Raquette River, Pickerel Pond, Rock Pond, Moose Pond and Franklin Falls Pond - 9/20/15

After having spent a fun but rainy night in our tent at a fantastic campsite in Coreys on Stony Creek Ponds we wee up and out early to clearing skies.  The cold front had come in and the weather was noticably cooler than it had been on Saturday.

Leesa had a morning campfire to take the chill off and I jumped in the kayak to take a morning paddle. I went around Stony Creek Ponds and a little ways down Stony Creek towards the Raquette River and Axton Landing before heading back to our campsite.  On my way back I spotted a bald eagle... probably the same one I had seen the before.  I carefully paddled closer and pulled out my camera and was able to snap a couple of nice shots.  In looking at the picture, I think I can even see a band on the foot of the eagle.

Bald eagle at Stony Creek Ponds

After watching the eagle, I returned to the campsite and we got ourselves together for some more hiking and exploration.  We left the tent set up to dry out in the sun.

Our first stop was Axton Landing.  We drove the short distance to the boat launch there, then hiked around to campsite 12, just downstream.   

Rev ... exploring on her own

Next we drove further on Coreys Road to an unmarked turnoff on the right.  This leads to a cable crossing on the river that supports a small tram car that takes property owners to a hunting camp on the far side of the river.  I'd like to see it in operation.  

Just upstream from the cable crossing is another campsite.  This one has a nice little beach.  There was no "camp here" disc so this one may not be legal.  If not, it still receives obvious use.

Campsite just upstream from the cable crossing.

The beach at the campsite.

The outlet of Stony Creek into the Raquette River

We returned to the car and continued down Coreys Road.  I wanted to note the locations of all the campsites on the road.  There are many.

We got to the Seward parking area and it was time to turn around.  The Seward lot wasn't full, but there were perhaps a dozen cars there plus several trucks with horse trailers.  I also noticed an old hay wagon near the trail kiosk that wasn't there last time I had been there.

We turned the car around and stared out.  Our next stop was the jeep trail on the right at Ampersand Brook.  This one leads to a pair of campsites; the 2nd one being the best at located at the waters edge.      

Ampersand Brook

Rev at Ampersand Brook

Continuing back on Coreys Road, there are a pair of small ponds on the south side of the road that have marked trails leading to them.  We stopped at the first one, Pickeral Pond, and took the short trail to it.  There was a rowboat at the shoreline, but no oars.  We saw a pair of hunters on this trail, wearing camoflage and doing some scouting. 

Pickerel Pond

Looking towards the Sewards from Pickerel Pond

We returned to te car and drove over to the trail for Rock Pond.  This was another short trail.  Both trails were less than a half mile long.  At Rock Pond, there was a row boat once again, and a conoe as well.  The canoe was a metal canoe with a pair of oars and it looked sturdy.

Leesa wanted to go for a paddle, so she, Rev, and I piled in and I paddled us around the circumference of the pond.  Rev did very well in sitting nicely and not walking around the canoe.     

Rock Pond

Back on shore, we returned to Coreys Road and made our way back to our campsite.  It was time to pack up our gear and free up the campsite for someone else.  I tossed the sleeping pads out onto the ground and Rev sat down on them looking as if she couldn't believe we were leaving.

What a sight.  Did Rev want to camp again?

We left Coreys and next headed past Saranac Lake and north past Bloomingdale to Moose Pond and the boat launch there.  We had XC skied to Moose Pond from Route 3 in the winter, but we had not seen the pond in the summer.  There is a peninsula at the northern end of the island that offers a fantastic campsite and a rock outcrop at the point from which you can see sunrise and sunset.  

There are also may campsites along the east shore of the lake including one at the NW end of the lake with a large rock outcrop to enjoy sunrise.

    

Moose Pond looking south.

Rev at the campsite on the peninsula. 

Moose Island peninsula

The north end of the pond.

Looking at the peninsula campsite from the west shore.

We were surprised that there was only one car at the big boat launch area when we arrived. Three cars of fisherman showed up later, but the pond was still eerily quiet for such a nice day.

Our last stop for the day was Franklin Falls Pond.  We stopped at the designated campsite on the NW shore (there is actually a pair of sites there, but the nicest site is the one by the waters edge.  It's an extra large level site in the pines overlooking the water.

Just to the east of the campsite is a state boatlaunch and I dropped a kayak in the water for quick paddle.  I went out to an island that was visible from the boat launch.. There were 2 islands there. The larger one has a great beach as the west end.  Camping is prohibited on these islands, but they are a nice place to visit.    

Island on Franklin Falls Pond.

A short pause for island exploration.

And another.

All good paddles come to an end and after a quick tour of a portion of the pond it was time to admit we had to head home.  Today we made a lot of little stops but we saw some great places and gained ideas for future trips.

XC Ski - Moose Pond - McKenzie Mountain Wilderness - 2/14/15

After skiing at Henry's Woods in the morning, Leesa and I traveled to Saranac Lake and north towards Bloomingdale on Route 3 to try another XC ski trail; the Moose Pond trail.  This trail follows an old roadbed which provides an easy traverse to a beautiful pond.

The trail is 1.5 miles long on a gentle uphill grade, gaining 70' in 1.5 miles.  Moose Pond has a bit of history (which always adds to the interest factor for me).  The pond is bordered by the McKenzie Mountain Wilderness on the east and south, and by the Debar Wild Forest on the north and west.  The pond is also accessible via a boat launch (hand launch) at the north end.  There is parking at the boat launch for 28 cars and the pond has 9 designated campsites.  On a clear day there are fine views of Moose, McKenzie, Whiteface and Esther mountains.

For us, we didn't get the full effect of the view and the lake since it was snowing and the lake was, of course, covered in ice and snow.  The trailhead is especially obscure in the winter, however there were 2 cars parked along route 3 at the location where the trail starts.

Not an obvious trailhead from the road in winter 

The trailhead is on the east side of Route 3, immediately north of a transer station.  We parked behind the 2 cars already there and headed in on our skis.

A nice bridge provides a painless crossing point on the Saranac River  

We followed the old road past two different paths that led to the pond, but eventually downed trees discouraged us from continuing all the way to the boat launch at the north end.  We backtracked and took a path down to the ponds where we found the remains of a house chimney which I had read about.     

A reminder that homes used to exist here

We skied out onto the frozen snow covered lake; suddenly exposed to the swirling snow coming down.  There was a very limited view, but we had our choice of which direction to ski; eventually we decided to go north to the boat launch area.
 

Overcast snowy day that gave us an eerie shroud of stillness on the pond 

Leesa and Rev heading north to the boatlaunch 

Staying close to the western edge of the pond, we skied north past several designated campsites. There was also piece of a foundation; providing a reminder of time gone by.

Rev atop an old foundation

Reaching the boat launch, we found a relatively large parking lot and noticed that snowmobiles had been running in on the access road, although they had not gone out on the lake (perhaps because of the wilderness boundary)?

Heading south to return to the car, we swung past the peninsula at the north end and noticed a nice campsite there.  Nine designated sites have been established on the pond, which is understandable since the pond can be reached by car.

Off the pond and back on the trail we had a nice kick and glide back to the car.  This trail though short provides a nice novice ski tour or relaxing 2 hour ski to a pond with a view.  We'll have to return in the summertime to see what the area feels like when the snow is gone.

Ski Stats:

Ski Distance: 6.0 miles

Ski Time:  2 hours, 45 minutes

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 500'   

  

Our Route (Click image to enlarge) 

XC to Moose Pond - High Peaks Wilderness, Newcomb - 2/7/15

The trail to the Great Camp Santanoni is a fantastic trail for a great cross-country ski trip.  It's 5.0 miles one way to the Great Camp.  A ten mile loop is enough for most people, but the destination is well worth it.

Another option, albeit much longer, is the 14 mile roundtrip cross-country ski trip to Moose Pond. Both trips share the same trailhead; the parking lot for the Great Camp.  Both trips also share the first 2.2 miles, before the Moose Pond trail bears left.  This was the option Leesa and I chose for today.

The kiosk and trail register for the Great Camp Santanoni trail

We were greatly surprised when we arrived at 10 AM that there were 3 cars in the parking lot, netting 3 lone skiers headed for the Great Camp.  This trail usually receives quite a bit of traffic.  There was 4 inches of fresh snow on top of the previous trail, which made for a nice quiet, yet quick ski to the junction.   Before the junction we passed 2 women heading in, and one man heading out.  These were the 3 skiers we saw in the morning.

The sign at the start

"The Farm at the 1 mile mark".   I like the stone Creamery building

As I expected when we reached the junction, the Moose Pond trail had to been broken out.  This gave me the chance to break trail in a foot of powder and not get too far ahead of Leesa.  Our dog Rev actually broke trail and she did a good job of it.  The snow was deep enough that her belly was dragging in the snow.  She didn't seem to mind.   

The Moose Pond Trail is actually a jeep road the entire length.  It has been well cared for in terms of clearing blowdown.  We had no issues as far as detouring around any fallen trees.

Rev, coming back to check on us. 

Somebody wrote 4.7 on the sign, which is actually more accurate than the adjacent sign that says 4.5 miles. 

The route to Moose Pond is an easy grade the entire length, making it a great trail for a novice skier. The only issue is that the trail is often not been broken out, as was the case today.  

At the 6 mile mark, we reached the far end of the trail that goes back to Newcomb Lake.  This trail had not been broken out either.  We continued on towards Moose Pond.

The Moose Pond/Newcomb Lake trail junction at the 6 mile mark

After another mile, we reached the final trail junction of our day.  This was the junction where a left turn goes to Moose Pond campsites 1 & 2, while the right fork goes around the east side of Moose Pond.

Leesa turned around at this point to get a head start on me for the trip back.  I continued on the 0.3 miles to the campsites at the waters edge.  There is a footpath branching right that leads past an outhouse to the campsites and the pond.  

Almost as bad as a "thunderbox".  The door has broken off.

Moose Pond.  Visibility was poor since the snowfall rate was picking up.  

Location of one of the campsites

There wasn't much to see at the pond in winter with snow falling.  I didn't ski out onto the lake since visibility was poor.  I turned around at the campsites and headed back to catch up to Leesa.

This is a typical shot of how easy and open the route is.  

At around the 5 mile mark on the way in, we had noticed lots of moose scrapings in a big open clearing area.  I stopped on the way back to take a few pictures of them.

Trees scraped by moose!

The skiing on the way back was much easier since we got to enjoy the fruits of our labor and ski out on the track we had just created.  It had taken 3 hours, 40 minutes on the way in, but we managed to cut an hour off that time on the way out

. 

Leesa on the way out

I pieced together 3 maps to show the entire route.

Ski Stats:

Ski Distance:  14.3 miles

Ski Time:  6.5 hours

Total Vertical Gain:  ~ 1200'

The route (click images to enlarge)

The route on the National Geographic Map