DSettahr
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Did a 3 day loop from the Short Swing Trail parking area through the Pharaoh Lakes Wilderness Area earlier this week.
Started about 5 pm on Monday at the trail head. The first portion of the trail in is on an old road, and is really nice walking up to Tubmill Marsh. The lean-to on Tubmill Marsh is situated up away from the water in the woods, you have to walk downhill another minute or before you get to the shore. It also looks like the majority of the people hiking this trail don't get any farther than the Tubmill Marsh Lean-to, whether they are day hiking or overnighting. Because of this, and the fact that it is no longer following an old road, the trail gets a bit more overgrown beyond this point.
I had thought about staying at either Tubmill Marsh or Lillypad Pond, but decided to press on to the lean-to that the National Geographic Map shows on Crab Pond. The trail between Lillypad Pond and Horseshoe Pond passes through some geologically interesting areas, following a low ridge with thin soils at one point. There was lots of lichen and moss scattered about. Stopped to check out the peninsula on Horseshoe Pond, this looks like it'd be a nice spot to stop for lunch and/or go for a swim.
When I got to Crab Pond, there was no lean-to there. I spent about 45 minutes looking for it, the NG map shows it as being on the North East shore of the pond. I found a couple of spots where there may have been a lean-to once, but there is definitely not a lean-to there now. I finally pulled out the ADK Map, which does not show a lean-to, nor does the guidebook make any mention of a lean-to. The one shown on the NG Map must be a misprint.
It was all for the better though, as I continued on to the Oxshoe Pond Lean-to, which is in excellent shape. It's high up on a slope above Oxshoe Pond, perfectly oriented to allow breezes from off the pond to keep the bugs away. Spent the night there, and in the morning took the row boat that is on the shore nearby out for a little bit on the lake.
On Tuesday, I made my way down the Long Swing Trail to Pharoah Lake. There are a couple of sections along this trail that have been flooded by beavers, but reroutes to the west have been marked. Some prickers along the reroutes but nothing major.
Made it to Pharaoh Lake, and followed the trail along the East shore to check out lean-tos #3 and #4. Both of these are pretty nice lean-tos, #3 is right on the water and has an excellent view of Pharaoh Mountain.
The Swing Trail to Grizzle Ocean was horrendously buggy, it looks like there is a lot of marshy land and shallow pools of water in this area. I pretty much had to keep moving or else I was swarmed. Made it to Grizzle Ocean and started a nice, smoky smudge fire so that I could eat my lunch in peace. After lunch, proceeded north along the trail to the Treadway Mountain Trail. Here, I dropped my back, grabbed a few essentials, and made my way up Treadway Mountain. For a mountain that is less than 3000 feet, the view from Treadway certainly has a lot of bang for the buck. Amazing views, even better than those I remember from nearby Pharaoh Mountain (which is taller) of the Green Mountains, Central Adirondacks, and the High Peaks. I'm pretty sure I could see portions of New Hampshire as well. Allen, Skylight, Gray, Marcy, Haystack, Basin, Saddleback, Gothics, and the Dixes were all perfectly silhouetted against the sky from the summit. The last mile to the summit is really interesting as well, it's basically a ridge walk across open rock with lots of pines and lichens scattered about.
After Treadway, I continued north past Clear Pond to Rock Pond. I had originally planned on continuing all the way to Lillypad Pond for the second evening, but I had already traveled 15 miles, and Rock Pond was too nice for me to continue. Briefly checked out the Little Rock Pond Lean-to, which is located back up away from the water on a high ridge, then headed over to the Rock Pond Lean-to for the night. The Rock Pond Lean-to is pretty close to the water, but faces away from it towards a swath of blow down. It's a pretty nice lean-to though, and is in good shape.
Wednesday Morning, I made my way north around Rock Pond to check out the old Graphite Mine. You can't miss it, there is a gigantic old boiler resting on a foundation just east of the mine, and the trail goes right past the opening to the mine itself. Has anyone ever been back into the mine to explore it?
Saw the only designated campsite of the trip on Rock Pond, on the west shore near the outlet. The waterfall on Rock Pond Brook along the trail to Lillypad Pond is also worth checking out, you can't see it from the trail but you can hear it and there is a herd path that heads from the main trail just west of the waterfall to its base.
Lillypad Pond Lean-to is also a nice lean-to on the North shore of Lillypad Pond, as this one is closer to the trailhead than others it seems to get a little bit more use. Made my way quickly along the old road from Tubmill Marsh back to the trailhead.
The trails are in excellent condition, I saw absolutely no blowdown. Judging from the sawdust I saw scattered around in spots, it looks like a trail crew went through the whole area pretty recently. Some spots were a bit overgrown, but this is a pretty minor complaint. The trails were well marked and clear of debris.
It was also extremely buggy. It looks like the topography of the Pharaoh Lakes region allows for a lot of shallow pools of standing water in the woods, and all the rain this spring has certainly contributed to making sure those pools are full. I normally don't use bug spray, but I broke down on this trip. If you go into the Pharaoh Lakes any time soon, be sure to bring bug spray, a head net, and a bug net to sleep in in lean-tos.
This was only my second trip into the Pharaoh Lakes area, so it was nice to get to see more of it. I have now also stayed in 62 of the publicly available lean-tos in the Adirondacks and the Catskills, and am 23.94% of the way towards my goal of spending a night in each and every one of them.
Started about 5 pm on Monday at the trail head. The first portion of the trail in is on an old road, and is really nice walking up to Tubmill Marsh. The lean-to on Tubmill Marsh is situated up away from the water in the woods, you have to walk downhill another minute or before you get to the shore. It also looks like the majority of the people hiking this trail don't get any farther than the Tubmill Marsh Lean-to, whether they are day hiking or overnighting. Because of this, and the fact that it is no longer following an old road, the trail gets a bit more overgrown beyond this point.
I had thought about staying at either Tubmill Marsh or Lillypad Pond, but decided to press on to the lean-to that the National Geographic Map shows on Crab Pond. The trail between Lillypad Pond and Horseshoe Pond passes through some geologically interesting areas, following a low ridge with thin soils at one point. There was lots of lichen and moss scattered about. Stopped to check out the peninsula on Horseshoe Pond, this looks like it'd be a nice spot to stop for lunch and/or go for a swim.
When I got to Crab Pond, there was no lean-to there. I spent about 45 minutes looking for it, the NG map shows it as being on the North East shore of the pond. I found a couple of spots where there may have been a lean-to once, but there is definitely not a lean-to there now. I finally pulled out the ADK Map, which does not show a lean-to, nor does the guidebook make any mention of a lean-to. The one shown on the NG Map must be a misprint.
It was all for the better though, as I continued on to the Oxshoe Pond Lean-to, which is in excellent shape. It's high up on a slope above Oxshoe Pond, perfectly oriented to allow breezes from off the pond to keep the bugs away. Spent the night there, and in the morning took the row boat that is on the shore nearby out for a little bit on the lake.
On Tuesday, I made my way down the Long Swing Trail to Pharoah Lake. There are a couple of sections along this trail that have been flooded by beavers, but reroutes to the west have been marked. Some prickers along the reroutes but nothing major.
Made it to Pharaoh Lake, and followed the trail along the East shore to check out lean-tos #3 and #4. Both of these are pretty nice lean-tos, #3 is right on the water and has an excellent view of Pharaoh Mountain.
The Swing Trail to Grizzle Ocean was horrendously buggy, it looks like there is a lot of marshy land and shallow pools of water in this area. I pretty much had to keep moving or else I was swarmed. Made it to Grizzle Ocean and started a nice, smoky smudge fire so that I could eat my lunch in peace. After lunch, proceeded north along the trail to the Treadway Mountain Trail. Here, I dropped my back, grabbed a few essentials, and made my way up Treadway Mountain. For a mountain that is less than 3000 feet, the view from Treadway certainly has a lot of bang for the buck. Amazing views, even better than those I remember from nearby Pharaoh Mountain (which is taller) of the Green Mountains, Central Adirondacks, and the High Peaks. I'm pretty sure I could see portions of New Hampshire as well. Allen, Skylight, Gray, Marcy, Haystack, Basin, Saddleback, Gothics, and the Dixes were all perfectly silhouetted against the sky from the summit. The last mile to the summit is really interesting as well, it's basically a ridge walk across open rock with lots of pines and lichens scattered about.
After Treadway, I continued north past Clear Pond to Rock Pond. I had originally planned on continuing all the way to Lillypad Pond for the second evening, but I had already traveled 15 miles, and Rock Pond was too nice for me to continue. Briefly checked out the Little Rock Pond Lean-to, which is located back up away from the water on a high ridge, then headed over to the Rock Pond Lean-to for the night. The Rock Pond Lean-to is pretty close to the water, but faces away from it towards a swath of blow down. It's a pretty nice lean-to though, and is in good shape.
Wednesday Morning, I made my way north around Rock Pond to check out the old Graphite Mine. You can't miss it, there is a gigantic old boiler resting on a foundation just east of the mine, and the trail goes right past the opening to the mine itself. Has anyone ever been back into the mine to explore it?
Saw the only designated campsite of the trip on Rock Pond, on the west shore near the outlet. The waterfall on Rock Pond Brook along the trail to Lillypad Pond is also worth checking out, you can't see it from the trail but you can hear it and there is a herd path that heads from the main trail just west of the waterfall to its base.
Lillypad Pond Lean-to is also a nice lean-to on the North shore of Lillypad Pond, as this one is closer to the trailhead than others it seems to get a little bit more use. Made my way quickly along the old road from Tubmill Marsh back to the trailhead.
The trails are in excellent condition, I saw absolutely no blowdown. Judging from the sawdust I saw scattered around in spots, it looks like a trail crew went through the whole area pretty recently. Some spots were a bit overgrown, but this is a pretty minor complaint. The trails were well marked and clear of debris.
It was also extremely buggy. It looks like the topography of the Pharaoh Lakes region allows for a lot of shallow pools of standing water in the woods, and all the rain this spring has certainly contributed to making sure those pools are full. I normally don't use bug spray, but I broke down on this trip. If you go into the Pharaoh Lakes any time soon, be sure to bring bug spray, a head net, and a bug net to sleep in in lean-tos.
This was only my second trip into the Pharaoh Lakes area, so it was nice to get to see more of it. I have now also stayed in 62 of the publicly available lean-tos in the Adirondacks and the Catskills, and am 23.94% of the way towards my goal of spending a night in each and every one of them.
