Northeast Wild

  Sep 20, 2015 - LAKE DURANT & ROCK POND. Put-in at end of dirt road past trail-head for Cascade Pond, at W end of LD. Channel W to lift-over at low footbridge. Into RP & its boggy islands. Paddled inlet a short distance going over 2 beaver dams. Back to LD & paddled it counter-clockwise. Blue Mtn to the N, Blue Ridge to the S, mostly wild shores, road noise, 3 loons (1 juvenile), ducks. Fall foliage ~10% color change. No bad bugs. 7.3 miles, 3.5 hours.  Visit us on Facebook Welcome to the Adirondacks NYSDEC Info

  Aug 17 & 18, 2008 - SAND LAKE & INLET canoe camping from Powley-Piseco Rd (a 20 mile dirt road).  0.5 mile rough & muddy carry on unmarked trail to Sand Lake.  Couple of campsites at end of trail & 3 little-used sites out on the lake - took out some beer cans that others had left (slobs drink lousy beer - Bud Lite, etc.; we sipped on some Creme Brulee Stout).  A large sloping rock is a nice place to spend some time.  Paddled up the inlet at the lake's S end.  Soon doing a 100 yard bushwhack carry thru the woods.  Back on the stream, thru a marsh, over 10 beaver dams, a short carry around a rocky area.  Poked up the outlet of Mud Pond.  Snapping turtle crawling over a beaver lodge; loons (1 chick) very vocal in the morning.  Moonrise paddle.  Some biting flies; light mosquito activity.  Bell Northstar, a 16.5' 40lb tandem canoe. Visit us on Facebook Welcome to the Adirondacks NYSDEC Info

  May 5/6, 2002 - W. Br. Sacandaga River, Good Luck, Spectacle & Dexter Lakes canoeing. Put-in on the W. Branch at westernmost (of 2) Rt.10 bridge between Canada Lake & Piseco. Paddled 300yds. upstream against noticeable current & then R into Good Luck Lake Outlet, often there is a beaverdam to go over but not today. Good Luck Lake is a popular camping spot due to its ease of access - did not notice any loons. Start carry at the SW end next to the marsh; a path leads SW gently uphill to a trail junction. Go straight on snowmobile trail which occasionally has some nasty muddy spots. Doubled the carry (i.e. carry the pack over then come back for the canoe) for a total of 1.5 mi. (4.5 mi. of actual hiking) from Good Luck to Spectacle Lake - 2 hrs. including lunch stop. Spectacle is about 1.5 mile long but has many bays, peninsulas, islands & bogs to explore. Headwind, so I place my Sealline ProPack in the bow & have an easy time of paddling into the wind. See 2 loo...

  July 10 & 11, 2016 - NORTH & SOUTH LAKES in the southwestern Adirondacks.  Black River Wild Forest.  Camped at one of the primitive car camping sites on North Lake, elevation 1,823'; paddled most of the perimeter of the lake; interesting inlets incl. Ice Cave Creek, N Branch Black River, E Br Black River, Jocks Brook; high water due to recent rain.  Lean-to on E shore is not a regular DEC type.  Islands.  5 motorboats.  Loons, mergansers.  Lightly developed.  8.6 miles, 4 hours.  Short drive to South Lake, elevation 2,020'.  Paddled most of the perimeter.  South Branch Black River, an outlet, flows below a 350' earthen dam.  Went 0.4 miles up Raymond Brook, an inlet, going over 2 beaver dams & turning around at a 3rd.  2 motorboats; 3 kayakers; 1 SUPper.  Loons, mergansers.  Over 90% of shoreline is state land.  Lots of rock below & above the water's surface.  9.2 miles, 5.3 hours...

  Nov. 4, 2001 - Hudson River kayaking, between Corinth & Glens Falls. Weather forecast called for cloudy; radar showed no rain; satellite showed possibility of break in the clouds. 1st put-in at boat launch a little over 1 mile W of Spier Falls Dam on Spier Falls Rd. Paddle NW upstream, river about 100 yds. wide. S shore has mostly evergreens, N shore mostly deciduous (oaks & beech). Go about 3 miles along S shore with no development then see smokestack & International Paper mill. Water a bit squirrelly here paddling against noticeable current. Palmer Dam around the corner, turn around. Watch out for shallow rocks in the turbulence. Follow N shore back & stop for lunch, lots of signs scream no swimming, no camping, no fires! See fish jump right out of water. 2 whitetail deer come to drink. Starting to see more & more blue sky. Ridge of Palmertown Range dominates to the SE rising over 700' above the river. Saw 2 small motorboats. 8 mi. 2.5 hrs. 2nd put-in at She...

  July 15/16, 2000 - Main Branch St. Regis River (see below for directions.) Back for an overnighter; brought the Dagger Reflection 16 for its all-aroundedness - not too heavy (60lbs.), good primary (160lb. son of N. can stand up in the bow) & secondary stability, good combination of tracking & turning ability, durable for some whitewater, reasonably fast boat. Wheeled canoe in to Indian Rocks put-in; spotted cars downstream 4.2 miles west on dirt road. Paddled to campsite & set up tents & tarps. After lunch paddled upstream past put-in & were soon into private land on both shores. Started to rain lightly but didn't really bother us much. Shores varied from grassy marsh to boreal forest (white pine, tamarack, cedar, spruce). After about 2.5 hrs. going at 2.37 mph (thanks to GPS companion), with views of St. Regis Mtn. to the east, river widened & became pond-like; saw 1 loon here, nice hilly tall pine shores. Downstream return only took 1.5 hrs. Some drizzle...

  Aug 26-28, 2024 - CEDAR LAKES backpacking & packrafting. West Canada Lakes Wilderness. Day 1 - The drive into Sled Harbor was good, & to the Pillsbury trailhead was mostly good but 3 bumpy spots needed some care. The first couple of hiking miles were smooth flat sections mixed with rough rocky uphill sections. Things got muckier after that - not helped by the fact that someone had driven an ATV in*. Crossed the Cedar River on a bridge below the old dam. 2 campsites were vacant, 2 people were in lean-to #1. Started to rain before we made it to lean-to #2 (aka Beaver Pond Outlet), our home for 2 nights - has a filtered lake view & a sand/rock beach, & nice wood pegs to hang things on (better than nails). 6 miles, 705' gross el gain, 3.9 hours. Skies cleared. Blew up the packrafts & went out for a paddle to Noisey Inlet which gets shallow quickly. Water level on Cedar Lakes looked about 4' lower than when the dam had been in operation. Lots of loon calls, bal...