Archive for November, 2011

Oven Lake Trip: A Long Bushwhack from the Robinson River to the Five Ponds Trail

Nov 28th, 2011 / 0 Comments

Reaching the 5 Ponds Trail

The following is a description of an eight-day bushwhacking adventure into some of the most remote areas within the Five Ponds Wilderness in the northwestern Adirondacks. The trip includes traversing areas of intense blowdown along the oddly-shaped Oven Lake, exploring a cluster of wilderness ponds and following the wild Robinson River. The third part of day seven is a bushwhack from the northern portion of the Robinson River to the Five Ponds Trail.

Section Stats:
Date: July 4, 2011
Length: 1.5 miles (3.6 miles for the day)
Difficulty: Moderate

With the early morning treks from West Pond to the Robinson River and along the river to where it sharply turns south behind me, it is now time to turn my attention to the last bushwhacking segment of my entire eight-day trip. From where the Robinson River turns abruptly south, I need to head southwest until reaching the Five Ponds Trail. After hitting the trail, the way to the Wolf Pond lean-to should be cinch since I have used this trail many times in the past.
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Reports, Trips

Oven Lake Trip: Bushwhacking Along the Robinson River

Nov 25th, 2011 / 0 Comments

Robinson River

The following is a description of an eight-day bushwhacking adventure into some of the most remote areas within the Five Ponds Wilderness in the northwestern Adirondacks. The trip includes traversing areas of intense blowdown along the oddly-shaped Oven Lake, exploring a cluster of wilderness ponds and following the wild Robinson River. The second part of day seven is a bushwhack along an extensive northern portion of the Robinson River.

Section Stats:
Date: July 4, 2011
Length: 1.6 miles (2.1 miles for the day)
Difficulty: Moderate

With the crossing of the northern section of the Robinson River behind me, I can now relax and concentrate on heading west along the northern stretch of the river. The river acts as my guide for at least another mile of bushwhacking before departing for the marked trail system to Wolf Pond.

This part of the day’s hike takes me through some of the most remote areas of the Five Ponds Wilderness in the northwestern Adirondacks. I plan on savoring this wilderness experience since before the day is out I will be hiking along the marked trail system for the majority of the remainder of my backpacking trip.
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Reports, Trips

Super Black Friday/Cyber Monday Outdoor & Backpacking Gear Promotional Deals

Nov 23rd, 2011 / 0 Comments

I can tell the holiday season is upon us simply by the amount of emails I get promoting the many Black Friday/Cyber deals. By the sales I am seeing, retailers must be desperate to move their products this year. This desperation is great news for anyone in the market for some super outdoor equipment deals.

Whether an outdoor enthusiast is on the holiday shopping list or you are simply looking to upgrade your equipment there are deals that should satisfy just about everyone. Take a look below and jump on these opportunities since most end November 28!

Some of the links are not yet live. If you do not find any links for the stated promotions then most likely they are not active yet. Come back and check often as I will try to add links as they are available.
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Shopping Deals

Oven Lake Trip: Robinson River, Here I Come!

Nov 16th, 2011 / 1 Comment

Robinson River

The following is a description of an eight-day bushwhacking adventure into some of the most remote areas within the Five Ponds Wilderness in the northwestern Adirondacks. The trip includes traversing areas of intense blowdown along the oddly-shaped Oven Lake, exploring a cluster of wilderness ponds and following the wild Robinson River. The first part of day seven is a bushwhack over a shoulder of Greenfield Mountain down to the Robinson River.

Section Stats:
Date: July 4, 2011
Length: 0.5 miles (0.5 miles for the day)
Difficulty: Moderate

A very active morning bird chorus greets me when I wake on my last full day in the backcountry of the Five Ponds Wilderness in the northwestern Adirondacks. The birds are not the only vocal wildlife though, as a boisterous frog chorus is still going on from the previous night. Apparently the frogs never took a break as they were making quite the ruckus during the middle of the night when I got up to relieve myself.
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Reports, Trips

Oven Lake Trip: Bushwhacking from Gal to West Pond in the Five Ponds Wilderness

Nov 11th, 2011 / 0 Comments

Eastern view of West Pond

The following is a description of an eight-day bushwhacking adventure into some of the most remote areas within the Five Ponds Wilderness in the northwestern Adirondacks. The trip includes traversing areas of intense blowdown along the oddly-shaped Oven Lake, exploring a cluster of wilderness ponds and following the wild Robinson River. The third part of day six is a short bushwhack between Gal and West Ponds.

Section Stats:
Date: July 3, 2011
Length: 0.4 miles (1.7 miles for the day)
Difficulty: Moderate

With the trip around Gal Pond complete, a lunch break was sorely needed before completing the day’s bushwhack to West Pond. My current location with its attractive view of Gal Pond was an ideal spot, so I shed my backpack and pull out my food with the notion of lightening my load by one lunch foremost on my mind.
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Reports, Trips

Oven Lake Trip: Getting Lost Following a Stream to Gal Pond

Nov 10th, 2011 / 0 Comments

Gal Pond from northern shore

The following is a description of an eight-day bushwhacking adventure into some of the most remote areas within the Five Ponds Wilderness in the northwestern Adirondacks. The trip includes traversing areas of intense blowdown along the oddly-shaped Oven Lake, exploring a cluster of wilderness ponds and following the wild Robinson River. The second part of day six includes getting lost by following the wrong stream but finally making it to Gal Pond anyways.

Section Stats:
Date: July 3, 2011
Length: 0.8 miles (1.3 miles for the day)
Difficulty: Moderate

After a couple attempts to depart Cracker Pond along its outlet stream, I finally arrived at an old beaver pond slowly transitioning to a meadow. Now it is time to continue on to Gal Pond.

I cross on one of the logs lying across the muddy remnants of the beaver meadow and quickly enter a cluster of young spruces near the old burst beaver dam. I use the stream as a guide as it flows in the same direction I plan on following all the way to Gal Pond. As the stream begins to cut through a steep ravine, I keep up slope as much as possible while continuing the ascent through an increasingly more hardwood forest.
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Reports, Trips

Oven Lake Trip: Following Cracker Pond Outlet to an Old Beaver Pond

Nov 8th, 2011 / 0 Comments

Burst dam at old beaver pond

The following is a description of an eight-day bushwhacking adventure into some of the most remote areas within the Five Ponds Wilderness in the northwestern Adirondacks. The trip includes traversing areas of intense blowdown along the oddly-shaped Oven Lake, exploring a cluster of wilderness ponds and following the wild Robinson River. The first part of day six includes a bushwhack to Gal and West Ponds from Cracker Pond.

Section Stats:
Date: July 3, 2011
Length: 0.5 miles (0.5 miles for the day)
Difficulty: Moderate

Thunderstorms awake me before dawn at my campsite near Cracker Pond. None come very close to my location but the sound of the thunder echoing off the hills surrounding the pond causes me great unease. Ever since experiencing the 1995 Microburst, I feel very uncomfortable in the woods during a thunderstorm; I cannot shake the feeling that one of these storms might decide to finish what it failed to do during that historical and devastating storm.
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Reports, Trips