SHAKER MOUNTAIN WILD FOREST & Bleecker area cross country skiing
Jan 8, 2017 - SHAKER MOUNTAIN WILD FOREST ski, from the end of Pinnacle Rd in Bleecker. Started out on the County Line Lake Trail, the first 0.2 miles climbs 100' in a washed out trail, things got much better past that. Had to go well upstream to get over 1st stream crossing. At ~2 miles went out on the vly to the W which has a nice view of Pigeon Mtn. Previous skiers had been in to N of the vly but turned back at a wet stream crossing. We left the trail & headed N for a 0.6 mile bushwhack to the pass NW of Panther Mountain. Temp 6F for lunch stop at 2,185' (over 600' from the start). Some nice downhill runs on the way back. 15'-20"; 2-3" powder on light crust with a bit of give to it - good skiing. 6.2 miles, 4.3 hours.
Feb 24, 2014 - PINNACLE CREEK from end of Pinnacle Rd in Bleecker. 2' of snow. Morning radar showed a narrow band of lake-effect snow along the Fulton/Hamilton county line. Blue trail to County Line Lake goes along an old woods road for a couple of miles. 1" new powder in tracked hard-packed icy trail at start, powder increasing as I headed NNW. When the trail crossed the W branch at about 2 miles I continued off-trail NNW to the W of Panther Mtn following the drainage. After gaining 500' from start turned around when things started to get steeper but nice skiing here with 3" powder on slightly crunchy base with just a bit of give. Explored the nearby vly, delightful skiing with 4" powder, good view of Pigeon Mtn, gusty wind. Side-trip off-trail (but tracked) up the E branch to another vly. Good to very good skiing, best out of tracks. Snowing much of the time, sun came out whenever snow stopped. Stream crossings good. 3.5 hours.
Feb 15, 2012 - PANTHER NOTCH from the end of Pinnacle Rd in Bleecker. Up to a foot of base with sometimes breakable crust & up to 1" powder - fair to good skiing; temp in 30s, snow sticky at times. You won't find PN on any maps - I just named it! Shaker Mtn Wild Forest. Followed the newly-marked blue trail to County Line Lake for a couple of miles. Climbs moderately at first & then more gently. I broke thru the ice while crossing the E branch of Pinnacle Creek (on the way back we crossed well upstream). After ~1.5 miles went out & skied along a vly to the W of the trail with views of Pigeon Mtn - nice spot. When the blue trail veered NW we continued N then climbed NE thru the notch just W of Panther Mtn entering the Silver Lake Wilderness Area - some nice ice formations on the cliffs here - a gain of 600' from start. Dropped steeply down the other side thru semi-open woods but broke thru the crust a couple of times & fell - this area can be a blast in better snow conditions. Back the way we came. Broke thru the ice again below a beaver dam in the vly. Some sweet downhill runs back to the cars. 6.8 miles, 4.2 hours.
Dec 18, 2011 - COUNTY LINE LAKE hike from Pinnacle Rd in Bleecker. Shaker Mtn WF. Felt like winter with temp just getting into the 20s; looked almost like winter with dusting to 1.5" of snow; cloudless blue sky. Newly marked blue trail. Beautiful hemlock woods alongside the cascading waters of rocky Pinnacle Creek. A wide old forest road past vly with nice
Jan 27, 2010 - HOLMES LAKE OUTLET... SNOWMOBILE CORRIDOR 8 TRAIL from Pinnacle Rd off Benson Rd. Expected icy conditions from recent rain & figured the groomed trails of Lapland Lake would be the way to go today. But before forking over some $$ I would check out some trails in the area; the NPT looked a bit shaky but figured I could do a short run on the snowmobile trail. Icy hardpack with 1" fresh powder; off-trail crunchy 15". Trail heads W thru pleasant evergreen forest then turns N. Lunched next to scenic Holmes Lake Outlet. Turned back at junction of trail to Holmes Lake. Peaceful today (don't expect on weekends); snowing lightly. Some novice hills, much flat. Easy in good snow, fast today. Never made it to Lapland. 7+ miles, 3.5 hours. Great base, needs a few inches powder.
Mar 8, 2009 - PINNACLE CREEK from end of Pinnacle Rd in Bleecker. Shaker Mtn WF. Over 2' of snow, fair to good skiing. Rained a lot last night & streams were up - had to go way upstream to cross 1st stream. Pinnacle Creek even wider so we just followed it's E branch upstream off-trail a half mile to a vly between Pinnacle & Panther Mtns, skirted the edge of vly on the SE & past a lot of pretty icefalls on small cliffs. Temp in 40s made for very comfortable lunch break in the sun. 5.5 miles, 4.5 hours.
Mar 18, 2009 - HOLMES & LITTLE HOLMES LAKES, FRIE FLOW from Peters Corners. Still ~2' of snow. A bit icy at start but softened up as temp rose over 40F. Snowmobile trail for couple of miles, spur trail to new lean-to S of Holmes Lake faces E but far enough from the lake that there are no views of the lake. Off-trail to connect with unmarked path/old road to Little Holmes & along E side of Frie Flow where there is some blowdown. Reached a stream we did not want to cross & found a way onto the flow passing an old boiler from logging operation ~100 years ago. 7 miles, 4 hours.
Jan 14, 2009 - EASTMAN LAKE from Green Lake. Shaker Mountain Wild Forest. 2'+ incl. sometimes breakable icy crust topped with 5" powder. Started on the ski trail to Pine Lake with temp at -3F but soon went off-trail & across Otter Lake. After crossing outlets of Stewart & Indian Lakes started climbing a ridge heading NE - I hate to admit it but this might be more appropriate for snowshoes & we turned around before making it to Eastman. Fairly remote. 600' elevation gain, 5 hours.
Dec 14, 2008 - MUD LAKE. There are many Mud Lakes & Ponds in the Adirondacks, this has got to be the tiniest, I've seen bigger beaver ponds! This one is about a mile NNW of Chase Lake in the Shaker Mtn WF. Started at the end of Pinnacle Rd & Chase Lake trailhead but immediately went off-trail keeping the slopes of Pinnacle Mtn to our left. Some challenging stream crossings but mostly very good skiing thru mostly open hardwoods with 6" dense powder over good base. Overshot the lake; after consulting the maps (USGS Caroga Lake & Jackson Summit) headed over a knoll to the hemlock-rimmed "lake". Stayed closer to its outlet on way back & picked up the Chase Lake trail. 7 miles?, 4.3 hours.
Mar 10, 2008 - PINNACLE CREEK. Shaker Mtn WF from the end of Pinnacle Rd in Bleecker. Good skiing on 1"-5" powder (thanks to previous day's lake-effect) on deep crunchy base with a bit of give to it. Skied NNW on the unmarked old road. After the initial uphill there was a wet stream crossing - we went well upstream before finding a good place to cross. About a mile from start we went off trail NE following the eastern arm of Pinnacle Creek. After a half mile we reached a good size vly with a view of Pinnacle. Continued thru open woods past height of land close to the county line. Saw coyote & fisher tracks. Just one of those beautiful clear sunny days of late winter.
Feb 27, 2006 - SHAKER MOUNTAIN WF/SILVER LAKE WILDERNESS from N end of Pinnacle Rd in Bleecker. 1'-2' powder on excellent base - sunny, temp rising into mid-teens. The 1st 2.4 miles along an unmarked old logging road is described well in Discover the Southern Adirondacks - one gradually gains 600' while passing thru an attractive stretch thru hemlock woods & near Pinnacle Creek. We ski out onto a large vly with views of the surrounding small mountains. At the height of land between Pigeon & Panther Mts. we headed NNE making turns down thru the trees dropping a quick 300'. After lunch we headed a bit further E then S up the N side of Panther Mt. before dropping back down 300' again thru the open widely-spaced trees. Very enjoyable run back down from the pass back to the car. Streams crossings not a problem - less blowdown than we've found on marked trails recently. Best skiing of the season - took quite a while for the grin to leave my face! 7 miles, 5 hours. Fischer Outtabounds skis. Used Swix Special Green wax on tips & tails of skis to improve glide & grip in the cold dry powder - Maxiglide on the grip pattern. To improve glide one could also use Swix F4 which is easy to apply to full length of bases.
Jan 9, 2006 - SHAKER MOUNTAIN WILD FOREST & SILVER LAKE WILDERNESS from Pinnacle Rd near Bleecker. Few inches of heavy powder over good base at lower elevations; 2' at higher el. Temp rising into the mid-30s. Looking for a route (bushwhack) N of Pigeon Mt. over to the W Br Sacandaga River (~20 miles upstream of yesterday's trip). Generally uphill on old logging road for 1st 1.5 miles past a vly with view of Pigeon Mt. (pic) then steeply uphill to the pass NE of Pigeon Mt. Moderate downhill in a NNW direction usually W of main drainage - fairly open woods - some tricky stream crossings. Got to a large vly with pond within half a mile of the W Br. Hit our turn-around time so we turned back before reaching the river. ~2,150' el. at top of pass & a pleasant run back to the car at ~1,550'. Intermediate skiing (just do traverses thru the woods if it looks too steep for you) + a positive attitude. 8 miles, 6+ hours. Fischer Rebound skis.
Jan 31, 2005 - SHAKER MTN. WF backcountry ski from end of Pinnacle Rd in Benson/Bleecker area. Temp in upper 20s, not a cloud in the sky - 15"-25" with excellent base topped with powder, perfect conditions - offtrail, sank in 6"-8" making breaking trail reasonably easy. My longtime nemesis, Fengshee, & cronies went in 2 days earlier so we had a nice broken out route. Took an old unmarked logging road (shown on most maps as a trail, a downed tree obstructs the start) NNW past a couple of vlies to a spot between Pigeon & Panther Mts. Saw otter tracks. Woods are a nice mix of hardwoods & hemlocks. Backtracked to open area that used to be a camp (an old rusted barrel marks the spot) then took a lesser old logging road (not shown on maps) NW to just S of Pigeon Mt.'s summit gaining 700' in 1.5 miles from the barrel - climbs gently to moderately at first then steeply (donned climbing skins, gain 400' in about 0.5 mile). Less mature woods here indicate that logging may have occured in more recent times. Thru the trees view of Panther, Pinnacle, Shaker Mts. & , to the W, down to Little Oxbarn Lake. Ski back down is expert - I used a combination of snowplow & traverses thru the woods (fell once), Delouxe used the pole-drag method (& got up without skins!), Hiwayman skinned down. After the big drop, the last 2.5 miles out has several sweet intermediate runs. Went thru the ice crossing Pinnacle Creek (not much water under, minor ice-scraping on one ski). 7 miles, 1,100'+, 5 hours. Karhu Orion skis with leather boots & softwire cable binding.
Feb 1, 2004 - PANTHER MOUNTAIN ski - Shaker Mt. Wild Forest/Silver Lake Wilderness near Benson & Bleecker. Snow depth: 2'-3'; temp in mid-20s, sunny, little wind. From N end of Pinnacle Rd, skied over a mile on old logging road going NNW to a major stream crossing after gaining over 300'. Headed NE offtrail on S side of stream over half a mile to a large vly between Pinnacle & Panther Mts. known by locals as "Sam's Vly". The main beaverdam was out but a smaller one upstream can be crossed - don't step off it like I did because you may step in water hidden under the snow (carry a scraper just in case). From the N end of the vly, we put on the climbing skins & turned WNW zigzagging up Panther Mt. Keeping a gully on our L, headed NW to Panther's lower NE summit where we had lunch & enjoyed thru-the-trees views (gain of over 400' from the vly). Dropped 500' N of the summit thru deep powder - too much to do many real turns, for the most part I just went straight down, the deep snow keeping me from getting up too much speed. Arrived at a stream that drains the col NW of Panther. Reclimbed half the last drop for seconds. Reskinned & headed SW up to the col gaining over 300'. From here we follow a stream SSE & soon find the old logging road going past a large vly with nice views of Pigeon Mt. The last couple of miles were a grin-inducing moderate downhill run back to the cars. The logging road receives some light use so breaking trail may not be too hard but offtrail it was a fair amount of work - bring help (I dragged along 11 others about half of whom helped break trail). Skiers with skins had a much easier time on the uphills than those without. Saw a flying squirrel; heard chickadees & nuthatches. 8 miles, 7+hrs. Navigation by USGS Caroga Lake map, compass & altimeter (Nehasane don't need no stinkin' GPS.....yet.....famous last words?....anyway, getting lost is just the start of a new adventure.) Fischer Rebound skis with 3-pin bindings & plastic boots.
Jan 19, 2004 - SHAKER MTN WF/SILVER LAKE WILDERNESS ski from N end of Pinnacle Rd near Benson & Bleecker, southern Adirondacks. 6" to 18" (at higher altitude) of powder over good base - excellent skiing - broke trail all the way. Head NNW on obvious old road (Chase Lake trail goes off to the E) slowly gaining elevation thru an attractive mixed forest. At 1.6 miles a large vly appears on the L but today is too cold & windy (sunny, tho) to make a long stop here. The old road continues along the E side of the flow then seems to peter out between Pigeon & Panther Mts. Continued NNW thru open woods up to a col NE of Pigeon having gained 700' from the start. Skied down the other side a bit looking for a good clean run down to make some thru the trees turns - small trees just a bit too close for a good long run. Figured I would bushwhack around a hill & loop back clockwise to my tracks below the col - got screwed up somehow & ended going around Panther Mt. instead - checked my map a couple of times but stubbornly didn't pull out my compass & altimeter - didn't realize I was lost til I saw a vly (same vly I had passed earlier) down below Panther's steep SW slope - switchbacked down & side-stepped some (wore leather with Chili cable bindings but wished for my plastic boots here). Found my tracks & had a very pleasant ski out. Met guidebook author Barbara McMartin's son James going in for a late afternoon ski & had a quick chat. This area has endless possibilities for the backcountry skier who doesn't mind going off-trail some - snow cover is consistenly good every year. 7 miles, ~900' elevation gain, 4hrs. Fischer Outtabounds Crown skis.
Mar 3, 2003 - SHAKER MOUNTAIN WILD FOREST xc ski, from N end of Pinnacle Rd. near Benson. Southern Adirondacks received up to 6" of new wet snow yesterday - 3"-5" on top of deep base here. Originally wanted to ski in to Chase Lake for a half day trip but snowmobiles had traveled there after the snowfall &, with today's super cold single digit temps (25 degrees colder than yesterday!), trail had iced up. Old logging road to the NNW was in good shape, tho. Unmarked but easy to follow trail climbs moderately to a small vly on the L after about a mile. Shortly beyond, the E fork of Pinnacle Creek crosses the old road. I bushwhack NE along it (best on SE side of stream) until I reach a quarter mile long vly & head across it. Breaking trail was quite easy. The cloudless blue sky conrasted nicely with the expanse of white. Small, rocky cliffs at the foot of Pinnacle Mt. were covered with frozen waterfalls. Followed some coyote tracks for a while. Reached height of land between Pinnacle & Panther Mts. & returned. Pleasant run out, losing about 400' elevation in 2.5 miles. Temp in single digits & not as windy as predicted - stayed quite warm in Aqua Shell tops & bottoms (almost too hot - could have skipped the top). Have pretty much decided that the Fischer Rebound.
Jan 19, 2003 - SHAKER MT WF & SILVER LAKE WILDERNESS xc ski thru trip. Spotted a car at the Northville-Placid Trailhead in Upper Benson then drove a few miles to the Chase Lake trailhead at the end of Pinnacle Rd. An old logging road (no trail markers) goes NNW & is easy to follow for 2 miles - some recent ski tracks made the going relatively easy while we climb 400' to a scenic vly on the L surrounded with small mountains . For a day predicted to be cloudy - the bright morning sun was welcome. It is a bushwhack from here to the NPT. Breaking trail was easy & the skis only sank in a few inches. Continuing NNW we follow a stream between Pig & Panther Mts. then head up around the W side of Panther thru a col having gained another 200' from the vly. Take a break under a huge hemlock on some high ground overlooking the valley below. This is true wilderness - no trails, no sign of man's doings. We quickly drop 200' thru open woods making turns thru the trees - so much fun that I wished we could have dropped 1,000' in these perfect powder conditions. Continue following a stream NE & finally approach the W end of a large vly on North Branch West Stony Creek - some tricky stream crossings along the way slow us down. Decided to go around the vly instead of thru it trying to stay in open hardwoods but occasionally wandering into spruce & alder near the vly. After a time, I stop & ponder our whereabouts, a hint of doubt enters my thoughts, Dagang stands behind me (obviously wondering if I knew where I was) - their silence spoke volumes. My intent was to find my tracks from Jan 13 but none were visible. The stream looked too small to be the NBWSC, but after a check of the compass I decide to follow it downstream & within seconds there are my tracks from a few days before. 8+ miles, 7 hrs. Karhu Pyxis skis . Rottefella Super Telemark - a heavy duty 75mm 3-pin binding. Garmont Excursion plastic boots were very warm & afforded excellent control of my skis.
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