Middle Serpentine Pond

With the Red Horse Creek fording behind me, it is now time to start looking forward to the remainder of my bushwhack back to the trailhead over the next two days. Today’s goal remains to reach Hidden Lake off to the west, where I plan on spending the night before continuing out the next day. I still have a long way to go before arriving at the lake, including many stream crossings.

Fording Red Horse Creek was the main source of my anxiety today, but I am not off the hook yet. Not by a longshot. These other streams may prove just as arduous, especially after all the rain in the last week, so this is no time to let my guard down.

First on the agenda is getting to a series of small ponds, with a wide meandering open stream connecting them. There is no official name for these ponds, so I refer to them as the Serpentine Ponds. The stream eventually empties into an inland bay of Stillwater Reservoir, just south of Trout Pond. The three ponds are generally round, and from satellite imagery, appear rather shallow.

Perhaps with all recent rainfall and a few industrious beavers, these ponds might just appear a little different this year.

Section Stats:
Date: July 2, 2015
Length: 1.8 miles (1.9 total daily miles; 36.0 total trip miles)
Difficulty: Moderate

Once my water filtering is complete, it is time to pack up and begin bushwhacking toward the second of the Serpentine Ponds. The trip entails a couple of legs, one directly toward a significant stream, then a slight turn to the second pond, skipping the easternmost one (which appears more like a widening of the stream than a pond) on this trip. This route should keep me in the unbroken forest interior, which is hopefully easier to navigate than hugging the conifer-covered shoreline.

The black flies are horrid next to the creek, so I waste little time getting my gear back in my pack. Frequent rumbling from the west haunted my wait while water filtering, but they add a sense of urgency to my packing. Hopefully, the noise is from artillery firing at Fort Drum off to the southwest, because if not, it might just portend an early end to my two days of drier conditions.

And that is not acceptable at all.

Setting my compass at 255 degrees and turning on my video camera, I climb up the embankment and away from the Red Horse Creek. The forest remains mixed as I head farther inland, though the overstory is mostly hardwoods, including some towering yellow birch and American beech. Not to be outdone, occasionally a large eastern hemlock or red spruce turns up as well.

The terrain continues undulating as I continue westward, with most of the ups and downs surrounding smaller streams. Despite all the rain, these streams are small and easy to cross, allowing for my anxiousness to subside somewhat.

Will wonders never cease?

After about thirty minutes of trudging through the damp forest, the only stream appearing on the map comes within view. Despite the surrounding open mature forest, many logs straddle the stream, giving it a rather messy appearance. The water is flowing swiftly, but luckily, there are plentiful rocks to use for my crossing. A small waterfall, where the water flows swiftly through the rocks is nearby, uphill to the north. Although wet moss covers the rocks like a blanket, they are not overly slippery, allowing for a rather dry crossing.

The stream crossing marks my halfway point to the middle Serpentine Pond, so I stop for a brief rest, allowing me time to enjoy the wildness and remote nature of my surroundings. From here to the middle Serpentine Pond requires a change of direction to the southwest, nothing that a quick heading switch to 235 degrees on my trusty compass cannot fix.

Half Way Stream

Once I leave the stream behind, the terrain continues to undulate through mostly hardwood forest. Except this time, something is fundamentally different, as despite the up and down nature, the trend is a descent, obviously toward the Serpentine Pond drainage.

After another half hour of trekking through the forest, the connecting stream corridor for the three ponds begins to appear through the trees. The closer I get, the more coniferous the forest becomes, with the middle pond soon becoming visible. I slowly creep down to the small pond, being as quiet as possible on the steep descent, sounding more like a stampeding bison rather than an angry elephant as is usually the case.

Although the view is adequate, I decide to continue to search for a better look. I reclimb the hillside, returning into the forest, heading further west before returning to the pond’s shoreline. The view here is amazing, allowing for an almost full view of the pond, including the stream corridor stretching off to the west.

The small pond seems lacking in water, unlike most of the water bodies I visited thus far on the trip. A plentiful amount of herbaceous vegetation borders the pond, with a few snags hugging the perimeter. A coniferous forest surrounds the pond, but hardwoods lurk just a short distance into the interior.

Stream connecting Serpentine Ponds

Where the pond lacks in water, it makes up for in wildlife. A female hooded merganser lurks along the pond’s far-shore, wanting nothing to do with me. Several sparrow fledglings skulk about in the underbrush, calling repeatedly, but unfortunately, I cannot identify the species. A song sparrow sings nearby, suggesting the fledglings’ possible identity. Green frogs call incessantly, while I notice the ample amount of white-tailed deer feces on the ground. An American crow caws off to the south.

The sun keeps playing peekaboo, appearing for a while before disappearing briefly behind of the few slow-moving clouds in the sky. When the sun is out, it gets quite warm, especially with my rain gear still on. Although the chance of rain looks slim, the young trees still remain damp from the last few days of rain.

Instead of lingering too long, I leave for the last Serpentine Pond, planning on having lunch there before heading towards Hidden Lake. Getting there will not take long, as my GPS indicates it is scant 0.2 miles to the southwest.

The forest starts out coniferous, but quickly reverts to hardwoods as I leave the pond behind. The stream corridor that connects the two ponds remains within sight to the south, a constant reminder that I remain on the correct path. The forest slowly transitions back to conifers, more open now, with the last pond coming within sight.

Last Serpentine Pond

It does not even take fifteen minutes before arriving at the westernmost Serpentine Pond. The pond looks just like the one I left behind, except for its lack of an obvious inlet. Just like the previous pond, a few large snags stand along the border, with many stumps where snags once stood. It even has its own female hooded merganser, although it could just be the same one following me.

In addition to the merganser, I spot a female common goldeneye too. The wildlife does not stop there though, as bullfrogs croak repeatedly around the shoreline, while a painted turtle suns itself on a nearby half-submerged log. Red-eyed vireos, yellow-rumped warblers, and magnolia warblers sing along the forest edge, while the occasional witchity-witchity-witchity-witch of the common yellowthroat emerges from the herbaceous plants near shore.

With my watch reading nearly one in the afternoon, I decide to consume my lunch at the pond before moving on. My foodstuffs are dwindling with less than two days remaining on my trip, while one less meal makes them even lighter for the remainder of my hike to Hidden Lake. My lunch consists of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, as well as finishing off a few more snacks, most notably the remaining pretzels and animal crackers. Tasty!

Unfortunately, soon after starting my lunch, the black flies find me. They swarm around me as if it is late May, rather than early July. Despite my attempt to swat them away, I swear I consume at least a dozen in my sandwich.

I should be thankful for the extra protein, but they taste so terrible it is impossible to avoid gagging.

While eating and swatting away pesky flies, I plan my next move. Heading north seems wise, so as to avoid wetlands directly between me and Hidden Lake. Many dog-legs are necessary however, as there are several ridges I will need to climb up and over; many of which are quite steep too. The route includes a couple of stream crossings, so I plan carefully, looking for the most opportune places to get across without getting wet feet.

Although the setting at the pond is quite lovely, the black flies destroy any sense of peacefulness, forcing me to gather my gear, stow away the remaining foodstuffs and be on my way sooner than I like.

After all, Hidden Lake is not getting any closer.

Last Serpentine Pond

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