PUTNAM POND paddling.
Nov 29 - Drove over to PUTNAM POND & paddled to a campsite in the dark with snow flurries, set up camp.
Apr 28, 2015 - PUTNAM POND. Paddled around the perimeter of the pond with shores of red & white pine, hemlock & some birch. Hike to TREADWAY MTN (5.2 miles round-trip, 900' net el gain). Varied woods on the way, an area of leafless hardwoods allowed the sun in, much of the last mile over open rock incl. rose quartz. Far-ranging views to Green Mts, snowy Mt Marcy & Great Range, Crane Mtn, Pharoah Lake, Crab Pond, Glidden Marsh (spent 2 hours enjoying the summit area). Sights & sounds of loons, mergansers, mallards, gb heron, Cooper's hawk, pileated woodpecker, C geese, kingfisher, white-throated sparrow & other songbirds. Temp in 50s, much sun, breezy.
Apr 27 - PUTNAM POND canoe camping. State campground is E of the pond & there are several hike & paddle-in campsites. We paddled a few minutes to a lovely piney campsite. Pharoah Lake Wilderness Area surrounds the pond. Paddled around the perimeter. Hike to ROCK POND & exploration of old graphite mine - boiler, old stone walls, a turquoise pool in quarry with waterfall... Little Rock Pond & lean-to. Loon pairs, osprey, black furry animal. Handfull of fishermen out. Temp in 40s, brief sprinkles, some sun, breezy; mid-30s overnight.
In the Adirondack Park, there are 43 Mud Ponds, 21 Long Ponds, 16 Clear Ponds, 16 Round Ponds, 14 Lost Ponds, 14 Rock Ponds, 14 Deer Ponds, 13 Grass Ponds, 12 Buck Ponds, 10 Lily Pad Ponds & 10 Bear Ponds.
Apr 26&27, 2009 - PUTNAM POND canoe camping. Told that ice has been out for over 2 weeks. Paddled out & set up camp on the island - one must pay for these on-water sites once the campground is open, not today - fire ring, picnic table, outhouse. Paddled around N end of pond then to S end. Romancing pairs of loons, mergansers & mallards. Hiked to & around Grizzle Ocean (an "ocean" that is much smaller than the "pond") - 3 miles. Yellow violets. A beaver passes our campsite both evening & morning. Hike Treadway Mountain (trailhead 5 min. paddle from our campsite - very pleasant route, excellent views from the rocky summit, still snow on Mt. Marcy & other High Peaks - 5 miles, 900"+. Garter & green snakes on rocky upper trail; hawks, osprey fly over the summit; a few blackflies (not biting yet). Bell Merlin II, a 15' solo touring canoe, & Bell Northstar, a 16.5' tandem touring canoe.
Aug 24&25, 2003 - PUTNAM POND canoe camping. Camped at site #I4 in the North Pond area, one of a few boat-access only sites that are on the 2 mile long lake - reservations can be made thru the state campground system. Loons heard in evening & morning - 2 adults & 2 juveniles have been seen. Loop hike to Heart, Bear, Rock & Little Rock Ponds - each has its own personality - Heart has some steep rocks, Bear is half lilies, Rock is a great swimming spot & 2 loons are seen, Little Rock reflects the birches & has a sweet leanto. The area near the leanto on Rock shows signs of recent forest fire. En route, many large white pines are seen & smelled, too (aaahhh!!!). A paddle around the perimeter of Putnam adds up to about 5 miles. Waygassy in the Merlin II showed good speed compared to me in the Baboosic.
Aug 10-12, 2002 - Putnam Pond canoe-camping; Big Clear Pond Mt hike. Put-in at the Putnam Pond State Campground - we had a reserved interior, on-the-water campsite (of which there are 9). Area is between the Northway (I-87) & Ticoderoga. Paddled in Sat. evening. Great star-gazing at night - we ignored the campfire - barred owls & loons called in the dark. Next morning, paddled to the start of the Clear Pond trail & walked the 0.6 mi. to the well-situated leanto on this green-watered pond in the Pharoah Widerness - it does have predatory minnows & leeches, tho. Walked S of the pond for couple of minutes then bushwhacked thru fairly open woods W to a ridge & then followed it NW to top of Big Clear Pond Mt. where we found a couple of good lookouts mainly facing S & W (Treadway Mt.) - could also see some High Peaks to the N. Descended a bit further to the E than on our ascent & dropped down to Clear Pond on its W shore, picking up the pretty trail that circumnavigates the pond. Rountrip took about 5 hours. Rest of day was spent swimming & relaxing but I did go out for a sunset paddle. Saw 4 loons on the lake Mon am. A few motorboats on the lake - a bit more than I would like to see. Bugs not much of a problem. Forest fire at Rock Pond - 8 acres burning near leanto Monday morning - sloppy youthful campers to blame - would not be surprised to see a fire-ban in the Adirondacks any day now til we get more rain. Merrimack Baboosic, a 14' solo canoe.
July 14, 2002 - Berrymill Pond hiking. Late start after having some work to do in the am - did not arrive til mid-afternoon. After paying $5 day use fee at Putnam Pond State Campground started hiking from parking area near the boat launch. 1st part of trail is along an old road. After 1.5 mi. things get interesting as a grassy vly is crossed & I find some raspberries to munch on. At 1.9 mi. a sidetrail goes off to the R & arrives at a leanto situated in a lily-covered bay with some rocky shoreline (reminded me a bit of Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario). The outlet tumbles thru a ravine but not a lot of water going over it today. Continue for a short distance back on the main trail & take another R to a piney peninsula with some attractive campsites & nice views across the pond. Wildflowers everywhere - bring a guidebook. Bugs fairly persistent on the trail - not too bad at the pond (breezy). This would make a sweet little xc ski tour with 365' of elevation change. 4.5 mi., 3 hrs.
Putnam Pond canoeing. Loaded a cooler, lawn chair & a couple of bags into the canoe (try to do that in a kayak!) Paddled the shoreline of this 2-mile-long lake in a counterclockwise direction. There are about a dozen interior campsites which can be reserved ahead of time. Putnam is on the eastern edge of the Pharoah Lake Wilderness in the eastern Adirondacks. Stopped at campsite I-4 in the N arm to eat dinner & relax. A pair of loons approached & I watched them zigzag by. In other years I have seen loon chicks here but not today. A beaver slaps its tail at me as I explore some boggy islands in the SW corner of the lake & soon after a deer stares at me from the shore. Got a cramp in a thigh & I leaned back into the canoe, laying my back on the bottom & my head on the rear seat - this was very comfortable & relaxing - spent some time looking up at the clouds & gently rocking. A pinkish glow was on the horizon as the sun disappeared. Bugs not too bad & no evening mosquitoes. 1 bassboat & a couple of other canoes out on the lake. Putnam Pond is an excellent destination for your first Adirondack paddling/hiking/swimming trip - + you'll keep coming back. Swift Kipawa , a 16'6" tandem Kevlar canoe paddled solo from kneeling thwart - moved along sweetly when I used a large bladed laminated western red cedar freestyle paddle (may be time to end the grudge I've been holding against Sawyer Paddles) - the blade is wafer thin on this very light paddle & slices easily thru the water when doing in-water recoveries; a little slower when using a solid cherry ottertail made by Turtle Paddle Works. 5 mi., 3 hrs.
Aug. 11/12, 2001 - Putnam Pond, Lost Pond, Treadway Mtn. - Eastern Pharoah Wilderness. Trailhead for Lost Pond is just before the entrance to Putnam Pond State Campground. Easy trail to the pond, then slightly more challenging around the pond. The leanto is no longer here but a few campsites dot the circumference (the farthest ones have less trash.) Water level is very low - did not detect any major inlet or outlet. Pushed thru some raspberry bushes (thorns!) around northern end. Southern end has large rocks which make for great jump'n'swim spots - water quite clear & schools of small fish could be seen. Eastern shoreline quite steep & rocky & evidence of fire can be seen. Interesting short hike of 4 mi., 3 hrs.
Had reserved an interior, on-the-water campsite on Putnam Pond. (Reservations. - we had site I-7 which is shown incorrectly on the ReserveAmerica map, it is actually next to I-6.) Paddled less than a mile across Putnam Pond (locally known as Putts Pond) to our rocky campsite & just hung out most of the afternoon watching for & listening to the loons (2 adults, 1 chick). Light motorboat traffic, not too bothersome. After sunset Hombrua & I took out our tandem canoes but paddled solo. First around to the southern end. 4 beaver lodges seen in area of small islands & a slap of a tail warned us to keep away. Turned & headed north admiring the red clouds of the post-sunset, past the large island which separates the main lake from North Pond. Smooth water, getting darker, spook a heron out of the shoreline, bats swoop close to the head. All the way to the northern end & back. As we approach the main lake we are greeted by loon calls. Mars shines in the southern sky. 3 or 4 miles of paddling in the Merrimack Traveler, a 17 footer set up with a kneeling thwart for solo use - love it! Used 3 different paddles. A red cedar Sawyer freestyle paddle with wide rounded blade - lightweight, powerful but one must be careful to keep stroke vertical to avoid blade flutter (which is good because one should paddle with paddle shaft vertical with grip hand above the lower hand - if your shaft is angled to the water then you are delving into the realm of the lily-dipper.) A Sawyer solid ash beavertail, the heaviest paddle I own, worked well for the most part allowing for a variety of Northwoods-style strokes - after a while, tho, its narrow shaft made me start losing feeling in my hands. The cherry Turtle Paddle Works ottertail is also good for Northwoods style deep-water paddling & has a very quiet entry (good for silent night paddling) but its smallish blade had me wishing for a bit more power - may have to try one of Turtle's bigger paddles like the Tripper next. Meteor showers at night.
3 adult loons are seen Sunday morning. Trailhead for Treadway Mtn. is a short swim (we paddled) from campsite I-7. It's about 2.5 miles & an 830' climb to its rocky summit, firstly thru typical woods & then breaking out onto open rock areas - sweet smell of dry pine needles with understory of blueberries, huckleberries (blueberries have whitish "bloom", huckleberries are darker & have 10 hard, seed-like nutlets) & wintergreen. Somewhat hazy but could see Pharoah Lake below, Crab Pond, Glidden Marsh; Hoffman Mt. stands out to the W, Crane Mt. could barely be seen in the distance thru the haze & the High Peaks to the NW. Many nearby small, rocky, trailless summits invite the bushwhacker. Back at the lake we swim with the nearby loons (2 adults, 1 chick.)
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