Northeast Wild

  June 27, 2024 - Hike from Trout Lake to ledges on the south side of CAT MOUNTAIN. Start out going along the edge of a residence, soon see LGLC signs. Continued on the old 4WD trail (unmarked, possibly an old town road), sometimes rocky, sometimes wet, going N then curving to the W. Passed some beaver swamps ("pond" would be too kind) mostly on the S side. Went off-trail heading N. Very steep. Soon saw old white paint blazes, lost them 3x. Stayed to the L of a rock wall/cliff. At ~1750' (only 200' below the summit), turned E & soon found a good lookout to the W - Crane Mtn stood out. Found some ripening blueberries. Downhill to the SE & got lucky with a view to Lake George. Dropped steeply S. Saw some mostly small chanterelles - snagged the biggest one. Picked up the old 4WD trail E of where I had left it & out. 4.6 miles, 1037' el gain, 3.6 hours. Partly sunny, temp in the upper 60s to low 70s, dewpoint dropping thru the 50s. Deer flies showing their...

  Apr 8-14, 2007 - kayaking  NC Outer Banks .  Spent most of the week camped in the dunes at Oregon Inlet Campground (Frisco, on Hatteras Isl., is the nicest of the National Seashore campgrounds, Oregon Inlet is more convenient to restaurants, etc. like the Outer Banks Brewing Station which had very good beer & food) - windy; refreshing cold showers.  Windy most of the week - 15-25 knots range.  The sounds are generally shallow & we saw little boat traffic of any kind.   P & H Quest , a 17'7" sea kayak.   Apr 14 - Croatan Sound.  W side of Roanoke Island from boat ramp on California St.  Temp in 60s.  Mix of some development & wild sand beaches.  More beaches on Roanoke Island than on the sound side of the National Seashore.  Lots of wildlife: osprey on nest, pelican, ibis, C geese nesting.   Apr 13 - Kitty Hawk Woods.  From boat ramp on Bob Perry Rd.  Jean Guite Creek (covered brid...

  Sept 7, 2021 - Wanted to check up on the loons, paddle Ben Wood Brook thru wetlands, & find some peace & quiet - only partly successful.  Tried the brook first - a bit of a carry N of the camps (no-one there) - just so happens there is logging going on & the trails around the NW & N part of the lake + the trail up Ben Wood Mtn are closed - an empty logging truck drove past.  So back around to the E side of the lake to "lake access" & paddled around PACK FOREST LAKE.  Soon spotted 2 loons, an adult & a chick.  The chick must have been born mid to late July, sort of late but there is still time for it to learn to fly before ice-in.  Saw the 2nd adult, some calls.  A hawk flew above.  Could hear the logging to the N.  Poked into the lily pad-filled bay where BW Brook enters but it does get thick in there, saw a gb heron & kingfishers.  Checked out the loon nest.  Back to the put-in for lunch & the logg...