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
Ponds East of Red Horse Trail 2015: Let A Stream Be My Guide to Witchhopple Pond
Being awaken by an alarm is never the best way to greet the new day, especially so when out in the remote Adirondack backcountry, but at times it is a necessity. Unfortunately, with a wet forecast for the next few days starting this afternoon and an aggressive schedule for a nine-day journey through the southern
Ponds East of Red Horse Trail 2015: Descent to Higby Twin Ponds
Spending most of the morning and much of the afternoon getting around Dismal Pond within the southern Five Ponds Wilderness Area, it is apparent that reaching the Red Horse Trail is not likely to happen on my second day of a nine day adventure exploring the pond’s east of the trail. This is especially true
