JENKINS MOUNTAIN, BLACK & LONG PONDS hike & ski

 



Feb 28, 2023 – BLACK & LONG PONDS, JENKINS MOUNTAIN TRAIL ski, from St Regis Mtn trailhead (Black Pond trailhead not plowed) on Keese Mill Rd. Black Pond east side trail – lots of ups & downs – came close to groomed trail of the VIC – some icy base noted. Lean-to. Saw a deer shoot across the pond. Pond-ski to N end & picked up the trail to the W side of Long Pond. Half-mile to Jenkins Mtn Trail & went L. Groomed for a bit. Ups & downs over eskers & hardwoods (deeper powder). Gave up when the trail got steeper. Path to top of esker that parallels the ponds – L to the summit of the esker – decent views of Jenkins & Long Pond – saw 3 yellow paint blazes & there were some old snowshoe tracks. S on esker & woke up a deer. Ups & downs for a while then a short traverse down to the S end of Long Pond. Checked out the fish barrier dam then skied down the W side of Black Pond then across the pond, into a good headwind, to the Black Pond lean-to for a nice break – watched some “wilderness tv”. Saw 2 deer as I left. Back to Keese Mill Rd. Had some time, so skied the unplowed road to the Topridge gate & checked out where the canoe carry goes. Mostly very good skiing around the ponds where trees were mostly softwoods, excellent skiing with up to 15" of powder over a good base on the JM Trail (mostly hardwoods) & on the esker . 5 hours.










Sat Sep 26, 2020 - JENKINS MOUNTAIN hike, Paul Smith's College VIC. https://www.paulsmiths.edu/vic/ From Keese Mill Rd. Started out along the W side of Black Pond & then Long Pond. L at the T on Jenkins Mtn Trail, an old woods road at first, going along an esker & passing an old beaver pond. The trail gets steeper then eases a bit. Hazy 180 degree view S with St Regis Mtn front & center, also parts of Lower & Upper St Regis & Spitfire Lakes. In the distance: Upper Saranac Lake, Mt Marcy & Algonquin Peak. Met 14 members of the Tramp & Trail Club (Utica) along the way who started from the VIC (less scenic route), maybe a dozen others. We were going to bushwhack down to Long Pond but stumbled upon an unmarked path that paralleled the pond on top of an esker & dropped down to the trail at the S end of the pond. Took the E side trail around Black Pond which has a lean-to (this is not state land, you can rent the lean-tos on Long & Black for $35/night) & views of Jenkins Mtn. Saw 1 loon. Part of the trail hits the VIC xc ski trail system (wide & not too natural) but most the route was very pretty. Fall colors, especially the maples, were close to peak. 7.3 miles, 5.7 hours, ~900' net elevation gain.








  

Temp in upper 70s.  Drove over in a Miata convertible with the top down.  Took a swim in Lake Clear - the water was cool but just bearable.  Lots of loons on the lake.


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