Upper Riley Pond

The following is an account of day three of my epic hike from Wanakena, NY to Stillwater Reservoir, Cranberry Lake and then back to Wanakena. The entire trip required backpacking via trail into the heart of the Five Ponds Wilderness, a lengthy bushwhack to the northern terminus of the Red Horse Trail and another trail hike, and then a short bushwhack to Gun Harbor on Stillwater Reservoir. The trip back followed a similar route except heading to Cranberry Lake before returning to Wanakena. The third day consisted of bushwhacking from one water body to another through the deep interior of the Five Ponds Wilderness.

Despite the clearing skies from the night before, the morning weather consisted of overcast skies, breezy conditions, lower humidity and cooler temperatures. The lack of humidity and the cooler temperatures were quite welcome but the breezy conditions and overcast skies much less so. The less than stellar weather conditions didn’t stifle the mid breeding season morning chorus as winter wren, white-throated sparrow, common yellowthroat, blackburnian warbler, black-throated green warbler, blue-headed vireo and golden crowned kinglet could all be heard singing in the vicinity of my campsite (point #12). And out on upper Riley Pond, a mother hooded merganser and her brood of 4 young were swimming around, occasionally one or more of them would momentarily disappear underneath the surface, apparently in search of breakfast. The death of many of the lakes in this area appears to be a little premature given the number of fish-eating diving ducks I observed on this trip.

After a hearty breakfast and packing up my campsite I headed off toward lower Ripley Pond, only a stone’s throw to the southeast. I headed off at a bearing of 114 degrees, climbing up and over the southern shoulder of a hill to the north of the lower pond. Within 15 minutes I was at the northern shore looking out upon a small pond approximately the same size of its upper sibling (point #13). The shore line was surrounded by spruce but the dense young evergreen forest found along the upper pond was not present and there were numerous camping spots along the northern shore off into the woods. Unlike the other Riley pond I observed no duck life here. But a beaver lodge was located along the southern shore about halfway down the lake.

The overcast broke occasionally as I moved east along the northern shore exposing patches of blue sky over the pond. The usual optimism from the appearance of the blue sky was muted due to the occasional light rain and the continued breezy conditions. Upon reaching the eastern end, I planned on bushwhacking to a small wetland to the northeast but I found this more difficult than I envisioned when I encountered an open wetland off the northeastern edge of lower Ripley. Finally I found a shallow beaver dam spanning the entire open area only to find the dam ending at a very steep slope (point #14). At first glance the cliff defied a possible climb with a heavy pack containing 5 days of food and supplies. But some searching revealed a place where I could scramble up the steep slope using my arms to pull myself up to the top. After reaching the top, I continued northeast through a mature forest with only an occasional blowdown tree to hamper my progress.

Lower Riley Pond

After hiking through the forest for a while I spotted open water down slope and to the northwest. I navigated around some more blowdowns near the southwestern edge of the wetland to get a nice view (point #15). The dam in the southwestern corner was extensive and appeared to be fairly new given the many small trees with green foliage growing in the water around the dam. Although the wetland was mostly open water near the dam, the northeastern portion of the wetland was choked with herbaceous vegetation such as grasses and sedges. Chewed and cut hardwood trees along the shoreline made bushwhacking through the area slightly treacherous due to the scattered sharp stems protruding from the ground. A pair of wood ducks and a single hooded merganser were observed out on the water in the southwestern portion of the wetland. They quickly swam off to the northeast after my arrival and soon disappeared into the submerged vegetation obviously waiting for my departure.

The blue skies and resulting sunshine on the way to the wetland from lower Ripley fooled me into removing my rain gear. This proved to be a mistake on my part as very dark clouds moved in shortly after I arrived at the wetland. Unfortunately, I was not able to get my rain gear back on quickly enough to prevent the rain from falling (see my post about how to prevent rain here), luckily the shower ended immediately after I donned my rain gear. Typically my rain gear only prevents rain before it starts but this was a rare case of it actually stopping the rain after the fact. How lucky is that? The wet conditions, overcast skies, cooler temperatures, low humidity and breezy conditions reminded me more of autumn rather than early summer. Fortunately the lower temperatures made leaving my rain gear on fairly comfortable despite the improving weather conditions after the brief shower.

Wetland northeast of Lower Riley Pond

I took a new bearing to the southeast (99 degrees) toward the western end of Little Crooked Lake with the intent of changing direction upon reaching the top of the ridge between the wetland and the lake. My plan was to hike between the very top of the ridge (in the form of a knoll 2240 feet in elevation) and a low area (most likely a seep) as indicated on the topographic map (USGS Five Ponds Quadrangle, 7.5 minute series). The slope increased rapidly immediately after leaving the beaver-dominated wetland and the forest transitioned from mixed to mostly hardoods. The numerous blowdowns required me to travel up the steep slope in a serpentine fashion until I approached the top of the ridge. The circuitous route necessitated by the presence of the blowdowns on the climb up must have gotten me off my bearing since I found myself southwest of the depressed area shortly after reaching the height of land (point #16). When I reached the top of the ridge it was around noon but I decided to push on to Little Crooked Lake before stopping for lunch. The sky was partly cloudy at this point but it remained quite breezy.

After passing the depressed low area (covered in dense sphagnum moss, ferns and other herbaceous vegetation), I took a new bearing directly toward the western end of Little Crooked Lake. As I climbed to the top of a small ridge just east of the depressed area, I stopped and looked to the east where the ground dropped off suddenly. Although it was out of sight, I knew Little Crooked Lake awaited me at the bottom. At first, the descent was quite steep and I made a concerted effort to NOT sink my new hiking poles too deeply in the ground to prevent a reoccurrence of my fall in May that resulted in a broken pole and choked back tears. After navigating around a steep cliff, I stopped for a quick snack (point #18) and was visited by a family of white-throated sparrows. The parents were collecting food for their begging near-adult sized young, apparently oblivious to my presence as they foraged in a semi-circle around me.

Little Crooked Lake

By 1 PM I arrived at the swampy inlet along the western shore of Little Crooked Lake (point #19). A nice open area (created by a beaver) allowed for taking some pictures of the lake and observing the patches of blue skies slowly giving way to exceedingly dark clouds. I observed three adult common goldeneyes and many young ducklings swimming out in the middle of the lake. Two other ducks flew over the lake several times in a manner suggesting they were agitated, apparently by my presence. Along the southern shore adjacent to my location there was an approximately 20 feet tall snag with an empty clear soda bottle stuck on a branch near the top. The soda bottle was serving as a marker for something; most likely a stashed boat or perhaps a nice campsite or hunting trail. The no-see-ums, which were vicious here, combined with an agitated white-throated sparrow convinced me to move east along the northern shore before stopping for lunch.

About midway down the northern shore of Little Crooked were some large white pines and a peninsular of large rocks scattered just off shore. One of the large rocks was very flat and would have provided a nice lunch spot but I could not reach it without getting my feet wet so I kept on heading east along the shore. The skies became increasingly dark as I searched for a convenient place to stop and have my well overdue lunch. Not far past the rock peninsula was an open area near the lake shore (point #20) and I decided to stop there and eat my peanut butter and blackberry jelly sandwich on flatbread. While eating, I observed an American black duck flying over the lake and a large bird flying along the northeastern shore just above the tree canopy. Unfortunately, the large bird disappeared over the canopy when I struggled to get my Leica binoculars out of their case but I assumed it was either some type of bird of prey or perhaps a great blue heron. Also, I observed a female common goldeneye with 8+ young out on the lake. When a second female approached the family, the mother became increasingly aggressive toward the second adult. And all she probably wanted was a little company.

Crooked Lake outlet stream

As the sky became more and more threatening, I finished up my lunch and completed my journey to the eastern end of Little Crooked. After getting around the eastern end, where a small bay connects to the main portion of the lake, I headed off on a bearing of 152 degrees toward the outlet of Crooked Lake just north of that lake. After climbing for a short distance, I reached a height of land (point #21) and then started to descend though a forest thick with saplings and blowdowns. The going was slow and a steep cliff encountered on the way did not make the going any easier. The roaring of the stream below became increasingly audible as I made my way down toward the outlet. The mosquitoes become unbearable as I approached the stream and I picked up my speed to try to get away from them and their constant buzzing. I was not successful. The dark clouds moved on without depositing any rain and were quickly replaced with partly sunny skies. Despite the improving conditions I remained ensconced in my rain gear, ever fearful of the inevitable if I were to remove them. Plus they made an adequate defense against the mosquitoes.

By 3:40 PM I crossed the densely vegetated yet rocky stream flowing out of Crooked Lake (point #22). The many rocks, responsible for the roar of the stream, made the crossing relatively easy. After reaching the eastern shore, I followed the stream south toward Crooked Lake and by 4:00 PM I reached the northern most tip of the lake. Crooked Lake is a very large lake with the approximate shape of a four pointed star. However the point to the east is pinched off from the main body of the lake by a long thin peninsula. From my research, the northern shoreline is suppose to be thick with spruce and therefore my plan was to cut over the southern shoulder of a rise to the northeast of the lake and thus avoid most of the shoreline. I regretted making this decision later because of the lost opportunities to get some nice views of the lake.

Northern Crooked Lake

After taking a few photographs of the lake and observing a beaver (point #23), I headed out on a bearing of 123 degrees over the shoulder of the hill just northeast of the lake. The once partly sunny skies had returned to their old threatening selves as I worked my way around Crooked Lake. Near the shoreline the forest had been pure spruce but as I worked my way up slope and away from the lake the forest became more mixed coniferous/deciduous but remained dense with occasional blowdowns to navigate around. By 4:41 PM I reached the top of the shoulder (point #24) and started descending toward the eastern tip of the lake. After reaching the height of land the forest became more deciduous and open, making it much easier to navigate through. By 4:50 I had reached a low area (point #25) and crossed a small stream with the lake visible through the trees in the distance to the south.

Eastern Crooked Lake

One more ridge remained to be climbed over before rounding the eastern edge of Crooked Lake and then heading south to Summit Pond, my final destination for the day. Upon reaching the eastern edge of the lake, I stopped to take photographs and mark a point with the GPS (point #26) before disappearing back into the forest on a bearing of 166 degrees toward the northern tip of Summit Pond.

By 5:30 PM I arrived at the northern tip of Summit Pond (point #27), an attractive Adirondack pond wedged between Crooked Lake to the northwest and Clear Lake to the south and east. The view from the pond to the northeast is dominated by the steep southwestern shoulder of Summit Mountain. The views from the mountain toward Clear Lake and Summit Pond are said to be outstanding but unfortunately my aggressive time table and late start on day two prevented me from seeing for myself; perhaps I will have to return and climb the mountain sometime in the future.

Summit Mountain overlooking Summit Pond

I circumvented the pond to the south to position myself for my bushwhack to the northern terminus of the Red Horse Trail the next day and to increase my odds of finding a relatively flat and comfortable camping site. While rounding the southwest corner of the pond I found the remains of an old camp in the form of some old stove pipe. While rummaging around the camp remnants, I spotted and pocketed an old plastic chocolate chip cookie wrapper. I did not know they made such cookies way back then.

Many flat areas for camping were present along the southeastern shore under a softwood forest canopy but unfortunately all seemed to have nearby widow-makers (i.e. precariously standing dead trees). I continued almost all the way to the outlet stream in the southeast corner before retracing my way back west for the least dangerous of the camping sites (point #28). The camping site proved to be one of the more comfortable of the trip but the locating of a tree able to support my bulging food bag becomes a challenge. After finding a rock in which to hang the rope (which is often a challenge and perhaps a post for a future time), I headed away from the pond into the forest to find an adequate tree for hanging my food.

Stove pipes at Summit Pond

The temperature dropped quickly with the setting sun and by 8 PM the skies had almost cleared completely and the wind had diminished. By 10 PM I headed off to bed, anticipating a short bushwhack to the Red Horse Trail tomorrow and then an easy hike south to my first major destination of the trip: Stillwater Reservoir at Gun Harbor.

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