Flooded Shallow Pond outlet

It has been a wet spring/summer since my Birdathon adventure in mid-May. These moist conditions make stringing together more than a couple decent days in a row for a bushwhacking trip a definite challenge. By the time July is within sight and the bird nesting season is already long in the tooth, my patience is running dry, so I plan an extended adventure regardless of all the rain in the forecast for about half of the days.

The southern Five Ponds Wilderness, specifically the area east of the Red Horse Trail becomes my focus for this trip. Now bushwhacking to the Red Horse Trail is no stranger to me, but it has been some years since I ventured into the area. As far as the ponds and surrounding area east of the trail, they still remain mostly virgin territory. A bushwhacking adventure, albeit a potentially wet one, is something that can remedy this.

However, bushwhacking around these ponds requires a sizable chunk of time due to their remoteness. Boating to the Red Horse Trailhead on Trout Pond is a possibility, as the pond is directly connected to Stillwater Reservoir. Unfortunately, this would require a great deal of logistical complexity and increased cost, as I lack my own boat.

Section Stats:
Date: June 25, 2015
Length: 2.3 miles (2.3 total daily miles; 2.3 total trip miles)
Difficulty: Easy

A much easier solution is bushwhacking the entire way from Raven Lake Road, which starts below the Stillwater Reservoir dam and meanders through the forest into the interior of the southern Five Ponds Wilderness. From the northern end of this road, which transitions from a drivable dirt road to an abandoned logging road, it would take me an entire day to simply bushwhack to the trail; a very long day too. Although long, this route would allow me to revisit some of the lakes and ponds along the way that I have not seen in years.

Getting to and from the Red Horse Trail will cost me an entire four days. It should take another five days to visit my main targets east of the trail, including Negro Lake, Wilder Pond, Beaverdam Pond and Little Rock Lake. This makes the entire trip a nine day bushwhacking extravaganza – the longest one I have ever attempted before.

With a trip planned, all that is left is to pack my backpack to the gills with the necessary gear and eight days of food, which takes a few days to accomplish. Along for the ride is my new SONY HDR-AS100V action video recorder, which I plan on using to video my trek from the Red Horse Trail to Negro Lake, or as far as the limited number of batteries last.

Now with the packing complete, all that is left is to drive up to the trailhead and start hiking.

It is almost noon by the time I finally leave the Syracuse area, taking me two and half hours before arriving at the hamlet of Stillwater Reservoir. I make good time, resisting the urge to make too many stops along the way. A mother deer and her fawn in the middle of Number Four-Stillwater Road require an unavoidable delay though however slight.

My drive down the dirt Necessary Dam Road from the hamlet requires some caution. Although slight washouts are frequent, another sign of the wet conditions over the past few months, a significant one just before the trailhead parking makes me second guess my ability to drive out at the conclusion of my trip. I am unsure I can even get through it now, not to mention how deep it might get after more rain in nine days, especially in this wet summer.

Retreating and driving back to civilization without an adventure in the books is just never an option. Instead, I slowly drive through the washout where others have driven before me. At a snail’s pace, I avoid hearing any evidence of bottoming out along the way, even in my little car. Will wonders never cease?

Trailhead parking lot

It is about three in the afternoon by the time I start off for my trip. My goal for the first day is the small sliver of land that separates Bear and Diana Ponds. This requires a stroll up the dirt Raven Lake Road, followed by hiking along its extension, a long ago abandoned logging road. This portion of the hike becomes increasingly more rugged, as the old road alternates between a foot path and something more akin to a bushwhack as the nature begins to reclaim its own.

Crossing the bridge over the Beaver River, I note the high water levels. Returning to this same place year after year for five years straight gives me a short, but significant relationship that allows for detecting these extreme situations. With water levels this high, crossing streams may be a lot more difficult than usual for early summer, especially the one near Trout Pond. Oh good, a challenge, or two!

Soon after crossing the Beaver River, the road starts climbing steeply at first, then more gradually. A bog on the left comes and goes quickly before the climbing even begins, while after climbing for a bit, a side road leading to a sand pit flies by on the same side of the road.

Bridge over Beaver River

An initial steep climb tapers off as I pass an access road to the Stillwater dam, bordered on each side with a posted sign warning against any trespassing. I take no heed, as my destination lies elsewhere, beyond the end of the main road. The climbing recommences once again before it finally gains a temporary height of land, then plummets steeply into a drainage, where a small stream crossing resides.

The stream is not too high despite the wet conditions, but it rarely is much, except for probably during snow runoff. Its main source of water is a small beaver pond to the north, so it is probably not prone to flooding after rain fall, regardless of how frequent it has been.

Beyond the stream, the road begins to climb again, though only slightly as it winds through the forest. Soon I pass the old hunters’ path, where it starts its journey north to an unnamed pond south of Sunshine Pond, at least for those skilled enough to follow it. Just past the path, a large beaver vly appears along the same side of the road. The road follows along the vly for a while, overlooking the meadow from a steep ridge along its eastern border.

Once leaving the vly behind, the road climbs a ridge before descending once again, when it passes the Kettehole Canoe Carry trail on the right. This side trail works its way down to Kettlehole on Stillwater Reservoir, passing a few small waterfalls on its way. At this late hour, the time for exploring has past, as my destination for the day is still way too far north.

The climbing starts again, with it quickly becoming very steep. It is almost as if the road is punishing the poor souls carrying a canoe from Kettlehole. Although my pace slows as the climb gains intensity, as the burden of eight days of food and gear takes its toll. Luckily, it is soon over and the road slowly descends past the Shallow Pond Canoe Carry trail and a flooded stream to the north.

Raven Lake Road

I stop at the point where the stream flowing from Shallow Pond enters a large culvert underneath my feet, plummeting over a falls on the other side. The water levels are higher than I remember ever seeing, compounding my anxiety about being able to cross the many streams before me on my adventure.

No time for too much dawdling and worrying, so I continue to the end of Raven Lake Road, now in sight a short ways before me. The trail off to the north past the stream marks the way to an inholding in the southeast corner of Raven Lake. Even though it has been years since I hiked up there, I ignore it and instead proceed the short way to the end of drivable road.

Raven Lake Road ends at a shrubby barrier. Boulders, once obviously marking the end of the drivable road, are now completely obscured by the young trees. A sign nailed to a single young tree indicates a wilderness area beyond, the Five Ponds Wilderness Area to be precise. An unmaintained logging road, an extension to Raven Lake Road, continues beyond this point, petering out near Bear and Diana Ponds way to the north.

Somewhere around the sliver of land separating Bear and Diana ponds is where I plan on camping for the night, that is, if I get there before dark and it is not under water.

End of Raven Lake Road

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