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Hike # 6068 – NORTH LAKE – July 22, 2012

Hike # 6068 – NORTH LAKE – July 22, 2012

With the current drought water is low everywhere, especially in the Moose River, so we had to change our planned Tramp and Trail kayak from Nelson Lake to North Lake.  North Lake is one of three reservoirs, South Lake, North Lake and Kayuta Lake that were built back in the nineteenth century to impound the waters of the Black River, ensuring a steady water supply for both the Erie Canal and the water powered mills of the Black River Valley downstream.  It still serves these functions but also provides a marvelous source of recreation.

To reach the lake you start at the Buffalo Head restaurant in Forestport Station and drive on North Lake road, a journey that twists and turns for what seems to be an eternity and becomes unpaved shortly before reaching the lake.  You cross the dam and the state canoe and kayak-launching site is immediately on the left with plenty of room for cars.

Twenty-five Tramps launched twenty-one kayaks and two canoes and headed up the lake with a steady, refreshing wind at our backs.  There are a number of camps at this end of the lake and our peaceful paddle was disturbed somewhat by the roaring of a Skidoo.  Further up the lake the shores are much wilder and there are numerous State approved primitive campsites.  In this quiet part of the lake we were rewarded by seeing a pair of loons with two downy chicks.  We stayed well out of their way so as not to disturb them and continued on our way.  After about two miles we stopped for lunch at a pleasant beach where many of us swam in the warm water, although the mucky bottom spoiled some of our swimming pleasure.

After this we paddled up to the inlet where the Black river usually provides an opportunity for further exploration.  Today, however the water level was down a good four feet from normal and the Black was a mere trickle wending its way through giant boulders.  We turned around here and fought a moderate head wind and pleasant waves back to the launching site.

By:  Harold Pier

Hike # 6064 – JOHN’S BROOK LODGE (JBL) – July 13-15, 2012

Hike # 6064 – JOHN’S BROOK LODGE (JBL) – July 13-15, 2012

On July 13 twenty Tramp and Trail Club members secured a single parking place at the Garden in Keene Valley and began a 3.4 mile trek on the Phelps Trail to Johns Brook Lodge.  The Lodge has a long history, dating back to 1925 when it was built as a clubhouse for the Adirondack Mountain Club.  Previous to this the property had been occupied by squatter Mel Hathaway, a retired Adirondack guide.  A patch of rhubarb, all that remains of his garden, still grows there.  His cabin was torn down and the new Lodge constructed.  At the time, the area had been clear-cut, providing magnificent views of the Great Range.

My first visit to the Lodge came back in the early nineteen seventies when as advisor to the Utica College Outing Club I led a group of skiers in for a winter weekend.  We had to carry our own food in and cook it on an antique wood range.  A single chunk stove heated the bunkroom and sanitary facilities were located “out back.”  Things have changed.  The Lodge has been repeatedly expanded and improved and now there is a large, paneled dining room, a kitchen, two large bunk rooms and two small family bunkrooms.  During the summer months a crew of talented college students provides delicious meals, so hikers need only to bring in their clothes and bedding.

Parking at the Garden is limited and after finding a single parking place we had to use that car to shuttle our members from the Marcy Airport.  Even without having to carry food, I was still burdened with a heavy pack that I hadn’t used in 30 years.  The rubber pads in the shoulder straps had hardened and dug painfully into my shoulders.  By the time I completed the 900-foot ascent along the northern trail my legs were barely functioning.  All of us were grateful to reach our goal and immediately donned bathing suits and immersed ourselves in the icy waters of Johns Brook after which we retired to the broad porch of the Lodge to enjoy views of Gothics and the Wolf Jaws and to watch an endless parade of hikers seeking the high peaks.  This place is truly a crossroads and in a matter of moments you find yourself in pleasant conversation with peak baggers describing their goals and the mountains they intend to climb.

Soon the enticing scent of pot roast lured us into the dining room after which we engaged in a fearsome game of pitch (the men beat the women) followed by a very instructive lecture by a Peak Steward describing alpine vegetation and the successful efforts of the peak stewards program to protect rare plants that grow only above tree line.  The gas lights in the dining room were lit, but most of us piled into the tiers of the co-ed bunkrooms. Communal sleeping has its drawbacks and even though the lodge provides a large supply of earplugs, the rooms reverberated with myriad snores.

Breakfast of French toast was served at 7:30 and by 8:15 most of us had hit the trail to the Wolf Jaws.  Four of our members sought other high peaks:  Saddle Back, Basin and Haystack and these longer, tougher hikes required them to leave before breakfast.  Bonnie Sanderson needed only three more peaks to complete the magic 46 mountains above 4000 feet and hoped to bag two of them, Haystack and Basin, before the day ended.

The trail to the Wolf Jaws crosses Johns Brook and immediately begins to climb.  A short, downhill stretch brought us to the Wolf Jaw Lean-to, already occupied by sleeping climbers.  Shortly after this the trail crosses a huge slide that plummeted from Armstrong Mountain when Hurricane Irene struck the area last fall.  The devastation of this slide, the tangle of rocks and huge trees carried down the mountainside is hard to visualize and even the picture that I show does not do it justice.

Steady climbing brought us into the Col between Upper and Lower Wolf Jaws after which we turned left to ascend the shorter, lower peak.  Climbing immediately becomes steep, requiring many struggles to clamber over high rocks, but as the elevation increases, so do the magnificent views of the high peaks: Marcy, Algonquin, Giant, and closer, Upper Wolf Jaw, Armstrong, and Gothics.  After lunch at the summit we descended to the col where half the group, including myself, elected to call enough enough.  The rest continued on for another mile and an even steeper climb to the summit of Upper Wolf Jaw.  Those of us who returned early rejoiced in another cold bath in Johns Brook.

We retired to the porch and while we relaxed a black throated green warbler flew against one of the picture windows and stunned itself.  We tenderly placed it in the shade of a balsam fir and after about an hour it recovered and flew away.

The other hikers returned a couple of hours later and the group who had climbed Haystack, Saddle Back, and Basin came in around 5:00 having had to curtail their climbs due to running out of water.  We enjoyed another delicious supper, but worried because Bonnie and her friend had  still not returned.  Finally as dusk was falling they came trudging up the trail, looking like the ghosts of Christmas Past.  A tremendous cheer went up and we allowed ourselves to go back to the bunkrooms.

The hike out the next day was all down hill and much easier and I am grateful to some of my fellow Tramps for lightening my load.  This was my second Wolf Jaw ascent and I found it much more difficult than the one I made 40 years ago.  I feel I must misquote a phrase I think I learned in an Italian Course a while back: “Im Boca del Lupa.”

By:  Harold Pier

Hike # 6063 – RICH LAKE AND FISHING CREEK – July 8, 2012

Hike # 6063 – RICH LAKE AND FISHING CREEK – July 8, 2012

Members of the Tramp and Trail Club spent four days camping, climbing and kayaking in the vicinity of Newcomb, NY.  Many of us camped at the Lake Harris Camp ground.  Some of our adventures on a kayak across Rich Lake and up one of its sources, a narrow stream that meanders through bog lands and magnificent forests.

We put in at the public access to Rich Lake, a beautiful wide, sandy beach, and immediately found ourselves fighting a fierce wind and respectable waves.  Eventually we reached the shelter of Fishing Creek and began paddling against a strong current.  Rounding a bend we encountered our first beaver dam but were able to cross it without leaving our boats.  Shortly thereafter we reached a much more formidable dam, and it took a team effort to get everyone out of their kayaks, across the dam and back into their boats again.  This was not accomplished without several dunkings, but the day and the water were warm and no harm was done.

New vistas greeted us around every bend in the twisting water way.  Flowers were everywhere, white and yellow water lilies and a tiny water lily whose size and appearance was reminiscent of spring beauties but whose name I do not know.  Along the banks bloomed marsh milkweed and a white flower that I thought was Labrador tea, but later study proved me wrong.  If any of my readers can help me identify this beautiful shrub I would appreciate a response. Purple pickerel weed is just beginning to bloom in abundance. At one point we saw a large bear footprint in the clay on the edge of the stream and there was plenty of evidence of beaver activity.

After a couple miles we reached a fork in the stream, and took the right fork, the left being rocky and not very navigable.  Soon we heard rushing water and were forced to end our quest by rapids and waterfalls issuing from beneath a steel truss bridge.  Returning we were able to ride the current across the beaver dam and with the wind at our backs we made quick progress across Rich Lake to our put-in spot at the beach.

By:  Harold Pier

ADIRONDACK 46ERS – May 26th, 2012

ADIRONDACK 46ERS – May 26th, 2012

Four members recognized as new “Adirondack 46ers” at the ceremony held at the Crown Plaza in Lake Placid on May 27th, 2012.  From Left to right, they are Grace McNasser,  Meg Higgerson, Carolyn Abdo and Tom Schenck.    Grace who is 72 also received the distinction of being 2011’s most senior hiker  to have climbed all 46 high peaks of the Adirondacks

Adirondack Mountain trails are full of surprises!!  I was hiking in the remote Seward Range with two friends Grace and Roger on August 26, 2011.   On the trail since 6 am, it was 4 pm and we had not run into another human being when suddenly over the ridge we saw 3 hikers approaching.   We stop to chat with Carolyn, Tom and Dian and to  exchange hiking experiences as well as our starting point.   Carolyn said she was from a small town we most likely had never heard of…DEANSBORO!      What a shock since I am from Deansboro also and it turns out that though we had not previously met, Carolyn Eastman Abdo’s relatives live next door to me!!!

Carolyn and I have hiked together since our surprise encounter on Seward Mountain.   Even stranger, we learned that at one point in our lives we both were residents of an even smaller town…Gray, NY.

Below is a picture of Carolyn and I at the May 27th recognition ceremony in Lake Placid for those who have completed hiking the 46 highest peaks in NYS.

By Meg Higgerson

Hike #6047 – HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL ART TRAIL – May 26th, 2012

Hike #6047 – HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL ART TRAIL – May 26th, 2012

We carpooled down the Thruway to exit 21, regrouping at Cedar Grove, the home and studio of Thomas Cole, founder of the Hudson River School of Painting.  From there we proceeded over the Catskill Creek and through the Kaaterskill Clove up to the Kaaterskill Falls.

The trail starts with the beautiful Bastion Falls and proceeds upwards one half mile to Kaaterskill Falls, the highest falls in New York State , as if climbing a natural staircase. It was nice to see so many young people and families out in nature.

Next we stopped at  North-South Lake State Park.  We parked in the South Lake Parking Lot and walked along both lakes through the woods to the shores of North Lake where we had lunch.  From there we took the trail up to Artist’s and Sunset Rocks.  The shaded forest felt cool as we  climbed steadily to our destinations.  The views of the Hudson River, the twin lakes, the farms in the valley, the mountains in the distance were wonderful in spite of slightly hazy skies.  When we checked out this hike a month before, the mountain was encased in fog and we saw nothing but white mist.  On our way back to the cars, we took a short side trip to the site of the Catskill Mountain House for more spectacular views.  The Catskills differ from the Adirondacks in several respects but the most important on this day was NO BLACK FLIES!!!!!!!!!

By:  Nancy Coleman

Hike #6045 – GULL LAKE – May 19, 2012

Hike #6045 – GULL LAKE – May 19, 2012

Gull Lake is one of our favorite hikes.  Given the time of year we worried about black flies, and they were out and biting, but not as bad as we sometimes have experienced.

The weather was almost perfect, but a little warm if you were wearing a full bug shirt.  Most of the spring flowers have ceased blooming but we did see a number of painted trilliums.

The hike proceeds in a clockwise direction beginning at the Bear Creek parking lot and extending for a short distance along a truck road before bearing left onto the lower foot trail.  There are still a few blowdowns on this trail although they are not nearly as bad as in past years.  The puddles, however were extensive, wide, deep and muddy and required quite a few detours.  The trail turns right after a little over a mile and begins a steep ascent.  This part of the trail is deeply eroded making footing a bit difficult, and we encounterd even more water as we neared the top and the lake came into view.  Turning left we took the trail to the lean-to.  The sign said 0.4 miles but the many ups and downs made the distance seem much longer.   Soon we saw the lake on both sides of the trail, indicating that we were on the point where the lean-to is situated.  This is an ideal spot because a fresh breeze eliminated any black flies.  We quickly kindled a fire and began the roasting of hot dogs.  As usual, two loons and a pair of seagulls occupied the lake and we rejoiced in the music of the loons.  Several people waded in the shallow water off the point while others just relaxed and enjoyed the beauty of the place.  Deb Robert’s little grandaughter, Chloe, was overjoyed to find that someone had suspended a rope and log from a tree and spent most of her time swinging back and forth.  Reluctantly we extinguished the fire and turned homeward.

We backtracked until we reached the trail to the Chub Pond intersection.  This trail follows an old tote road for most of the way narrowing to a foot path only a short distance from the intersection.  Here there were even more puddles to circumvent but fortunately the water at the first crossing of Gull Lake Outlet had receded and we were able to cross on a bridge that had been submerged when we made the trip in 2009.  The remains of the crude bridge we had constructed and crossed on were still there.

The Chub Pond trail had a few wide puddles near the intersection but then became an easy, mostly downhill jaunt to the parking lot where ice cold watermelon awaited hikers who were hot and thirsty after an 8 mile hike.

By:  Harold Pier

Hike #6032 – NINE CORNER LAKE – March 31, 2012

Hike #6032 – NINE CORNER LAKE – March 31, 2012

In a normal spring this would have been a late snowshoe, but even though  light snow dusted the ground and continued to fall fitfully during the day 29 Tramps had decent walking with the usual detours around beloved Adirondack mud.  We shuttled cars to the trailhead near the intersection of Routes 29-A and 10 and then began our hike where Snowmobile route 8 heads north toward Fourth Lake from Rt. 29-A.

The trail provides nice views of Burnt Vly and reaches an intersection after 1.1 miles of easy walking.  Here Snowmobile Rt. 82 branches off to the right toward Nine Corner Lake and proceeds gently upward between high hills on either side.  The  open forest is mostly mature maple ash and beech. Nine Corner Lake is a popular haunt of rock climbers  and soon we began to see large, erratic rocks..  After about one mile we skirted around a large beaver meadow and began the last climb to the lake.  A primitive campsite provided ample dry firewood and a sheltered spot for lunch.  After our three- mile climb to the lake the one-mile descent to Rt. 29-A and the cars seemed easy.  After this many of us retired to Arthur’s in Dolgeville for a light repast.

By:  Harold Pier

Hike #6029 – LAKE DELTA STATE PARK – March 18th, 2012

Hike #6029 – LAKE DELTA STATE PARK – March 18th, 2012

On a dazzling sun-shiny, blue-sky day, Jean Yost, Leader, and Kathy Countryman, Co-leader,  led a group of 34 Tramps on a 4 mile hike around the inside perimeter of  the lake.  There were two individuals making their first hike with the Club.

It was an unusually warm 78 degrees for March 18th encouraging a few to zip off the bottom half of their hiking pants.   Early arrivers were interested in seeing a Baltimore Oriole’s nest that Bess Bessey had found and brought to share with the group.

As we walked among the barren trees through the woods and heard some happy songbirds, one could almost see the ice melting away on the lake as the ducks hung onto the remaining edge.   After returning to the beach at the end of the hike,  the group relaxed at picnic tables enjoying conversation and cookies!

By:  Jean Yost

Hike #6019 – HUMPHREY HILL, LOCK & DAM – February 18th, 2012

Hike #6019 – HUMPHREY HILL, LOCK & DAM – February 18th, 2012

The day was awesome; from sunshine to big snowflakes reminiscent of the winters of years past.  29 Tramps hiked, a few snow shoed, a few skied, the  figure 8 trail from Bisby Road to the lock and dam on the  Moose River.

John Gilbert offered up history of this site, where the steamboat came up the river to a stop at the dam.  We stopped for lunch under pines beside the river.  There was a long slow slope up and over Humphrey Hill to converge on the Nicks/Nelson Lake trail to head back to our parked vehicles. There were no mishaps and many met at Van Aikins in Thendara for a beer.  One tramp stated this was a good hike and she would bring ADKs here.

Hike #6017 – BLACK BEAR MOUNTAIN – February 11, 2012

Hike #6017 – BLACK BEAR MOUNTAIN – February 11, 2012

With the unusual weather we have had this winter, we did not know what to expect for our hike up Black Bear Mountain.  Ted and I walked the trail a week before the hike and it was a pleasant hike.  Watching the weather prior to the hike,, we decided to use crampons thus making the small stream crossing and bridges safe to cross on.

We met an interesting couple in the parking area, they were planning to climb the ledges to the mountain top.  Later on the mountain top they said the ledges were very difficult to climb up.

We “cramped” along the yellow trail without any difficulty.  Stream crossings and foot bridges were easy to cross.  (We did not go up the blue trail that is shorter but has ledges to climb).  We did not have any difficulty climbing the last 1/2 mile to the mountain top.  The views at the top were absolutely beautiful — for a short climb, the views on this mountain are breath-taking.

The Tramps expressed their enjoyment of this winter outing on a beautiful day.  The weather was pleasant; conditions were good and temperature comfortable.

Following our return to the parking area where our cars were, we decided to stop at the Hard Times Cafe for refreshments and conversation.  Everyone expressed their enjoyment climbing Black Bear Mountain.

By:  Barb Thomas