Flipsbliss
New member
We continued our goal of hiking the fire towers and kayaking nearby waterways. We had a wonderful time at Paul Smith's College while we were at the ADK St.Regis Canoe/Kayak Outing for 6 days of paddling the beautiful St. Regis Lakes area and hiking some fire towers.
The first day we paddled Lower St. Regis to Spitfire to Upper St. Regis Lake, carried our kayaks a short distance to Bog Pond and then carried to Bear Pond where we had lunch, took a dip in the cool pond and explored around including a short hike over to Little Long Pond. This area is pristine and filled with wildlife. We encountered a couple of Loon's on Bear Pond with two baby chicks. Mother Loon's call let us know who's home we were in. The sound of the Loon is a distinctive call of the Adirondacks that we enjoyed throughout our stay, day and night. We could also see the St. Regis Mountain Fire Tower from different vantage points throughout the day on the water, one of our hiking goals during our stay.
Monday, we launched at Floodwood Pond for a 9 mile journey and paddled to Little Square Pond, navigated down Fish Creek observing the leaders wish to remain silent and just enjoy the sound and beauty of the waterway. What better way and place to reflect on the beauty of the Adirondacks, it was like meditating in a sacred sanctuary. We did a side trip to Cooperus Pond then continued down Fish Creek to Fish Creek Ponds (stopped for lunch and a swim). On to Follensby Clear Pond and soon another swim at a sandy beach and then north to the carry over to Pollywog Pond for a short quarter mile paddle to the take out. Another beautiful day, clear sky's, Loon's and a wonderful paddle.
On Tuesday, we awoke to rain that delayed our start to hike the St Regis Mt. fire tower but the day cleared and we were off to the mountain. A 6.8 mile RT hike that was steep in the last mile, a challenge according to fire tower ratings. The view was not yet totally cleared, however we enjoyed a limited view of the vicinity and was able to see the St. Regis Lakes and Ponds we had kayaked the day before including a view of Paul Smiths College where we were staying. The view was great and spectacular on clear days where you can get a good view of the Seward Range, one not always easy to find on other hikes in the Adirondacks.
Back to the water the next day where we paddled some spectacular areas. On Wednesday we went to Pine Pond via Second Pond, Saranac River and through the State Lock into Oseetah Lake and on to the carry to Pine Pond, an 8 mile RT paddle. The lock attendant was a jovial man who retired from banking and now loves spending his summers working the lock and chatting with the boaters who pass through. On this day trip we saw two muskrats and a loon. We walked over to Pine Pond to swim and have lunch at another sandy beach and had a couple more visitors, a snake and a hummingbird.
Last day, drove up to Azure Mt. to hike the two mile round trip. A long 18 miles from Paul Smiths on partly dirt roads through some flatland area that had a lot of private land with locked gates at the entrances that were located on Bay Pond. Must be nice in there. We were told by a gatekeeper that one was a "Rockerfeller estate" when we stopped for directions. We enjoyed the short but steep climb just one mile to the summit and met about 8 people at the top. The fire tower is in great shape with a circular table map in the cab that makes it easy to locate landmarks, lakes and other mountains. Lots of wildflowers in bloom at the summit and many open rock view points.
Final leg of the trip was a drive down to the Town of Tupper Lake and then into Lake Lila to paddle this remote and beautiful area of the new Whitney Wilderness Area. The long 11 mile dirt road drive reminded me of the road into Katahdin, Maine but no moose citings and not as bumpy. A bit of a wind on the Lake but manageable for our boats and nice to have at our backs on the return. Saw a few campers but basically had the lake to ourselves and also spotted a Bald Eagle in a tree and got a good look at him close up and even closer with binoculars. He took flight after observing us for a while and moved to another tree a little further away from us. What a treat to see them fly with their huge wing span and gracefulness. We then returned to the put in and swam a bit and then carried the .3 mile out to the car for the start of the trip home.
Oh, if your wondering about the Adirondack Woman part. If you think that when Grace Hudowalski passed it was the end of the great Adirondack Woman, guess again. At the ADK St Regis Canoe outing there where quite a few elderly people, super seniors, that amazed me with their energy, ability and spirit. Men and Women in their 60's, 70's and 80's canoeing and carrying their boats from Pond to Pond. But one captured my heart, a woman in her 80's who paddled her own canoe on an 8 mile trip, helped carry it when needed. Required little help to get in and out and never complained. She was at the end of our group but kept up all day. I was the sweep and had a wonderful chat with her about the many places her deceased husband had taken her. They paddled all over the U.S., National Parks, Florida, hiked in the Adirondacks, etc. with three kids in tow. She has the Adirondack spirit and is not giving up and continues to canoe the Adirondacks as long as she can. God bless her, I only wish I can do the same at her age.
Add on; Kayaked Round Lake Saturday 7/29 with my son. We went down the Anthony Kill to the Heron Rookery where we saw about 12 nest, some with juvenile birds still in the nest but some flying around and followed an adult Great Blue down the creek who was fishing for the family.
Next trip we're off to Acadia National Park in Maine for a week to hike Cadillac Mountain, bird and kayak the many waterways and Islands. Happy trails to all!
The first day we paddled Lower St. Regis to Spitfire to Upper St. Regis Lake, carried our kayaks a short distance to Bog Pond and then carried to Bear Pond where we had lunch, took a dip in the cool pond and explored around including a short hike over to Little Long Pond. This area is pristine and filled with wildlife. We encountered a couple of Loon's on Bear Pond with two baby chicks. Mother Loon's call let us know who's home we were in. The sound of the Loon is a distinctive call of the Adirondacks that we enjoyed throughout our stay, day and night. We could also see the St. Regis Mountain Fire Tower from different vantage points throughout the day on the water, one of our hiking goals during our stay.
Monday, we launched at Floodwood Pond for a 9 mile journey and paddled to Little Square Pond, navigated down Fish Creek observing the leaders wish to remain silent and just enjoy the sound and beauty of the waterway. What better way and place to reflect on the beauty of the Adirondacks, it was like meditating in a sacred sanctuary. We did a side trip to Cooperus Pond then continued down Fish Creek to Fish Creek Ponds (stopped for lunch and a swim). On to Follensby Clear Pond and soon another swim at a sandy beach and then north to the carry over to Pollywog Pond for a short quarter mile paddle to the take out. Another beautiful day, clear sky's, Loon's and a wonderful paddle.
On Tuesday, we awoke to rain that delayed our start to hike the St Regis Mt. fire tower but the day cleared and we were off to the mountain. A 6.8 mile RT hike that was steep in the last mile, a challenge according to fire tower ratings. The view was not yet totally cleared, however we enjoyed a limited view of the vicinity and was able to see the St. Regis Lakes and Ponds we had kayaked the day before including a view of Paul Smiths College where we were staying. The view was great and spectacular on clear days where you can get a good view of the Seward Range, one not always easy to find on other hikes in the Adirondacks.
Back to the water the next day where we paddled some spectacular areas. On Wednesday we went to Pine Pond via Second Pond, Saranac River and through the State Lock into Oseetah Lake and on to the carry to Pine Pond, an 8 mile RT paddle. The lock attendant was a jovial man who retired from banking and now loves spending his summers working the lock and chatting with the boaters who pass through. On this day trip we saw two muskrats and a loon. We walked over to Pine Pond to swim and have lunch at another sandy beach and had a couple more visitors, a snake and a hummingbird.
Last day, drove up to Azure Mt. to hike the two mile round trip. A long 18 miles from Paul Smiths on partly dirt roads through some flatland area that had a lot of private land with locked gates at the entrances that were located on Bay Pond. Must be nice in there. We were told by a gatekeeper that one was a "Rockerfeller estate" when we stopped for directions. We enjoyed the short but steep climb just one mile to the summit and met about 8 people at the top. The fire tower is in great shape with a circular table map in the cab that makes it easy to locate landmarks, lakes and other mountains. Lots of wildflowers in bloom at the summit and many open rock view points.
Final leg of the trip was a drive down to the Town of Tupper Lake and then into Lake Lila to paddle this remote and beautiful area of the new Whitney Wilderness Area. The long 11 mile dirt road drive reminded me of the road into Katahdin, Maine but no moose citings and not as bumpy. A bit of a wind on the Lake but manageable for our boats and nice to have at our backs on the return. Saw a few campers but basically had the lake to ourselves and also spotted a Bald Eagle in a tree and got a good look at him close up and even closer with binoculars. He took flight after observing us for a while and moved to another tree a little further away from us. What a treat to see them fly with their huge wing span and gracefulness. We then returned to the put in and swam a bit and then carried the .3 mile out to the car for the start of the trip home.
Oh, if your wondering about the Adirondack Woman part. If you think that when Grace Hudowalski passed it was the end of the great Adirondack Woman, guess again. At the ADK St Regis Canoe outing there where quite a few elderly people, super seniors, that amazed me with their energy, ability and spirit. Men and Women in their 60's, 70's and 80's canoeing and carrying their boats from Pond to Pond. But one captured my heart, a woman in her 80's who paddled her own canoe on an 8 mile trip, helped carry it when needed. Required little help to get in and out and never complained. She was at the end of our group but kept up all day. I was the sweep and had a wonderful chat with her about the many places her deceased husband had taken her. They paddled all over the U.S., National Parks, Florida, hiked in the Adirondacks, etc. with three kids in tow. She has the Adirondack spirit and is not giving up and continues to canoe the Adirondacks as long as she can. God bless her, I only wish I can do the same at her age.
Add on; Kayaked Round Lake Saturday 7/29 with my son. We went down the Anthony Kill to the Heron Rookery where we saw about 12 nest, some with juvenile birds still in the nest but some flying around and followed an adult Great Blue down the creek who was fishing for the family.
Next trip we're off to Acadia National Park in Maine for a week to hike Cadillac Mountain, bird and kayak the many waterways and Islands. Happy trails to all!
