When the daylight hours begin to overtake those of darkness and spring enters its middle-age, it is once again time for my annual birding/bushwhacking ritual, the Birdathon. This contest requires searching for as many bird species as possible within a 24-hour period on the third Saturday in May. This year, as it has for the
Ponds East of Red Horse Trail 2015: All Logging Roads Lead to the Trailhead
It all comes down to old logging roads in the Wilderness Lakes Tract of the southern Five Ponds Wilderness within the northwestern Adirondack Park. After a nine-day bushwhacking trip exploring water bodies east of the Red Horse Trail, the end has come down to some old roads slowly being recaptured by nature. With the most
Ponds East of Red Horse Trail 2015: Campsites and Old Logging Roads Damage Wilderness Illusion
My last day in the southern Five Ponds Wilderness of the Adirondack Park starts out cold, super cold. After six wet days, a couple of nice days, a couple of stretches on the Red Horse Trail, a multitude of water bodies, umpteenth stream crossings, a smattering of old campsites and many miles of bushwhacking through
Ponds East of Red Horse Trail 2015: In Search of Hidden Lake
Now with the great Red Horse Creek fording and the Serpentine Ponds under my bushwhacking belt, it is time to start the long trek to Hidden Lake. This camouflaged lake shall host my eighth, and last night, of this trip in the southern Five Ponds Wilderness backcountry, and I want to make it a relaxing
Ponds East of Red Horse Trail 2015: Slithering Over to Serpentine Ponds
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.
Ponds East of Red Horse Trail 2015: The Great Red Horse Creek Fording
Sun penetrates the canopy, glistening off the droplets hanging from the surrounding foliage, leftovers from overnight rains. Birds joyously sing from the tree tops, apparently greeting the dawn of a sunnier and drier day. The Red Horse Creek continues roaring, refreshed from a day of off and on rain. Such is the beginning of my
Ponds East of Red Horse Trail 2015: Rain Delay at Trout Pond Lean-to
Rain delay days in the Adirondack backcountry can sometimes be a drag. This is especially true when caught within a small shelter where you must stay in a prone position most of the time. Fortunately, this is not the case in the Trout Pond lean-to, where I spend my rain delay day after exploring some
Ponds East of Red Horse Trail 2015: Return to the Red Horse Trail
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,
