Now with the western end of Little Rock Pond in sight, it is time to start thinking about returning to the Red Horse Trail for a few days. The trail remains just due west, so bushwhacking there should not require any fancy navigating, as long as I avoid a slim wetland in between the trail
Ponds East of Red Horse Trail 2015: Bushwhacking Along Little Rock Pond
My sixth day in the southern Five Ponds Wilderness Area of the Adirondack Park starts out sunny with largely clear skies at an old camp site in the southwest corner of Beaverdam Pond. This is a welcome change from the previous two mornings that started out wet and unseasonably cool at both Negro Lake and
Ponds East of Red Horse Trail 2015: Searching for Remains of Beaverdam Pond’s Old Camp
It feels good standing along Beaverdam Pond’s eastern shore in the southern Five Ponds Wilderness of the northwestern Adirondack Park. The wet and nearly uninterrupted forest portion of my bushwhack is now behind me, my focus now turning to find an acceptable campsite along the pond’s southern shore. The farther west the site, the better,
Ponds East of Red Horse Trail 2015: A Wet Bushwhack to Beaverdam Pond
My fifth day bushwhacking to the waterbodies east of the Red Horse Trail in the Five Ponds Wilderness of the northwestern Adirondack Park starts out just like the previous one: good and wet. The previous day’s soaking, supplemented by near continuous rain overnight (at least every time I woke), makes for a third soggy day
Ponds East of Red Horse Trail 2015: A Wet Hike Along Old Roads to Wilder Pond
It is a wet morning, following on the heels of a very soggy night near the old campsite along Negro Lake’s north shore in the southern Five Ponds Wilderness Area. The rain fluctuated throughout the night, sometimes on, other times off – much like my sleep. Despite the rain, I still heard a barred owl
Ponds East of Red Horse Trail 2015: Exploring the Old Cabin Site on Negro Lake
Bushwhacking all the way from lower Higby Twin Pond to Negro Lake’s old cabin site in the Five Ponds Wilderness constituted a long day, despite getting there by half-past noon. Following the old road north of the lake allowed for making good time and eventually led me to the peninsula where the old cabin site
Ponds East of Red Horse Trail 2015: Back On The Old Road North of Negro Lake Again
Following along an old road north of Negro Lake in the southern Five Ponds Wilderness was my easy route to a peninsula along the lake’s shore where once stood an old cabin site. Unfortunately, I bailed on the old road where it crossed a wetland and instead bushwhacked around it, now forcing me to relocate
Ponds East of Red Horse Trail 2015: Discovering Old Road North of Negro Lake
With the last Scattershot Pond under my bushwhacking belt, the time has come to move on and search for the old road that hugs the northern shore of Negro Lake in the southern Five Ponds Wilderness. It is mostly uninterrupted forest from here on out, so this last pond may be the last open water
Ponds East of Red Horse Trail 2015: Bushwhacking Through Scattershot Ponds
After passing both Elbow and Lost Island Ponds since leaving the Red Horse Trail, my next destination on the way to Negro Lake is a cluster of small unnamed ponds. Their location is just north of Negro’s outlet stream that has been my guide since leaving the marked trail behind at Witchhopple Pond. Cluster of
Ponds East of Red Horse Trail 2015: Glimpses of Elbow and Lost Island Ponds
From the Red Horse Trail just north of Witchhopple Lake, my route takes me northeast back into the untrammeled forest of the southern Five Ponds Wilderness Area and toward Negro Lake. After the brief trail hiking earlier, it feels good to be bushwhacking again, especially when the forest is this easy going. The lack of
