Rain delays on an aggressive bushwhacking adventure often lead to an alteration of a finely honed trip itinerary, which is never a good thing. Unfortunately, this exact situation unfolded at the dawn of the second day of my trip through one of the least frequently visited parts of the Five Ponds Wilderness in the northwestern
Carpet Spruce Swamp: Rain Delay at Lower South Pond
Although I wake to bright sunlight in the early morning on Lower South Pond in the Five Ponds Wilderness, the dark clouds move in and a downpour ensues. With the rain continuing throughout the morning, some changes in my trip’s itinerary are inevitable, including less time within the carpet spruce swamp. Luckily, the rain stops early enough for the trip to go on.
Carpet Spruce Swamp: Bouncing Between South Ponds in the Five Ponds Wilderness
After hiking in from Bear Pond Road via the Upper South Pond Trail, I start the off-trail portion of my five-day trip by bushwhacking south, visiting Upper, Middle and Lower South Ponds before the day is done. Setting up my campsite for the night is made more difficult by off and on rain, before turning to a full-on downpour during the early evening hours.
Trip Plan: Carpet Spruce Swamp of Middle Branch Oswegatchie River
During the late summer of 2011, while hiking across Isle Royale, I planned an outing into what might be one of the remotest and least often visited (by humans anyways) parts of the Adirondacks. Unfortunately, a mysterious knee injury in the spring of 2012 put this trip onto the back-burner until this year. Now I
