Northeast Wild

  Feb 20, 2025 - EAST BRANCH SACANDAGA RIVER trail to Sacandaga Lean-to from Old Farm trailhead. Siamese Ponds Wilderness. The first couple of miles were easy, with a slight gain in elevation. The next couple of miles had some ups & several fast downhills as the trail dropped 200' to within sight of the frozen-over river. Crossed on a good bridge. Rolling terrain beyond with some sharp dips in & out of frozen brooks. One big tree across the trail, & a smaller one. Could sometimes make out the river & Big Shanty Flow thru the trees. A moose had postholed the trail. Turned R at a junction & soon arrived at the lean-to. Woods were sometimes open hardwoods, sometimes evergreens. Good skiing on 20", with 3" of powder on firm crust base - unbreakable with skis on, breakable crust in bare boots, poles would sometimes break thru. Mostly sunny, temp rising from single digits to upper teens. 14+ miles, 1375' el gain/loss, 7.2 hours. Legs are tired! Sept 15, ...

  Jan 16, 2019 - CHASE LAKE skiing & lean-to camping.  Shaker Mtn WF.  Avg of 3" on ~6" crunchy base - good skiing.  Coyotes howling.  Missed the cheap beer drinkers, tracked & wheeled vehicles & snowmobiles (saw tracks).  Lots of junk in & around the lean-to (actually some of it is useful).  Trail to old lean-to site is novice (this was untracked), rest is intermediate (had seen some snowshoe & ski use).  Very quiet while I was there - nice spot. Jan 1, 2017 - CHASE LAKE ski, from the end of Pinnacle Rd in Bleecker.  Shaker Mtn WF, Adirondack Park.  Excellent skiing (if you used Maxiglide on nowax skis; snow can be sticky with temp close to freezing) - 10" powder on over a foot of base, close to 2' total.  Trail to the newer lean-to (intermediate) which has a nice view then across the lake to the old lean-to site & looped back (easy but less used & more breaking trail).  Ran into a couple on way bac...

  In most years, you can find peak fall foliage in the higher elevations of the Adirondack Park around the end of September and in early October.  By Indigenous Peoples'/Columbus Day weekend, the bright red and orange leaves of the red and sugar maple trees will likely have dropped to the ground, but the yellows of the birches and the golds of the beeches may still be evident. Thanks to climate change, in recent years the best colors have been persisting through to the holiday which falls on October 14 this year - perhaps a little bit late for peak in higher elevations in the Adirondacks? After that date, the colors should pop in the lowlands and the Hudson River Valley. Although there are a multitude of great paddling spots in the northern and western parts of the Adirondacks, for this article I will limit the choices to the areas south and east of Indian Lake, and add some choices outside the Adirondack Park that are easily accessible from the greater Capital District. 14-mi...

  Mar 2, 2008 - SIAMESE PONDS cross country skiing from Rt.8.  15" powder on deep base, 3'+ total.  200' climb & 400' drop in 1st 1.5 miles (intermediate in good snow), nice views of cliffs on 11th Mtn.  Another 2.5 miles (novice) along the E Branch Sacandaga River to leanto & bridge.  Climb over 400' in 2+ miles to the remote ponds, this is a very enjoyable run out (intermediate).  Trail packed until a little past the leanto then we broke trail for over 2 miles, much slower going.  13 miles, 7 hrs.  Fischer Rebound skis with 3-pin bindings. Visit us on Facebook Welcome to the Adirondacks NYSDEC Info

  August 8, 2024 - NORTH BRANCH MOOSE RIVER paddling, from Carter Rd downstream to Green Bridge Rd in Old Forge. Set up a shuttle - a 9.5-mile drive between start & finish. Carter Rd put-in is on river R upstream of the bridge. Meandering stream with wild shores for ~10 miles. Sometimes steeper wooded shores (black spruce), sometimes shrubby (alders), sometimes grassy with Joe Pye Weed flowering. White meadowsweet was also flowering. Lots of sandy banks for breaks along the way. Went under the North St bridge at 5.7 miles (the trip could be shortened by taking out or putting in here but you would be missing some of the best parts). We took one shortcut. To me, the river looked like a cross between the Cedar River above the CRFlow & the rivers of the NJ Pine Barrens. Note that shores are private land - state land (Fulton Chain Wild Forest) is on river L further downstream. Signs warn of the upcoming carry around rapids. The 0.2-mile carry is on the L - barely wheelable, so i...