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#6534 and #6535 – Newcomb Weekend #10 – July 16 & 17, 2016

#6534 and #6535 – Newcomb Weekend #10 – July 16 & 17, 2016

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Write-up: Meg Higgerson
#6534 Down the Hudson
Leader: Meg Higgerson
Co-Leader: Bill Higgerson

#6535 Stoney Pond to Irishtown
Leader: Meg Higgerson
Co-Leader: Grace McNasser

TnT Newcomb weekend - Hudson kayak

Learning the number of attendees would exceed thirty and with low lake and stream water conditions, the Higgersons puzzled over a location that would be new and exciting, could accommodate numerous cars and avoid shuttles. After meeting at our camp on Goodnow Flow, the flotilla of 31 boats proceeded another 5 miles on the dirt Chain Lakes Road to the Polaris or Iron Bridge on the Hudson. Following a carry of about ¼ mile, thirty-one kayakers bushwhacked over logs and down an embankment to the put-in on the Hudson. We had beautiful weather, scenery and companionship as we paddled up the Hudson and Goodnow Rivers, portaging over, around and sometimes through a number of beaver dams to a sand bar for lunch.

TnT Newcomb weekend - Hudson kayak

After lunch we took the current down the Goodnow, into the Hudson and paddled around the calm Blackwell Stillwater for 5-6 miles.

TnT Newcomb weekend 2016TnT Newcomb weekend 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

Returning to the camp on Goodnow Flow, 35 Tramps enjoyed a BBQ and a smorgasbord of dishes as well as numerous recounting of the days various adventures. What a surprise to see no water in the Goodnow Flow! The dam is under repair and the water was significantly lowered. We went out on the rocks between the shore and island for a picture.

TnT Newcomb weekend 2016

On Sunday we set up a shuttle for 14 hikers. Taking a rarely used trail from Hewitt Pond, Barnes Pond to Stony Pond, we were often looking for the trail as we climbed over hill and dale. Visiting the shore of a number of special trout fishing areas, we also crossed marshes and beaver dams. The only person we met on the trail all day was Dick Blanchard’s dentist. We had a few laughs over that on the way back to our cars where we munched on refreshing watermelon before heading home.

TnT Newcomb 2016 Don

TnT Newcomb 2016 DonTnT Newcomb 2016 Don

TnT Newcomb weekend - Hudson kayak

#6533 – Shanty Brook – JULY 10, 2016

#6533 – Shanty Brook – JULY 10, 2016

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Write-up: Roger Felske
Leader: Roger Felske
Co-Leader: Mary Pat Connors

TnT Shanty Brook 7/10/16 MKScott

The Shanty Brook hike is always intriguing with its many twists and turns, usually centered around wading across the East Branch of the Sacandaga River to reach the trailhead to Mud Ponds.

This year was no exception. On the previous Thursday, while doing the pre-hike with Doug Waz, the river was extremely low and the trail very dry, also very faint and overgrown in the upper reaches near the Mud Pond outlet.

Following the pre-hike, heavy rains had raised the water levels…and made the trail rather wet and muddy. Not to be deterred, a merry band of 16 Tramps crossed the river and headed toward Mud Ponds. A fine mist dissipated, and though there were threats, the day stayed dry.

TnT Shanty Brook 7/10/16

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TnT Shanty Brook 7/10/16

The first half-mile was wet from the encroaching undergrowth that almost totally covered the trail.
TnT Shanty Brook 7/10/16

We stopped to view the Shanty Brook Falls that seems to be a regular stopping point to take a water break.

TnT Shanty Brook 7/10/16

Progress seemed to be slowed by the trail conditions and that did not improve when we reached two beaver dams that had to be crossed one mile from our destination. Water was flowing over the dam. After starting to cross over it was obvious there were going to be a lot of wet feet if we continued. We decided to have lunch in the beaver meadow and voted to forego our original destination and started our return to the parking lot. Seven miles was going to have to be enough.

TnT Shanty Brook 7/10/16 MKScott

 

TnT Shanty Brook 7/10/16 MKScott

Back in the parking lot we enjoyed chilled bottles of water and watermelon before either stopping at the newly owned Oxbow Restaurant for further refreshments, or heading home.

#6531 – Crane Mountain – July 4, 2016

#6531 – Crane Mountain – July 4, 2016

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Write-up: Meg Higgerson
Leader: Meg Higgerson
Co-Leader: Joan Egan

Crane Mountain: The longest shortest hike ever!!
It was the 4th of July when seven early risers left home no later than 8:30am to drive to Mapledale and then on to Speculator and to Bakers Mills where they met their leader. From there the 8 of us wound through the countryside, past the entrance to the advertised “World’s Largest Pile of Goat Manure.”

We finally arrived at Crane Mountain around 11 am.
The steep and rocky climb was difficult with a number of scrambles. We remarked at how glad we were still able to do this and do it on such a beautiful Independence Day. Then we passed the “connector” trail and climbed 2 ladders before eventually reaching the summit.

TnT Crane Mt. 7/4/16 Jim
Once there, we savored the cool breeze, gorgeous views and, of course, our lunch!

TnT Crane Mt. 7/4/16 Jim

TnT Crane Mt. 7/4/16 Jim

We then started our descent from the summit to the Crane Mountain Pond. Again, we leisurely enjoyed the solace and beauty of the area. As we prepared to leave, a group of hikers came along who were very familiar with the trail and told us the best way to proceed was to take the connector trail and then descend over all those rocks we had relished climbing on our way up!

Off we went! We encountered a milk snake, (harmless but certainly feisty). The snake was a motivation for some of us to sprint like a gazelle down the rocks!

TnT Crane Mt. 7/4/16 Jim

We emerged from the trail shortly after 4pm and were surprised to learn we had only hiked 3.5 miles in 5 hours!!! As we feasted on watermelon, we all agreed that though a challenging hike, it was fun, leisurely and a perfect way to spend the 4th.
Now the long 2+ hour trek home but fun dinner plans were in the works before we left the parking lot!

#6530 – South Inlet Raquette Lake – July 3, 2016

#6530 – South Inlet Raquette Lake – July 3, 2016

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Write-up: Pam Carrier
Leader: Pam Carrier
Co-Leader: Joan Egan

A sunny, breezy day had 19 tramps enthused about a trip to the promise of waterfalls just two miles up the inlet. We meandered our way through the winding paths and even some obnoxious water chestnuts until we found the clear direction to our destination.
We enjoyed our lunches next to the cascading waters before approximately half of us wandered down the well-marked and sometimes very muddy trail to the original powerhouse of the Great Camp Sagamore. We paddled through the  middle of the inlet back to the put-in and found our trip quite easy. A nice young man who was enjoying his holiday helped to carry our boats back up the hill!!

After, we descended on Tony Harper’s only to find it closed, however, recognizing that opening a half-hour early would increase their holiday fun, they opened for us!! John Davis and Grace McNasser tended bar and took orders while the staff ran to the store. A good time was had by all.

#6528 – Raquette Lake, Marion River – June 26, 2016

#6528 – Raquette Lake, Marion River – June 26, 2016

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Write-up: Roger Felske
Leader: Roger Felske
Co-Leader: Mary Pat Connors

This kayak outing was a literal “Bon Voyage” for one of our reigning princesses, Karen Bernard. Meg Higgerson began the day by presenting to Karen: a royal blue princess cape, T&T princess tiara and princess wand/bug catcher. Thus began the fun of the day.

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Seventeen tramps left Barneveld for Raquette Lake Village and the start of our kayak.

TnT Raquette Lake 6/26/16 Don

The day was warm with a fairly strong westerly wind. Our plan was to cross the Raquette, paddle up the Marion River to a trail leading to Lower Sargent Pond.

With the wind at our backs we easily crossed the lake passing the big island, rounded the point past St. Williams Church and meandered up the Marion River.

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The original plan was to have lunch at Lower Sargent Pond, but because we were running late, we ate at the trailhead. As we were eating, four people came out of the woods and one woman had a fly patch COVERED in horse flies. At that point, as a group, we decided to forego the hike to Sargent Pond and instead find a place to swim. We did not have success on that front, but instead, a group elected to stop at St. Williams Church for a tour. Disembarking from his kayak, Roger slipped and took his own little swim. Wallet and all got soaked.

Crossing back to Raquette Lake Village, the wind was in our face and there were some substantial waves and wakes from boats, tubers and skiers. Fortunately, though tiring, it was an uneventful crossing.

After the kayaks were reloaded, Mary Pat provided delicious, chilled watermelon, perfect for rehydrating on this very warm day.

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Then it was on to the Raquette Lake Hotel Tap Room for adult beverages. We sat outside enjoying our drinks and the weather, and reminiscing about the day. We toasted our departing Princess and wished her well with her move to the Baltimore area.

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#6525 – Otselic River Paddle – June 18, 2016

#6525 – Otselic River Paddle – June 18, 2016

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Write Up: Tom O’Hara
Leader: Peter Geiskopf
Co-Leader: Mike Hardiman

It was a BEAUTIFUL warm sunny day to kayak in the Southern Tier.
15 members kayaked and had an enjoyable day.

TnT Otselic River 6/16
Otselic River 6/18/16
TnT Otselic River 6/16
Otselic River 6/18/16
TnT Otselic River 6/16
Otselic River 6/18/16
TnT Otselic River 6/16
Otselic River 6/18/16

We put in by the Cincinnatus NY Fire Hall. The “few” rifts in the water were actually “a bunch” of rifts, due to the low amount of rain levels this month. The second half of the trip was a leisurely paddle in deeper water, where we saw ducks, geese, beavers, and even some big fish. We passed woods and farmland. The slow current allowed much conversation and comradery. Only one person went swimming – unexpectedly. She said it was to “cool off.”

After our day, we landed at Tom O’Hara’s camp where he graciously cooked up Hoffmann Hot Dogs, offered beverages and set up the homemade salads contributed by members – can’t get any better than that. This was certainly a challenging trip but the participants were up to the task and enjoyed the outing on a picture-perfect day.

Maybe we can use this cottage again when we hike the Finger Lakes Trails or kayak/canoe in the Southern Tier again??

#6524 – Fish Creek – June 12, 2016

#6524 – Fish Creek – June 12, 2016

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Write-up: Kathy Countryman
Leader: Kathy Countryman
Co-Leader: Francis Roy

Seven intrepid Tramps braved a dark, damp and very windy day to paddle Fish Creek.

TnT Fish Creek 6/12/16

Despite the leaders’ initial misgivings regarding the wisdom of kayaking in such unsavory conditions, we had quite a nice time. The wind died down, the thunderstorms didn’t materialize, and everyone got warmed up and dried out at Harpoon Eddie’s afterwards.

#6517 & #6518 – Wolfe Island, Wellesley Island – May 29 & 30, 2016

#6517 & #6518 – Wolfe Island, Wellesley Island – May 29 & 30, 2016

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Write-up: Bobbie Scarpino
Leader: Bobbie Scarpino
Co-leaders: Jerry Stewart and Carolyn Eastman

A colorful group of 22 Tramps with bicycles boarded the ferry in Cape Vincent to cross the St. Lawrence River to Wolfe Island.

TnT Wolfe Island Bobbie

TnT Wolfe Island Bobbie
After passing through customs with ease, (Even Dick was allowed through!) we biked the seven relatively flat miles on the main road across the island to Marysville. We encountered no more than two cars on this entire route as we rode by endless fields and numerous towering windmills.

TnT Wolfe Island Bobbie

TnT Wolfe Island Bobbie

As we rolled into town, the ferry in Marysville was waiting to take us across the river to the city of Kingston. As we disembarked amongst the heavy traffic from the ferry, we all managed to regroup and stay together as we made our way through a few city streets and traffic lights. It was clear sailing (with the exception of Jim’s flat tire) on the five-mile road that took us to the Kingston Mills Locks and its beautiful park. The locks are a series of steps with a turning basin on the Rideau Canal used by pleasure craft. An hour was spent enjoying our lunch and roaming the grounds before retracing our route back to the US.

TnT Kingston Locks

 

TnT Kingston Locks

TnT Kingston Locks Bobbie

On the return trip, we split into various groups to enjoy the different amenities offered on Canadian soil. A few enjoyed a beverage on the riverfront in Kingston, others discovered the ice cream shop and bakery in Marysville, and several relaxed with a Canadian brew at the Wolfe Island Grill. Once back on the US side, most of our group spent the night at various establishments in order to participate in the next day’s adventure in the 1000 Island region.

Memorial Day began with a scrumptious breakfast at the Misiaszek’s home on Wellesley Island. A special thank you to Jean and Emil for graciously sharing their beautiful place on the water’s edge and preparing a delicious array of breakfast food for all of the Tramps!

TnT Wellesley Is. Misiaszeks

To burn off all of those calories, we set off to hike at Wellesley Island State Park. Unfortunately the entire group had difficulty finding the park and the trailhead due to the fact that the leader and co-leader took off too fast and no one was following. We are really sorry for the confusion it caused. Eventually everyone found our starting point that took us on a trail along the river’s edge. Climbing up at the point of the island gave us an awesome view of The Narrows. From our high perch we spotted an osprey flying to its nest of many young ones atop an electrical pole on an island directly across from us.

TnT Wellesley Island

TnT Wellesley Island

Our hike of about 3.5 miles brought us back to our cars where once again everyone went off on their own adventure to complete the weekend’s trip. One group toured Boldt Castle, a few went to see the “Painted Ladies” (beautiful Victorian Homes on the island), and some visited the 1000 Island Winery. Passing motorists reported that this latter group was later seen on the pedestrian walk of the 1000 Island Bridge dancing to “Uptown Funk.” The identity of these Tramps remains a mystery!

It was a great way to end this two-day adventure spent with wonderful friends, spectacular scenery, and glorious weather. And for another happy ending – my new cellphone was found at the Wolfe Island Grill. It has been retrieved and reactivated!

More photos may be found in Galleries.

#6516 – Murphy, Middle and Bennett Lakes – May 28, 2016

#6516 – Murphy, Middle and Bennett Lakes – May 28, 2016

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Write-up: Deb Roberts
Leader: Deb Roberts
Co-Leader: Meg Higgerson

UNBELIEVEABLE!!!! It’s springtime in the north country and you know what that means….bug spray or nets!!
The weather was hot as 15 hikers tramped through the woods, BUT the black flies were few and far between!!!! It was great!

We traversed 8 plus miles in a little over 4 hours, passing by 3
lakes, and 2 groups of mountain-bikers. camp-sites, a lean-to, and
remnants of an iron oxide mine. Although a few people tripped up,
there was no major injury…. next time I should remember to pack an icepack.

Chloe came upon an enormous snake, okay, that’s a slight
exaggeration….but it was aggressive for all 18 inches!!!
We ate lunch on the beaver dam at Murphy Lake with a breeze coming off the water to cool us.

TnT Murphy Middle Bennett 5/28/16 Deb

The weather prediction threatened an isolated thunderstorm, but we
lucked out….and hopefully we didn’t scare away 3 new hikers!!
Oh yeah…. the last third WAS TRULY ALL DOWNHILL!!!!

#6508 – Sargent Pond – April 30, 2016

#6508 – Sargent Pond – April 30, 2016

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Leader: Meg Higgerson
Co-Leader: Grace McNasser
Write-up: Meg Higgerson

Whatever possessed them? Was it the moderate spring temperatures? The blue bird sky? Or the delicious odor of Grace’s biscotti and cookies that wafted over the Mohawk Valley the day before? Why did thirty-seven  Tramps come out for a hike that was 2 hours away and rated as “Difficult”?
TnT Sargent Pond 4/30/16

After the surprise at the size of the group that met in Mapledale at 9:00, we regrouped at “Bills Bathroom” in Eagle Bay. We continued to the road for the Minnowbrook Conference Center. Fortunately, there were few other parties taking in Castle Rock this day so we had adequate parking for our 12 car caravan.

“Carry your own cookies” and we were off by 11 AM. The trail of over 4.5 miles to Sargent Pond was often hard to spot and all hikers were warned not to stray far from the trail. Up and down over rolling hills (some more rolling than others) and through some Adirondack mud, we kept a good pace in spite of the huge group.

What we soon learned was that if we stopped for any length of time, the black flies were horrendous! The goal was to reach the pond for lunch which we did after 2.5 hours.
TnT Sargent Pond 4/30/16
TnT Sargent Pond Nancy C.
Lunch was leisurely and enjoyable on the rocks by the shore or in the pond though we all had the thought of the return trek on our minds. We were all delighted to reach the parking area around 4:30 with 9.5 miles under our boots, tired but glad to have enjoyed the marvels of Mother Nature and the beautiful day with friends.

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