Baker's Outdoor Blog

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Pharoah Lake

View of a beaver pond on the way up to the Pharaoh Lake

Beaver Dam

Today some friends an myself went in to the Pharaoh Lake wideness area via the Beaver Pond trail head. The trail in is very easy and a great beginner trail for people who would like to go into a beautiful part of the Adirondacks. There are 6 lean-to's that are placed around Pharaoh Lake. At this time of year there are usually full, but there are other campsites around that offer great places to camp and enjoy the area. There are also trout in this Lake.

We hiked in had lunch and hiked out. 8 miles of easy trails, a nice relaxing hike. The new hikers in our group enjoyed themselves.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Upper Wolf Jaw and Amrstrong

Laddder on Armstrong

Last Friday the 18th my buddy and I decided to hike Upper Wolf Jaw and Armstrong from the Garden as a day hike. This was something that I have been wanting to do for a couple of years as I wanted to see the ADK's Johns Brook Lodge (JBL) to see how the area would be for camping as it would be a good base for a lot of the high peaks in the vicinity.

The 3.25 mile hike in was pleasant and went fast. We took the trail that lead by the NYS Ranger's interior outpost, nice, and that is when we headed up toward Upper Wolf Jaw. The trail was steep, but not terrible but when we hit the 0.9 mile mark that's when it got serious. It was safe to go up without ropes, but you had to climb up ledge over ledge like steps for a giant. After some hard work we made it to the top of UWJ and spent some time taking pictures and then headed to Armstrong. It seemed that we climbed down 1000' into a col and then began the ascent up to Armstrong. This was similar to the ascent up UWJ; there was a 35' ladder to help us in one area. The view from Armstrong was better than UWJ, with an exceptional view of the Gothics. I wanted to go on and get Gothics as the elevation change was not as bad and we could then go down the Orebed Brook trail, but my buddy's knee was bothering him and we didn't want to add any more mileage to the day.

In all the day involved about eleven hours of hiking and when we saw the van back at the Garden we were very happy. It was a little scary in places but it was nice to be challenged.

Gothics

Practice the 7 Rules of leave no trace

1. PLAN AHEAD AND PREPARE Know the regulations and special considerations for the area you'll visit.Prepare for extreme weather, hazards, and emergencies.Travel in groups of less than ten people to minimize impacts.

2. TRAVEL AND CAMP ON DURABLE SURFACES Hike in the middle of the trail; stay off of vegetation.Camp in designated sites where possible.In other areas, don't camp within 150 feet of water or a trail.

3. DISPOSE OF WASTE PROPERLY Pack out all trash (including toilet paper), leftover food, and litter.Use existing privies, or dig a cat hole five to fix inches deep, then cover the hole.Wash yourself and dishes at least 150 feet from water.

4. LEAVE WHAT YOU FIND Leave rocks, plants, and other natural objects as you find them.Let photos, drawings, or journals help capture your memories.Do not build structures or furniture or dig trenches.

5. MINIMIZE CAMPFIRE IMPACTSUse a portable stove to avoid the lasting impact of a campfire.Where fires are permitted, use existing fire rings and only collect downed wood.Burn all fires to ash, put out campfires completely, then hide traces of fire.

6. RESPECT WILDLIFEObserve wildlife from a distance.Avoid wildlife during mating, nesting, and other sensitive times.Control pets at all times, and clean up after them.

7. BE CONSIDERATE OF OTHER VISITORSRespect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience.Let natural sounds prevail; avoid loud sounds and voices.Be courteous and yield to other users on the trail.