Five Ponds Question

[Wild]

My partner and I are planning a canoe/bushwhack trip into the Five Ponds the weekend of the 26th. We plan to put in at Inlet, paddle to High Falls, portage, and explore the river from there. Is the Robinson River canoeable for any distance from its confluence with the Osewgatchie? Judging from the topos, the land gets pretty narrow just above the Oswegatchie, and may not be passable. Our canoe is about 80 lbs, so a long portage is probably not in the cards.

 

[Glen L]

Robinson R

I've scouted on foot along Robinson, leaving my canoe @ it's mouth & found it wasn't navigable until where 1740 contour line crosses, about 1 m from Oswegatchie. Currently water's about as low as I've ever seen it on Oswegatchie. You'll likely find some short scratchy sections. Enjoy !

 

[Nessmuk]

My partner and I are planning a canoe/bushwhack trip into the Five Ponds the weekend of the 26th. We plan to put in at Inlet, paddle to High Falls, portage, and explore the river from there. Is the Robinson River canoeable for any distance from its confluence with the Osewgatchie? Judging from the topos, the land gets pretty narrow just above the Oswegatchie, and may not be passable. Our canoe is about 80 lbs, so a long portage is probably not in the cards.

It's quite easy to miss where the Robinson joins the Oswegatchie - it may not be real obvious unless you know exactly where you are. If you decide to go into that section on foot, be prepared for the continuing aftermath of the 1995 blowdown. In some areas, especially toward the SW of there, destruction of standing trees was 100%. The problem now is you almost never touch solid ground due to the density of down timber, add to that tall thick ferns covering the downed tree trunks making your footing invisible and slippery wet. Even worse, all the young saplings competing for new sunlight are growing only inches apart with their leafiest parts at eye level. It is truly slow going.

 

[Wild]

Thank You

Thanks for the info, Glen and Nessmuk. Our goal is to reach the area around Gal, Cracker and West Ponds, and spend some time there fishing, exploring, and maybe getting on top of one of the peaks or ridgelines to the south. If we miss the confluence, we'll still head uphill and end up somewhere interesting. That's the best part about bushwhacking: not really knowing where you're going to end up until you get there.

So far as the blowdown goes, been there, done that, stupid enough to do it again. If it looks anything like the area around the Oswegatchie end of the Big Deer Pond Canoe Carry, it's going to be wicked. Hopefully, wherever we end up will be worth the trip. Thanks for the heads up.

Thanks again!

 

[Nessmuk]

So far as the blowdown goes, been there, done that, stupid enough to do it again. If it looks anything like the area around the Oswegatchie end of the Big Deer Pond Canoe Carry, it's going to be wicked. Hopefully, wherever we end up will be worth the trip.

I go to the BDP area west and north of the trail a couple of times a year, once for myself and again when I teach a training session for people on how to navigate off trail in that stuff. Believe me, the area you are talking about south of the Robinson especially from Cracker to Oven and as far as Clear is much worse than the area surrounding the Oswegatchie carry trail. I'm not kiding when I say 100% of previously mature trees are down, where you will rarely step on solid ground, much less see it. I've been in there a few times from the southern approach - go light, very light. If you understand what you are getting into, then go for it. Just be cautious.

 

[Wild]

If I was impressed with the area around the BDP carry, then this is going to be a real adventure. We travel very light, and we will take our time. If things get too ugly, we'll adjust our plans accordingly. Gal, West and Cracker Ponds are not so much an objective as they are an excuse to head off-trail and see some areas that few other people ever visit.

My partner and I did bushwhack through the Clear Pond area two summers ago. We struck out south from what used to be Cowhorn Junction, crossed a series of ridges with heavy blowdown on top, and followed the outlet of Clear Pond to the BDP carry. We had thought about following the Oswegatchie north to High Falls, but it was far too swampy and brushy to follow on foot, so we backtracked to Big Deer Pond, at which point we headed north, hoping to reach Slender and Darning Needle Ponds, but the blowdown pushed us farther west than we had thought, and we found ourselves back at Clear Pond. Truly one of the best trips I've taken, despite the scrapes and the leeches.

Perhaps you'll tell stories of the two guys who bushwhacked up to Gal Pond and never returned. Legend has it that they are still up there, looking look unabombers and living on slugs and cattail roots. But hopefully not.

 

[Nessmuk]

My partner and I did bushwhack through the Clear Pond area two summers ago. We struck out south from what used to be Cowhorn Junction, crossed a series of ridges with heavy blowdown on top, and followed the outlet of Clear Pond to the BDP carry. We had thought about following the Oswegatchie north to High Falls, but it was far too swampy and brushy to follow on foot, so we backtracked to Big Deer Pond, at which point we headed north, hoping to reach Slender and Darning Needle Ponds, but the blowdown pushed us farther west than we had thought, and we found ourselves back at Clear Pond. Truly one of the best trips I've taken, despite the scrapes and the leeches.

Just to be clear.... the "Clear" I was referring to in my previous post is "Clear Lake", the one north of Stillwater on the Red Horse Trail. That's the way I went through and north to Oven, Gull, and Cracker. Another time I came straight across west from the Oswegatchie headwaters. I see you are speaking of Clear Pond, which I recently also circumnavigated. Did you see the amazingly big and lush blowdown-free kettle holes in your wandering about?

As of about 5 years ago, there is a trail from Grass Pond, heading north to Darning Needle. No bushwhack required anymore to get there.

By the way, I feel the best part about bushwhacking is knowing where you are at all times and where you will end up.
Nothing beats getting that satisfying grin on your face when you come out exactly where you predicted. Do it by paying close attention to numerous terrain clues available at every step, make sense out of everything you see, and keep a detailed mental picture with aid of your mind interpreting what you see with map and compass. Even in the roughest blowdown. It's all in there.

 

[Wild]

We passed through a couple of the kettles that you mention. If we're thinking of the same things, the bottoms were covered in ferns, and criss-crossed with deer trails and deer beds. They were lovely. Just north of Clear Pond, we came across a kettle that must be a seasonal pond. The middle was mud, and was crossed by an impressive line of bear tracks. It's an amazing area.

I suppose we'll reach a point where we know exactly where we are at all times. We still meander a bit more than we'd like, and get pushed off course by things like blowdown, but we're improving. We did manage to hit the trail at exactly the point we had left it - just behind the old Cowhorn Junction sign - and that was pretty cool. If you find yourself in that area, look around for the bear dump in the bottomland just soutwest of the old junction. Somebody took the trouble to pack in a can of foot spray, and judging from the teeth-marks, the bear sampled it after he swiped it.

Thanks again for the info. Hapy hiking and paddling.

Matt

 

[Nessmuk]

We passed through a couple of the kettles that you mention. If we're thinking of the same things, the bottoms were covered in ferns, and criss-crossed with deer trails and deer beds. They were lovely.... It's an amazing area.

All I could think of was "Jurrasic Park", expecting to see a herd of dinosaurs come galloping over the crater rim through the ferns. So that's what I named that place.

I suppose we'll reach a point where we know exactly where we are at all times. We still meander a bit more than we'd like, and get pushed off course by things like blowdown, but we're improving.

Practice and strict attention to details is all it takes. Such navigating is a dynamic process, you don't always end up where you first intended, but you do know how you are altering course around the nasty stuff and where your new course is taking you. Such fun.