Northeast Wild

  Feb 5, 2024 - GRASS POND from HAYS BROOK TRUCK TRAIL ski. Debar Mountain WF. A short ski to check out the conditions - about a foot of firm base topped with <1" of powder - good, altho old ski tracks were semi-frozen & fast. Wide, mostly easy trails. Soon crossed the Osgood River on a wide bridge. R on spur to GP. Lean-to. Skied down onto the pond & a little way up the inlet - 2 beaver dams, & what looked like recent otter activity & den. Skiing on the pond was very good. Temp in the 20s & sunny. 4.5 miles, 2.1 hours. Day 1 of a 4-day trip to the greater Saranac Lake area. Feb 27, 2023 (Mon) - SHEEP MEADOWS ski. Debar Mtn WF north of Paul Smiths. Excellent conditions on 10-15” powder on good base – 4” had fallen overnight. Temp mid to upper 20s. Horse/snomo trails but you are not likely to see signs of either in winter. Hays Brook Truck Trail. Osgood River. Hays Brook then a steep climb. Mostly softwoods, even some Scotch pine. some rolling hills but many ...

July 14, 2022 (Thu) - OSGOOD RIVER & BLIND BROOK from CHURCH POND.  It had rained all night but stopped at 6:30 am - a red squirrel darted about the campsite, some no-see-ums.  2 folks working on freestyle canoeing on CP.  Short narrow canal to Little Osgood Pond, longer shallow canal to Osgood Pond, some development.  Passed White Pine Camp, Coolidge's summer White House, which curiously has RED pines around it.  Wild OR goes for 3 miles before dropping over rocks - lots of fragrant white water lilies, pickerelweed, reeds.  Shores of tamarack, black spruce, & balsam fir.  Side-trip up BB, over 2 beaver dams, very wilderness - went <1 mile & returned to OR.  Gb herons led us back to OP.  Back to CP.  Loons, C geese, eagle, hawk; white-throated sparrows sang.  12 miles, 5.7 hours.        Aug 5&6, 2012 - OSGOOD POND. Put in on Church Pond in Paul Smiths. A short channel leads into Little Osgo...