A begging eastern chipmunk

Have you noticed the lack of wildlife around lean-tos in the northwestern part of the Adirondacks? Have you noticed you can leave your food unattended for 5-10 minutes and upon returning find it unmolested? Even tasty morsels like brownies? Are you able to eat meals uninterrupted without uninvited guests appearing and insistently begging for a handout? Do you no longer wake in the middle of the night and feel little feet running across your sleeping bag? Or see tiny eyes being reflected in the beams of your flashlight on the floor or walls?

Recently I noticed the lack of rodents within and around the lean-tos in the northwestern portion of the Adirondack Park. In the last couple years I have visited or stayed overnight in the lean-tos at Big Shallow, Little Shallow, Wolf Pond, Sand Lake, Cage Lake, Trout Pond and High Falls, and at each of these there appeared to be a lack of hungry rodents eager to beg for a free high-energy meal. The absence was profoundly experienced at Big Shallow and Trout Pond recently where deer mice (at Big Shallow) and eastern chipmunks (at Trout Pond) were once very plentiful.

This absence was noticeable during my epic Stillwater Reservoir to Cranberry Lake trip (see teaser here) when I stayed a single night at the Trout Pond lean-to. Back in 1997 when I worked a spring/summer for the Wildlife Conservation Society, some of our study sites were near the Red Horse Trail and the Trout Pond lean-to was often used as a base camp. A sweet of chipmunks were constantly active during the day at the lean-to that summer, while a mischief of deer mice would take over for the night shift. Another one of the study sites was near Big Shallow and its lean-to was also used as a base camp. I remember eating breakfast at the crack of dawn and having to fight off a horde of deer mice. I would chase them away from my food bag repeatedly but as soon as I turned around they would return, even though I was sitting right next to the food bag! Although that year might have been an exceptional year for these rodents, the population around these lean-tos had always been a part of the camping experience in the area until recently. During my most recent trip not a single chipmunk or mouse was observed at the Wolf or Trout Pond lean-tos.

Big Shallow Lean-to

What could be causing this absence of these amusing critters that beg and/or steal our precious backpacking food? Could it be global climate change? Acid rain? Clowders of angry feral house cats? Or perhaps the lack of use as outdoor recreational activities begin to wane in this increasingly digitally-connected world where people have little time for such pursuits? Although any of these could be contributing to the decline of these little beggars (probably not the feral house cats though), my theory is the rehabilitation of lean-tos and the accompanying removal of all the debris underneath them have made these critters more susceptible to predation. And any rodent bold enough to set up shop near a lean-to now would probably make a nice tasty morsel after subsisting on a diet of high calorie energy bars.

The clean up underneath the lean-tos appears to be part of the process of rehabilitation performed on the lean-tos in the Adirondacks by an organization called Lean2Rescue (in conjunction with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and other organizations) (see stories about their work here and here; check out a video of them building a lean-to here). Lean2Rescue is a group of volunteers dedicated to rehabilitating lean-to shelters in the Adirondack Park. From 2005 through 2007, the Lean2Rescue crew (and the DEC and others) performed rehabilitation work on the lean-tos in the Five Ponds Wilderness. They did an exceptional job and the lean-tos have never looked better (although I must admit I have cursed them a time or two after hitting my head on the nails sticking out of the Big Shallow lean-to’s ceiling). These guys and gals do an awesome job and everyone who has ever enjoyed a lean-to in this area is eternally indebted to them.

Trout Pond Lean-to

Although the hours of amusement from watching the antics of these hungry rodents has been lost, the absence of these creatures around the lean-tos has some benefits. These creatures love to chew through equipment whenever there is even a chance of finding a tasty hidden morsel. In fact, sometimes I think they like to chew through equipment when they are frustrated by NOT finding any food. I had my water filter tubing chewed to shreds once merely because I had the audacity to leave it hanging on nails on the lean-to wall. Also, these rodents can carry diseases that may be contracted by humans. Rabies and hantavirus are two such diseases, where rabies is contracted through a bite from an infected animal and hantavirus is breathed in from infected mice feces. Although these diseases are very rare, keeping these creatures away from the shelters reduces the risk of disease being transferred to the human backpacking population.

What will we do at the lean-tos now that we have lost the entertainment provided via the antics of these begging rodents? Will we have to resort to actually enjoying the quiet and solitude of being in a beautiful wilderness setting? Or perhaps New York State will install televisions in the lean-tos? Or maybe Wi-Fi? Nah. At least I hope not.

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