12th Annual Adirondack BBQ and Gathering, Same Party, New Place!!!

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peak_bgr

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Wilmington Peak
12th Annual Adirondack BBQ and Gathering​
WHEN IS IT?:
August 8-10, 2014
WHERE IS IT?:
At Corenne and my new place in Cranberry Lake. Look for a brown log cabin with a brown tin roof and green shutters, sign will be out front.
Physical Address: 504 Tooley Pond Road Cranberry Lake, New York
Coming through Tupper Lake?
• Follow Route 3, west, out of Tupper Lake. Drive through Piercefield and Childwold and into Cranberry Lake (roughly 30-minutes). Pass through Cranberry Lake and just before the bridge over the Oswegatchie River take a right onto Tooley Pond Road. Continue for just over 2-miles to 504, our house is on the right.
Coming from Potsdam/Canton Region?
• Follow Route 56 out of Potsdam to Route 3 (roughly 45 minutes). Turn right onto Route 3 and pass through Cranberry Lake and just before the bridge over the Oswegatchie River take a right onto Tooley Pond Road. Continue for just over 2-miles to 504, our house is on the right.
Coming from Watertown/Syracuse Region?
• Follow Route 3 out of Watertown until you pass by the Cranberry Lake sign (roughly 1.5 hours). Cross the bridge over the Oswegatchie River and take an immediate left onto Tooley Pond Road. Continue for just over 2-miles to 504, our house is on the right.

Recreation in the Area:
• We are roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour from Coreys
• Under 2 hours to Upper Works
• 1.5 hours to ADK Loj
• 1/4 mile from Paddling on the Oswegatchie River
• 2 miles from the boat launch on Cranberry Lake
• 10 minutes from Tooley Pond and Tooley Pond Mountain
• On the same road as the famous waterfall tour
• 2 miles from the Cranberry 50
• 10 minutes from the Inlet Boat Launch site for the Oswegatchie River that accesses High Falls
• 5 minutes from Cathedral Rock
• 20 minutes from Mount Arab
• 45 minutes from Long Lake
• Much more paddling just minutes away
Camping, lodging, and food:
We have plenty of room for camping on the property. Not a ton of lawn but many acres of wooded land where tents can easily be set up. We have room for some small campers as well. Parking is along Tooley Pond Road, but ample room.
We have our typical large fire pit ring for visiting, trip planning and libations.
There are some options for lodging in town as well; Stone Manor in Cranberry Lake, Cranberry Lake Lodge, and The Packbasket in Wanakena (B&B Lodge).
There are some options for dining as well; Pine Cone Grill in Wanakena, Cranberry Lake Lodge and Stone Manor.
What’s going on?
It’s the usual gathering but in a different place. While the gathering in typically Friday through Sunday, people are welcome to come on Thursday if they wish to get a head start on the weekend.
Friday
Most everyone arrives throughout the day and sets up camp. For food we sometimes order in or go out for dinner, I make arrangements at the Pine Cone Grill or Cranberry Lake Lodge. Many fend for themselves. Planning for Saturdays outing is usually a hot topic. I will lead a paddling trip on Tooley Pond and down the Tooley Pond Outlet for all those interested and maybe a short hike up Tooley Pond Mountain afterwards.
Saturday
All the big trips go out and usually leave pretty early. I am unsure at this point on what I will plan, most likely a hike. That night is the beer swap, so bring a sixer or grower of local brew from your area and put it in the kiddie pool, then help yourself to whatever you want to try. Bring a local wine if you prefer. That night is also a pot luck dinner, so bring a little something to share. Corenne and I will be doing up clams again and maybe some local sausage with peppers and onions. We have a grill for people to use and a little bit of fridge space. Bring a cooler if you have one.
Sunday
Another gathering is coming to a close. Corenne and I will be leading a paddle down the Oswegatchie River that day to Newton Falls. The boat launch is just up the road. Many other small outings are usually planned, but after Saturday night, many head straight home. We try to go out for breakfast on Sunday morning; I can make arraignments at the Stone Manor.
If you have any more questions please give me a shout via email, it’s the best way to reach me or by phone.
[email protected]
315.848.4140
 
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Who all is planning to attend?

My copy of The Other 54 doesn't indicate any of those peaks this far W, and coming from the E I hate to dogleg back. I think I've climbed all the standing fire lookouts in the area and thought I might look for some of the former sites but most seem to be on private property and I hear that's a touchy subject in the Adk - anybody have info on the following?
Bald Mtn
Tooley Mtn
Catamount Mtn
Moosehead Mtn
Mt Morris
Buck Mtn
Whites Hill
Salmon Lake Mtn

On a similar subject, the approach to the Herkimer county highpoint described here seems to cross private land and be unduly long:
http://cohp.org/ny/Herkimer_2.html

Anybody know anything about a road shown in the DeLorme Atlas from Limekiln Lake to Indian Lake which seems to have a branch close to this peak?
 
There is a Bald Mtn near Croghan that used to have a fire tower. I was up it last summer. What would you like to know?
 
Roy
Catamount is 15 minutes away and open to public. 2.5 mile rt.
Tooley is 5 minutes up the road, 2 miles rt
Morris is 30 minutes away and there is a road to walk to the tower.

Just so you know, none of the copies of the other 54 show them this far west. :)

Who all is planning to attend?

My copy of The Other 54 doesn't indicate any of those peaks this far W, and coming from the E I hate to dogleg back. I think I've climbed all the standing fire lookouts in the area and thought I might look for some of the former sites but most seem to be on private property and I hear that's a touchy subject in the Adk - anybody have info on the following?
Bald Mtn
Tooley Mtn
Catamount Mtn
Moosehead Mtn
Mt Morris
Buck Mtn
Whites Hill
Salmon Lake Mtn

On a similar subject, the approach to the Herkimer county highpoint described here seems to cross private land and be unduly long:
http://cohp.org/ny/Herkimer_2.html

Anybody know anything about a road shown in the DeLorme Atlas from Limekiln Lake to Indian Lake which seems to have a branch close to this peak?
 
There is a Bald Mtn near Croghan that used to have a fire tower. I was up it last summer. What would you like to know?
The sort of stuff that might appear in a guidebook if there was one - driving and hiking directions, potential landowner issues
 
Roy,

You might want to pick up a set of the 5 Nat'l Geo maps that cover the ADKs. They aren't great for land navigation, but they'll show the roads, towns, water features, peaks, contours, and to address one of your concerns, depict public and private land.
 
Date change

Corenne and I decided to change the date, there were way too many conflicts. The date is now August 8-10. People are welcome to come by and start setting up on the 7th if they want a jump start to the weekend.
 
The sort of stuff that might appear in a guidebook if there was one - driving and hiking directions, potential landowner issues
It's in the Croghan tract easement and AFAIK there are no PP issues. There are all sorts of gravel roads in that area and one goes right by Bald Mtn. It is north of Long Pond (Oswegathchie Camp is on the N end of Long Pond). This map shows the tract but doesn't show the good road that leads North from just west of Long Pond. http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/91874.html
There was an unsigned pullout to park and an obvious but unmarked trail that disappeared completely after 400 yards or so. However, we did pick up old blazes that led part-way up the mountain. Most of the essentially bushwhack approach was criss-crossed with confusing and old logging roads that were overgrown with wicked black-berry brambles. The tower is long gone and there wasn't much in the way of views.

We spent 2 weeks in that area and navigated the road systems using a GPS connected to a laptop computer and followed the Quad maps of Topo! in real time. Some roads were paved and well-marked and others, which were marked on the map with dashed lines like an old wagon track were excellent gravel roads and others had been left for nature to reclaim.

Here's what it looks like on Acme Mapper. The road to the peak's west is called Bald Mtn. Road if you switch the view to "map".
http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=44.02127...5.19112,17.8 km NW of Stillwater Reservoir NY

Edit: the Bald Mtn I refer to here is not to be confused with this one: http://www.adirondackscenicbyways.org/resource/nys-dec-bald-mountainfire-tower-trailhead.html
 
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You might want to pick up a set of the 5 Nat'l Geo maps that cover the ADKs. They aren't great for land navigation, but they'll show the roads, towns, water features, peaks, contours, and to address one of your concerns, depict public and private land.

I actually have an APA map that shows public lands (and shows the listed sites as being private), the issue being that some land in the Adk is more "private" than others which is not shown on a map

Similarly the DeLorme Atlas shows roads but not their condition nor in most cases whether they are gated, hence why I'd like actual on-the-ground info

I know the NG maps have a poor reputation in the Whites, are they better in the Adk?

It's in the Croghan tract easement and AFAIK there are no PP issues.

Thank you

Catamount is 15 minutes away and open to public. 2.5 mile rt.
Tooley is 5 minutes up the road, 2 miles rt
Morris is 30 minutes away and there is a road to walk to the tower.

I'm starting to find enough stuff to keep me busy, now just to make the (new) dates work for me
 
Sounds good Roy, hope to see you then. There's plenty here to keep you busy.

Catamount has a nice view, it's private, but open to the public with an official parking area.

Morris, has never been an issue to climb. Its private but climbed all the time by locals. The grounds keepers are great people and usually will point you in the right direction. You just need to be careful where you park as to not to get in anyone way, killer views from the rock ledges, fire tower is closed and used as a radio tower.

I am working on getting permission to climb Moosehead Mountain, about 15 minutes away, no tower. It's on easement but there is no public recreation rights, only for hunting.

White Hill is close by, but on private, no tower. I am also working on getting permission for that one as well.

Buck Mountain is located between Long Lake and Tupper Lake, 40 minutes away, still has a tower, road leads to the top. Have not tried to get permission on that one yet. Owned by a hunting club I believe.
 
Corenne and Spencer hosted an excellent event.
I thought that with no activity in this note for 2 months maybe it was cancelled

Glad that things went well, sorry not to make it myself but my mother was in the hospital
 
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