Gun Harbor

The following is an account of day four 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 fourth day consisted of traversing the entire 5-mile long Red Horse Trail book ended by two bushwhacks, one from Summit Pond to the trail’s northern terminus and another from near Trout Pond east to Gun Harbor on Stillwater Reservoir. A ceremonial hands and face washing was performed at Gun Harbor to mark the halfway point on the trip.

The mid-morning hours brought cooler temperatures to Summit Pond but unfortunately this did little to reduce the mosquito activity. The morning sky was mostly cloudy but the occasional brief sight of sunshine on the trees across the pond left me looking forward to my brief bushwhack down to the northern terminus of the Red Horse Trail at the southern end of Clear Lake. After eating breakfast and packing up, I entered the forest heading south toward Clear Lake.

While making the short bushwhack through a mixed forest between the two Adirondack water bodies, I observed a brown flash take off from under my feet, skimmed the forest floor and flew up into the limbs of a tree. Since I have encountered this behavior before when I performed nest-searching in Minnesota, I knew it was a female ovenbird flushed from her nest. I scanned the foliage around my feet and quickly found one of the largest ovenbird nests I have ever encountered. Inside were four small white brown-speckled eggs, the typical amount for an ovenbird. The nest was a dome of interwoven leaves roughly in the shape of a Dutch-oven, hence the name of the bird.

Morning at Summit Pond

Soon after leaving the nest I arrived at the western shore of Clear Lake (point #30). Clear Lake is a large wilderness water body, running roughly southwest to northeast. At the northeast end, Summit Mountain surrounds the lake making a formidable obstacle to any bushwhacking adventures northward. From the trip reports I have read (see here and here) the areas north of Summit Mountain were heavily impacted by blowdowns during the 1995 microburst storm. Originally, my intention for this trip was to investigate the areas north of Summit Mountain but since I cut the length of the original trip by one day and lost half a day on Monday due to a late start because of rain this would not be possible.

After viewing the lake I pulled back and upslope away from the shoreline since the going would most likely be easier away from the thicker vegetation near the water. Even upslope and away from the shoreline the going was slow due to the downward slope and the many evergreen branches poking and prodding me as I attempted to make my way southwest. A common loon called from somewhere out on the lake, apparently voicing its disapproval of my presence. Soon I realized there were two loons and they were flying over the water heading north. A stream coming down from a beaver pond to the west was to act as a sign when I should start to pull away from the lake to skirt some small wetlands along the southern end of the lake. There were several small streams to cross along the way but fortunately the one on the map was substantial enough to be obvious. Soon after I crossed the stream and its accompanying lush vegetation along its border, I pulled away from the lake and headed due south while the shoreline continued southeast.

Ovenbird nest

After heading south for a short time (with the lake still in sight through the trees), I turned east and soon sighted the Red Horse Trail. I joined the trail along the shore of Mud Pond, a small pond just south of Clear Lake (point #32). This little water body is virtually part of its larger cousin to the north except for a constricted area where a beaver decided to place a dam. After a brief rest I continued south along the trail toward Trout Pond. The northern portion of this trail is truly a wilderness trail with infrequent use except perhaps during hunting season in the fall. Virtually the entire way to the outlet of Witchhopple Lake is downhill although often at a fairly gentle grade. There are several stream-crossing, none of which has a bridge to assist in crossing. Luckily they were small and rocky enough that I avoided getting wet feet.

The most challenging part of the trail was crossing the outlet stream of Witchhopple Lake. This is perhaps the most confusing stream crossing in all the Adirondack Park. When I crossed here for the first time in 1997 it was necessary to ford the outlet stream. At that time the stream was quite wide but the water was below the knees and the substrate below the water consisted of round rocks and sand. Now the crossing was substantially deeper so much so that the stream bed was barely visible. Today the trail detours downstream and then crosses numerous small grass-covered islands. The intial crossing is on a downed tree and the last is over two small split logs. In between, it is difficult to follow the trail in the nearly waist-high vegetation as the trail crosses multiple small islands. Careful and slow-going helped me stay on the trail for the most part in this area.

Clear Lake

Witchhopple Lake

Once crossing the outlet stream the trail goes over a small knoll before arriving at a well-used camping site. The campsite diminished the wilderness character of the trail with a well-used fire ring, cut and stacked wood (with the obligatory piece of clear plastic covering it), multiple compressed, flat and plant-free tent sites, and litter strewn about. Despite the condition of the area this is truly a beautiful site with a very nice view of Witchhopple Lake. The outstanding view explains its popularity as a campsite despite being located in the middle of the trail.

Mud Pond

After spending a half-hour snacking, taking pictures and performing site clean-up, I started hiking southwards again at approximately 11:30 AM. The trail ascended a small ridge immediately after the campsite and entered a grove of immense white pines. Within the pines I heard pine warblers singing overhead and nearly took a tumble as I stumbled to avoid stepping on an American Toad on the trail. Further down the trail several wet and boggy areas were crossed on precariously placed, wet and rotting log. These logs required some extra caution crossing otherwise I would have had a nasty soaking. As I approached the northern end of Salmon Lake I passed a spot clearly used as a canoe take out/put in. Some trampled vegetation led down to the water’s edge at the very northern end of the lake along its inlet stream here.

Initial log crossing on Witchhopple Lake outlet

This spot is the last easy access to Salmon Lake from the trail until reaching the old lean-to site at the lake’s southern-most tip. Upon leaving the put in area, I followed the meandering trail through a mature mostly hardwood forest. This is my favorite portion of the trail with its towering yellow birch, sugar maple and occasional spruce. The trail continues under these incredible trees almost entirely the whole length of the lake with the exception of a single boggy, open wetland crossing and a short traverse of a swampy area just before reaching the old lean-to site.

By 12:30 PM I arrived at the old Salmon Lake lean-to site. I have no idea how long this site has been missing the lean-to but it was not present when I was first introduced to this area back in 1997. From the abundance of old charcoal in the area the lean-to was probably lost due to an out-of-control fire. Two fireplaces exists here, one at the old lean-to site in the middle of the trail and another one just south along the outlet stream. An outhouse is still located on a short trail to the east of the old lean-to site.

Witchhopple Lake campsite

The view of Salmon Lake at this location is outstanding with a clear view north over almost the entire lake. While admiring the view a common loon came in close to investigate my presence as another parent kept its distance with the pair’s two chicks. A garter snake slithered off from the trail and into the forest when I attempted to get a better view of loons.

I decided to wait until reaching the Trout Pond lean-to before eating my lunch and so I took off south after taking some pictures at this beautiful spot. The trail between Salmon and Trout Pond follows along the shore of the steam connecting them and thus is both rocky and filled with tree roots just waiting to trip up a distracted hiker. The shoreline of the stream is bordered by many northern white cedars giving it a character quite different from the rest of the Red Horse Trail. A new and nicely built bridge was a surprise about half-way between the old lean-to site and the existing lean-to on Trout Pond.

Red Horse Trail near Salmon Lake

Salmon Lake

When I arrived at the Trout Pond lean-to is was just after one in the afternoon. This lean-to is set up-hill and off into the woods from the rushing stream near where the stream exits into Trout Pond. Because of the rushing water this site is often loud and frequently buggy but on this occasion the bugs appear to have something better to do. I took a lengthy break here and leisurely consumed my lunch. After lunch, I lighten my backpacking load by removing my shelter and sleeping bag along with any unnecessary equipment for the approximately mile-long bushwhack to Gun Harbor. During this time the sky cleared and it appeared as if I would have a pleasant bushwhack over to the ceremonial halfway point of my trip.

Trout Pond Lean-to

By 2:15 PM I was ready to start the bushwhack to Gun Harbor. By this time the sky had darkened and became threatening once again. No big surprise there. I proceeded south along the trail, past the trail register along the shore of Trout Pond and uphill along the trail on the way to Big Burnt Lake. After passing a nice official campsite, I continued along until the trail started to descend. I returned to the height of land and headed south through a mature deciduous forest with an occasional scattered spruce. I remained off into the forest just north of an inland bay of Big Burnt Lake, staying to the south of cliffs to the north and soon arrived at the bay where Gun Harbor Brook enters Gun Harbor.

The sky remained dark and some light rained fell. I decided to perform my ceremonial face and hand washing in Gun Harbor proper so I bushwhacked south over a peninsula so I could look out into the reservoir. A common loon and some ducks out were out in Gun Harbor and at one point a boat passed by well out into the reservoir. The sky became even darker as I washed my hands and face in recognition of making it halfway on my journey.

Blister

At around 3:20 I headed back toward Trout Pond at a bearing of 260 degrees. After traveling through a mixed forest over flat terrain for some time, I arrived at the bay off of Big Burnt much further south than I wanted. At this point I realized my bearing should have been 280 degrees. The threatening sky made me pick up the pace a little as I bushwhacked north around the bay to make up for my mistake. After rounding the bay, I headed directly east back toward the trail. On the way I spotted a bunch of old honey combs on the ground and was surprised at their relatively intact condition just lying on the forest floor. Soon I saw a trail marker on a tree and in little time I returned to the familiar territory of the lean-to by 4:00 PM.

While at the lean-to I finally took a look at the blister that had been irritating me since my hike in on Sunday. It was rather hideous to look at, located on the second biggest toe, between that toe and the big one, bloated with fluid. I soaked my feet in the cool waters of Trout Pond for a while to try to reduce any swelling in my feet and blister until it starts to rain. The rain shower was brief but during it I retired to the lean-to and performed a lancing of the blister followed by the required bandaging for the next day’s arduous hike back up the trail.

Trout Pond inlet

The free time at the lean-to allowed me to contemplate the lack of extensive blowdown encountered on my way south to Stillwater Reservoir. I had not paid my dues on the way down. This left me with a feeling of trepidation of what conditions I might find on my return trip via Toad Pond. I seriously thought about making the return hike to Clear Pond but finally decided to give my feet and toe a break and remain at the lean-to for the night instead.

It remained breezy throughout the evening and by 7:15 PM the sky began to clear and the sunlight shined at the top of the tree canopy. Soon the sunshine was replaced with dark clouds and more rain and at one time the rain fell when the sky was entirely blue (as far as I could see). By around 9:00 PM I got into my sleeping bag and did not bother with any insect protection since the mosquitoes were not active. The night was cool but pleasant and as far as I know rain-free.

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