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 6-13, 2008 - NC kayaking. WS Tempest 170, a 17' polyethylene touring kayak. Apr 13 - BOGUE SOUND. From Hoop Pole Woods (behind closed Hardee's & shopping center) in Atlantic Beach. Marshy islands at start, many oyster beds. Headed W on the sound, very shallow at low tide. Shores mostly developed after the marshes. 8 miles.  Apr 12 - WHITE OAK RIVER. Upstream from Haywood Landing boat launch. Explored some feeders incl. Holston Creek. Turned around at power line. Water snake.  Apr 11 - HUGGINS ISLAND. From Bear Island, marked trail around Huggins then to visitor center. Most of the islands between the barrier islands & the mainland are marshy (saltmarsh cordgrass), Huggins has a maritime forest & lies at the mouth of the White Oak River. Drove to Cedar Point campground, our base for rest of trip - convenient, some road noise, not much privacy.   Apr 10 - BEAR ISLAND. Trout Channel on N side of the island to sandy beach at Bear Inlet. Got lost fo...

  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...