It's impossible to portage it any distance, and as we get older we are both reluctant to paddle it because of the amount of effort needed to get it on and off the high roof of the SUV. It absolutely requires both of us to cartop it, so it's useless for any type of solo trip. We use it about 4 times a year.

Last year I bought a Klymit LWD packraft, which weighs less than 3 lbs and fits easily in my backpack. I have only used it a couple of times, but it meets my expectations for such a minimalist boat, including being able to paddle it with a full backpack aboard. But it would be useless against any wind, and is so slow it isn't practical to paddle it any distance. I look forward to taking it on backpacking trips that are 90% hiking and 10% paddling, but that's about its limit. And it has no back support at all.

So we are interested in purchasing a couple of lightweight canoes that are easy for aging paddlers to get on and off an SUV, portage a reasonable distance, and carry enough payload for camping.

Priorities would be weight, easy of cartopping, and price. (Since we need two solo boats, price is a huge issue. $3,000 boats need not apply.) It's worthwhile for us to trade off on-water performance, within limits, for a boat that's easier to portage and get on and off the SUV.

While sitting on a high seat is more comfortable, we are fine with sitting low in the boat, as we have used kayaks a great deal. Double-ended paddles are fine.

We would want to be able to paddle moderate lakes like Pharaoh, Lows, or Big Moose, but would avoid large lakes like Raquette, Tupper, or the Saranacs.

Given the above, I am thinking that Hornbecks would be the best compromise. We can easily drive to Olmstedville to check them out, order, and purchase boats. The price is high, but we can probably manage it with careful budgeting.

We would want each boat to be able to carry about 250 lbs, including gear, so something in the 12-mid to 13-low range seems about right.

But we may be overlooking other options. Suggestions would be very welcome.

Fulton Chain Lakes -- and more (9/1 - 9/3)

My husband and I spent two nights camping at the Eighth Lake Campground on the Fulton Chain. We did quite a bit of hiking in the area, and visited some trailheads to prepare for future trips.

After setting up camp, we hiked west to Bug Lake. The crossing of the water connecting Seventh and Eighth Lakes was interesting, because the bridge was not quite long enough to span the water. There was a gap of about three feet wide on the east end, where a couple of inches of water depth lay between the bridge and the trail. No big deal, but given how dry weather has been this year, I was surprised.

As we approached Bug Lake, an unmarked spur trail on the right intrigued us. It looked like a trail to a designated camp, but with no signage or blazes. We followed the trail quite some distance across a couple of wet areas, eventually finding a very nice, large camp site under conifers with a fire pit and "camp here" disk. We didn't realize that Eagle Nest Lake was only a short distance onward, so we returned to the main trail, hiked north until reaching the western shore of Bug Lake, and then returning to camp.

Temperates dropped into the low forties that night. I had to layer up on jackets both the evening before and the morning after.

Mount Skylight bushwhack to Redfield?

Hi All,
Doing an October hike to Feldspar and doing skylight, gray, and Marcy. Just curious if it's possible to bushwhack from Skylight to redfield?!?

Thanks!

40 degrees this morning fall brook trout

Temperatures dropping, anyone else getting geared up to do some fall brook trout fishing ?

Platform Camps back in the Old Days

When I was a kid growing up in the 70's , I remember my Grandfather had one of those platform camps on Barnum Pond, just up from Paul Smith's. His camp was located just to the right and up from the big rock that was clearly visible on the right hand side of the shoreline when standing on the road. He had the camp for a number of years right up till they were ordered dismantled by the state sometime in the mid 70's ( I think). Does anyone remember these platform camps on Barnum Pond- perhaps, even have spent time at one? I sure have good memories of that camp; would love to see an old pic of the Pond during this era with the camps clearly visible- do any exist I wonder? :)

Auger Falls, SPWA, 29 Aug, 2022

In trying to keep my promise to post more of my short trips on the Forum, here's a little hike to the most popular destination in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness Area; Auger Falls. Arriving at the huge trailhead parking lot just north of Wells a little after 11:00, Tredhed, my youngest daughter and I set out into the wilderness.

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After turning left out of the parking lot, the trail follows the old Rt. 8/30 road bed for a few minutes before ducking into the woods.

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To our surprise, the register had plenty of empty pages in it. Every time we've been here in the past, it's always full and falling apart. They must be getting ready for the busy fall hiking season.

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The trail is overmarked, especially for a wilderness area. However, judging from the novice attire of some of the people we met today, maybe that's a good thing. If a few extra yellow disks keep people from getting twisted around on this trail, it's OK with me. There are plenty of other places in the Siamese to wander around without seeing another trail maker.

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The trail is fairly easy to walk with no major elevation gains or tricky spots. However, due to its popularity, it is heavily impacted with plenty of rocks and roots ready to grab an unsuspecting flip flop.

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In no time, we arrived at the overlook area and enjoyed the view. The power of water never ceases to amaze me. Even in a dry spell, the Sacandaga River thunders through the gorge.

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After a sip of water and one last look at the falls, it was time to head back.

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About halfway to the trailhead, the roar of the falls was replaced with the roar of the traffic on Rt. 8/30. Our short journey into the wilderness was long overdue and much needed.

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Introduction

Hi, everyone. New member here. My husband and I live in central Vermont, and our main form of recreation is going to the outdoors: hiking, backpacking, car camping, canoeing, etc.

We have done quite a bit of backpacking in Vermont and the White Mountains of New Hampshire, but more and more I am finding that the Adirondacks are the place I most like to go. There are more trails, and more places that are lakes, streams, and forests instead of nothing but ultra-steep mountains. (Sometimes I am in the mood for mountains, sometimes a quiet camp on a lake.)

We tend to avoid the High Peaks and go to the quieter corners of the park, mainly in the eastern half. Our most recent trip was backpacking the Bennett/Middle/Murphy Lake trail in Wilcox Lake Wild Forest.

I have already learned a lot from reading past posts on this forum, and I hope to keep learning and sharing.

VermontDacker

Round Lake, Little Tupper Lake Question

Hey guys, I am just looking for some very basic info about Rock Lake on the north end of Little Tupper Lake, if anyone happens to be familiar with the area. I was mostly just wondering about depth and structure as far as the fishing goes? I tried looking all over, and found plenty of depth and sonar maps for Little Tupper, but none for the connecting lakes. I will be out there soon guiding a short overnight canoe camping trip, but I figure the guys will want to do some fishing as well and wanted to be prepared as possible. Thanks in advanced!

DEC website

Please note that the DEC website has a page for each unit management area in the forest preserve. It also has email and other contact info for the office responsible.

The reason I say that is I was look at a hike page on AllTrails and a whole bunch of people over the course of months complained about being swarmed by bees at the same point on the trail. I wonder if any of them contacted DEC to let them know. Definitely a resource if you notice safety issues on the trails.

Lost topographic map on Rooster Comb

Lost a topographic map on Rooster Comb with notations of all of our family hikes since the 70s. Lost on or about 8/14/22

WTB Wenonah Argosy

I'm looking for a Wenonah Argosy solo ABS canoe for solo tripping. I'm in the Hudson Valley, NY

Lake Trout Found With 12 Plastic Lures In Stomach

Not directly related to the Adirondacks, but still something I never really thought about. Definitely makes me reconsider the soft plastics in my bag.

https://oodmag.com/laker-consumed-12...gnZcuGPDSS8F6c





Imagine Barry Casselman's surprise when, while cleaning his morning catch, the eastern Ontario angler discovered a dozen artificial baits in the six-pound, 15-ounce laker's stomach.

"It was amazing that the lake trout was still hungry enough to bite my Johnny Green lure," the Williamsburg (South Dundas) resident said via email. "I was completely shocked when I was cleaning the fish and this rubber rolled out of its belly."

The eight ounces of plastics the 62-year-old found on May 31 was not the first surprise provided by the lake northeast of Kingston, either. Casselman, who has fished Charleston on and off for four decades, found three plastics in two other lakers there six or seven years ago.

Artificial baits awareness
Now, the angler who began fishing at age eight with his dad for St. Lawrence River brown bullhead catfish at Upper Canada Village is taking the opportunity to raise awareness and remind anglers not to throw plastics or old baits of any kind overboard.

"Remember that more important than live release, is doing your best not to add foreign material that would affect the livelihood of a fish and/or an animal," Casselman wrote.

The discovery came as less of a surprise to Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) Fisheries Biologist Adam Weir, who pointed out lakers are an "integrator species" that recycle energy and nutrients between shallow and deep waters.

"During certain times of the year, they're likely encountering lures that are traditionally used for bass and gulping them up in shallow waters," he explained. "Anglers often use set lines for lake trout with a bait positioned on the bottom and, by comparison, a Senko or other soft plastics resemble this sort of presentation."

No sweeping conclusions
There's plenty of literature available on the subject - some research focuses on deposition rates and the fate of soft plastics in the environment and stomach content analyses looking at ingestion rates, for example, has been done on different species of sportfish, Weir said. Other research has explored the biodegradability of soft plastics and the impact on fish health.

"Because of spatial, temporal, and interspecific variation, it's difficult to apply any sweeping conclusions, but it is clear that soft plastic lures are on the radar of academics, conservation organizations, and government agencies," he wrote.

The evidence suggests the best practice of using an O-ring to prevent losing soft plastics has mixed results, Weir said.

"Strategies like this are a step in the right direction, but it will take bigger strides from industry and manufacturers to provide more environmentally friendly options for anglers that match the current price point, as well as equal or exceed the performance of traditional soft plastic lures."

Some jurisdictions have tried to enact bans on soft plastics - a knee-jerk reaction that won't work or be well-received by the angling community, he added. "Public awareness campaigns for anglers and providing suitable alternatives will go much further in changing behaviour and conservation outcomes in the long run."

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Schroon Lake Paddle Challenge

A new paddling challenge in the Schroon Lake area.

https://www.adirondackhub.com/schroon-paddle-challenge

Hiking in the Adks vs New England

At an ADK talk today, a speaker mentioned that hiking in the Adirondacks was very different than hiking in places like Vermont, Maine or NH but did not elaborate, as it was not really the main point of his talk. I've only done one hike each in Maine and NH and a handful in VT but not enough to get a real sense. I'm curious if anyone has any insight on this.

Adks not the only place figuring out how to deal with irresponsible climbers

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/m...sit/index.html

River tubing?

Hi guys,

Coming down for a week with the family to hike a couple of the 46 peaks.

Not everyone in the family is into hiking so we're looking for some fun things to fill in the week.

Stumbled across this company that offers guided tubing on the Sacandaga for $60/pp. But our kids are 14, 15, 17 so two of them don't meet the minimum age.

Seems like we should be able to do it on our own and avoid the $300 charge. Kids are resonable swimmers and we will all have life jackets. Found this guy's blog who details doing the trip w/o hiring a guide.

We're camping near Lake Placid so it would be a bit of a drive. Is there anywhere closer that you guys would recommend? There's Ausable Chasm but it's private property so I'm not sure if there would be a safe place for us to launch and disembark.

If we do the Sacandaga it's not clear to me where the put-in is. Stewart's Dam has a lot of fencing blocking river access?

Looks like the take-out might be the Old Corinth Rd bridge? Can we leave a car by this gazebo?

This site has the release schedule for the dam. Is the river runnable anytime or does it have to be timed with the release? Or should the river be avoided during a release?

Thanks. :)

Ultra-lite natives

I had a little fun this afternoon catching some pumpkinseed sunfish on my ultra-lite rig.
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Waterproofing (again)

Looking for some feedback on waterproofing. I know there are some old threads, but I figured there are enough new opinions to make it worth discussing again.

I have several items I would like to waterproof or re-waterproof. In the past I have had only minimal short term success with store bought sprays. I saw a couple of videos on YouTube showing silicone RTV thinned with Naptha or mineral spirits and then soaking items in a bucket. I think this might work well for a couple of stuff sacks that I have that were never waterproof in the first place. I can see how the mixture would wick into the fabric and seal it well.

With previously coated material, I'm not so sure. I'm a bit worried that I would be mostly adding an exterior coating that would easily flake off. In addition to not wicking in, nothing really sticks to silicone, including silicone.

I am also a bit concerned about the solvents attacking the synthetic materials. Canvas and cotton can handle it fine, but I'm not sure about sil-nylon or polyurethane.

Any thoughts?

Wolf Jaw lean to

I came up to this lean-to maybe two or three years ago to climb Upper WJ. My wife and our son's family are coming up on Sept. 8th for a few days. I am thinking about coming up before them, on Labor Day and getting a room, then packing in with my dog Maggie the following day. My thought process is that the Garden parking lot shouldn't be full on that Tuesday. I definitely know it won't be empty to say the least, but I am banking on a decent amount of privacy the two nights at the lean-to. Having been up Upper WJ I have my sights set on Lower. I am fairly confident that my dog Maggie will be ok with a climb from the lean-to of well under 2000' and only 1 1/2 miles. I won't hesitate to turn around if I think she is uncomfortable at all with her back legs. The leaf viewers won't be out yet, so I want to get my climb in before that happens.

On a side note, did Art Devlin sell his motel, and if so, anyone have the number to whatever it is called now?

Canoe cart

Anyone have any recommendations for a canoe cart? I've been looking at them online but it appears most are not designed for rough terrain. Recommendations on ones to avoid are also appreciated.

Cell Service at DEC Campgrounds

I'm curious which state (DEC) campgrounds in the Adirondacks have decent cell service for Spectrum Mobile. Forget their map, it's not 100% reliable. I want to set up some solo, mid-week work-and-play camping/fishing trips, including possibly in late August. And when my wife retires in a few years, she'll gladly join me.

Up until a few years ago when I changed jobs, I really wasn't a cellphone person, and I pretty much ditch it on weekends or go places where there's no service. But if I do this, I need to be connected at times, mainly for a wi-fi hot-spot. So, I'm curious to hear of others experiences at DEC campgrounds, or even free campsites (for a small RV). I know Lake Harris and Nicks Lake are pretty solid, and heard Eaton and Fish Creek are as well. But I'd like to know about others. Thanks in advance!

Good profile of Tony Goodwin

This is not news to most of you, but Tony Goodwin knows more about ADK trails than anyone else. This ADK Explorer profile explains why:

https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/s...eid=67a7b4970b

Wolves (for real)

WTEN Albany

Unlike the tiny mountain lions that keep turning out to be of the calico variety, this is very encouraging.

Inman Pond Ledges, LGWF, 26 Jul, 2022

I'll be the first to admit that I've been delinquent in posting some of my recent adventures. Call me lazy, lame, or socially conscious about my secret fishing holes. So, lets fix this by posting an old fashion trip report, this time to Inman Pond ledges in the Lake George Wild Forest.

Today, Tredhed and I got an early start to beat the outlet store traffic in Queensbury. We hit the Inman Pond trailhead on Sly Pond Rd. at 9:00.

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We decided to head up the unmarked fisherman's trail to the pond.

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After a ten minute climb on a beautiful path, we hit the red disked Inman Pond trail just below the height of land.

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Another few minutes brought us to the large swamp just southeast of the main pond. A beaver dam across the outlets has caused the water level to rise a significant amount. This is the first time I've seen this area under water.

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Since we were going to the ledges this morning, we took the left fork and soon were at the shore of the small pond at one of the three designated campsites. We could hear people singing at the other campsite across the pond, so we decided to stick to the southwest shore and leave them to their campfire songs.

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From there, it was an easy trek on a herd path to the base of the ledges (more like huge erratics than ledges?)

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A quick scramble up the backside of the ledges/boulder deposited us on top; about 60'-100' above the pond.

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We enjoyed a sip of water and a small snack while watching the resident broad winged hawk soar around in search of chipmunks. After a nice long break in the cool breeze and bright sunshine, we cleaned up some garbage and moved some recently cut green wood before heading back down the path.

Since we came up the fisherman's path, we decided to return on the slightly longer marked path. As this is an old carriage road, it's an easy walk despite some downed beech trees that crossed the wide trail.

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Near the trailhead, we noticed the woods had a funky feel to them. This was a forest of young oak and maple where the leaves seemed to be just sprouting. No doubt after the spongy (gypsy) moth irruption of earlier this month. The leaves were small and had that bright green color that we're used to seeing in early May. It was a strange sight that we noticed more as we drove down the hill.

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Just before the register. we passed a family of seven from Kentucky that was out for a walk to the pond. It was cool to see Dad pointing out some spider webs to the kids as they climbed the hill. It was nice to see some other people using the area weather it be at the lakeside campsite or just taking a short hike to the pond like we did. On the way back down Sly Pond Rd. we encountered a steady stream of vehicles headed up the hill to the more popular spots, but my money was on Inman Pond ledges today and it paid off for us.

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Long Lake to Tupper Lake Fishing Trip 7/16/22 - 7/23/22

I just got back on Saturday from a truly AMAZING trip, covering the quintessential 44 miles from Long Lake to Tupper Lake via the Raquette River. It was definitely one of those trips that end up coming together in all the right ways to make for a completely unforgettable experience. The weather was good (for the most part), the fishing was amazing and there was always an open lean-to or campsite to lay my head down at the end of the night. I know most people do this trip in a quick couple days, but I really wanted to take my time and spend 2 nights fishing Long Lake, 4 nights fishing the Raquette River and 2 nights fishing Tupper Lake. I ended up catching and cooking my first Adirondack Walleye that I caught in a deep hole on the Raquette, blasted through the Raquette Falls Carry in my own record time, and had some absolutely stunning views from camp and the canoe.

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Kempshall Mountain Long Lake

Has anyone attempted Kempshall Mountain recently. At the Kelly?s Point former trailhead. I?d like to hike it if the trail is still reasonably there. Last I?ve read, it was. How?s the view??

Too soon?

I know it's from heat/drought stress, but...

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Environmental Notice Bulletin

Anyone else here receive notices of these and lok at them? I don't think I have ever submitted a comment but kind of interesting.

https://www.dec.ny.gov/enb/125763.html#reg7

I'm signed up for a few more DEC notices. Interesting. Allowable in retirement I think.

Horseshoe "Tigers"

Anybody spend anytime fishing for Tigers in Horseshoe in Piercefield? Even if you haven't, could you provide some tips. Would like to try trolling with my "Nucanoe" this Fall.

Thanks,
Patrick

Forked Lake - June 26-30 2022

Glad to report on a rejuvenating trip to a beautiful spot in the heart of the park.

Spent a half-day covering the trails along the east shore of the north bay (the trails that lead to the sites), and then the dirt road up to Buttermilk Falls and the overlook.

The star of the show was the paddling -- choppy at times in the open water, but a great, long, wild lake with a ton of awesome shoreline and history.

The sunsets were amazing, the loons were loud, and my fellow campers were courteous and friendly.

I'll be back for sure!wwww

Swimming in Crane Pond in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness?

I might hike Pharaoh Mountain this weekend and was thinking of swimming in Crane Pond or Pharaoh Lake on the way out. What's the 411 on leaches? How do you get leaches off you? Any swimming thoughts would be appreciated.

Indian Falls trail Lean To

Hello,

Can anyone recall if the Lean-To site on Indian Falls trail closest to Heart Lake also includes designated tent sites? Looking at a trip. Plan A would be LeanTo but like to have a plan B and respect that "at large" camping is being phased out in high peaks.

Thank you.

John

Little Tupper / Arrive Sunday or Monday

We're planning to canoe camp on Little Tupper next week for three days. I was originally going to arrive Monday, early afternoon, but now I'm thinking the weekend crowd will be leaving Sunday afternoon, freeing up the good sites then and it might be better to get there Sunday afternoon. Anybody have an opinion on whether it's better to arrive Sunday afternoon, or wait until Monday?

Eureka 4 person tent

Eureka 4 person dome tent for sale. Excellent condition. $100. 518-638-8531, leave message.

Is this a leech?

Saw it swimming in the shallow warm water of a pond in Central Adirondacks today...I am guessing leech but the colors are throwing me.

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Dams and Culverts - Reconnecting Our Waterways

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZmvoVE4dAg

This video shows how culverts and dams can impact flood risk and fish habitat. We can reconnect our rivers for fish and climate resilience. Ways to do this include upgrading (or ?rightsizing?) culverts and removing aging dams. Partners are supporting local communities to reconnect our rivers and streams. This helps restore the Hudson Valley?s natural areas. This video highlights projects in the towns of Ancram and Cortlandt, and the City of Newburgh, NY.

To learn more:
? See if you live in a Climate Smart Community and earn points by taking action on Culverts & Dams
? Stream Crossings: Protecting and Restoring Stream Continuity, NYS DEC
? Information for Dam Owners, NYS DEC
? Funding support for climate adaptation and resilience, NYS Water Resources Institute
? Aquatic Connectivity and Barrier Removal: Restoring Free-Flowing Rivers in the Hudson River Watershed, NYS DEC
? Interactive Map of Aquatic Barriers in the Hudson Valley, NYS Water Resources Institute

Quehanna Trail-June 2022

Last month I hiked the 70+ mile Quehanna Trail in the PA Wilds. For the full TR and lots of photos I have a full write up at my website at the link below. http://www.tomcatsadventures.com/202...trail.html?m=1

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