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.


Aug 11, 2003 - JENKINS MT. hike. Helped friends with shuttle before their trip in the St. Regis Canoe Area. Little Clear Pond canoeing - heard loons & saw some fly by. One of the busiest entries to the Canoe Area & there was only 1 other car here on a Monday morning! Bell Northstar, a 16'6" tandem composite canoe paddled solo - quick to accelerate, very good secondary stability (easier to dip the gunwale under water than in the composite Northwind, tho), fun to play with some freestyle moves, easier to solo than the 17'6" Northwind. Over to Hoel Pond where there were a few vehicles parked. Drove over to the VIC in Paul Smiths for start of the hike. First couple of miles are over a dirt road thru a demonstration forest. After an outhouse & a beaver pond with views to the cliffs on Jenkins, the trail becomes a more interesting narrow path & for a while follows the top of an esker. Not much elevation is gained til the last mile when the trail u-turns up the mountain. Past forest fires have left tall thin maples with an understory of raspberries & ferns. Was able to stay reasonably dry thru a short rain shower but the wet vegetation on the narrow trail the rest of the way soaked me thru. Equinox Extreme Supplex nylon zip pants dried quickly; OR Vaporizer shirt took longer to dry but I find it more breathable & confortable on the skin than nylon; both dry faster than cotton. Lucky to have some sun while on top. Impressive views (hazy today) are from a rocky ledge with many blueberries. To the W could see Follensby Junior Pond & Azure Mt.; to the S, St.Regis Mt. dominates with Upper Saranac Lake in the distance; to the E & SE are the High Peaks. 780' climb, 8.2 miles, 5 hours. An alternate route is to paddle Black Pond, carry 0.3 mile to Long Pond from which a path connects to above trail. Stopped at nearby Osgood Pond for swimming - sandy bottom at the boat access on White Pine Rd. 

 Visit us on Facebook

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BOREAS PONDS in the Adirondack Park

Image
Boreas Ponds Tract info . Seasonal access issues .  June 20-22, 2023 (Tue-Thu) - BOREAS & WHITE LILY PONDS paddling, hiking, & camping. High Peaks Wilderness. Highs in the 70s, lows in the upper 40s. Light mosquito activity at times, a moderate amount of young deer flies (not biting), and black flies are over with (they are hanging out on cooler mountain tops).  Day 1 - Drove 6 miles on Gulf Brook Rd (dirt/gravel) to the 4 Corners parking area (5 of the 15 spots were taken). Wheeled the boats ~1 mile on dirt/gravel road to the lean-to, white-throated sparrows sang along the way, & set up camp. Saw a ruffed grouse in the lean-to clearing. Wild strawberries too. There is a well-hidden thunderbox privy - it took a while to find it - it is in another clearing NW of the lean-to. The Ranger stopped by as we had lunch. Paddled the irregular perimeter of BP. Spotted a loon on a nest. Great blue heron. 5.7 miles. Saw a few other paddlers, mostly day trippers. Went for an evening p
Read more

WAKELY MOUNTAIN fire tower hike

Image
  Wed Sep 16, 2020 - WAKELY MOUNTAIN hike. The first 2 miles were on an old road with easy grades, then the trail turns R (at this junction, if you follow the unmarked path straight you soon reach a beautiful meadow with a view of the mountain & fire tower) & climbs very steeply, there are some plank handrails at some spots & a ladder. Just before the top, there is a wooden helipad with a good view to the E. The fire tower is one of the tallest in the Adks (http://nnyara.net/FireTowerRadio/Fire_Tower_List_3-14-11.pdf ), a short ladder gets you up into the cab but views are still great below the cab. To the W, I could see Lake Kora, Sagamore Lake & Raquette Lake (the only signs of civilization were some houses on RL). To the E were Cedar River Flow & Snowy Mtn. To the N, the High Peaks were clearly in view. There is a repeater antenna on the cab & a solar panel just below - I am assuming the helipad is there for maintenance purposes. 5-10% color change.
Read more

JESSUP RIVER & INDIAN LAKE CANOEING

Image
April 25, 2016 - Jessup River upstream from Jessup River Rd (dirt). 0.9 miles to foot of rapids. 3 deer ran across the rapids in front of me! 0.2 mile carry (part bushwhack, part on logging road)) around the rapids. Mossy Vly Brook comes in at 1.9 miles. 0.4 miles further up the Jessup saw an otter run along the bank & dive into the water. Carried around a logjam & stopped at another. Lots of shallow sandy-bottomed sections. Poked up shallow Mossy Vly on way back. 5.1 miles, 4.1 hours. Perkins Clearing Road & Jessup River Road open & in good shape - usually closed until sometime in May for mud season. May 23, 2010 - JESSUP RIVER & INDIAN LAKE paddling from Jessup River Rd (dirt) near Perkins Clearing in the central Adirondacks.  Spotted cars at the Indian Lake state boat launch, paid day use fee.  Some blackflies & mosquitoes at start but minimal during trip - started out wearing my Original Bugshirt but eventually took it off. 
Read more