October is one of my favorite months to paddle especially here in New York. Recently myself and friend Marty set off on an afternoon adventure to paddle the Sangerfield River (Nine Mile Swamp) in Hubbardsville, NY. I’ve been wanting to do this now for a few years but always forget it is there. If you’ve followed my posts or just know me you’d see that I’m pretty obsessed with the Adirondacks.
This 7 mile round trip adventure has some neat landscapes. As the river twisted and turned slowly making our way to a point where it would narrow so much that we had to stop and back out as we weren’t able to turn our boats around.
All set for my 3 mile hike into Middle Settlement Lake.Canoeing on Middle Settlement Lake.
Recently I carried my canoe 3 miles into Middle Settlement Lake in the west central Adirondacks outside of Old Forge, NY. I’ve been eyeing this adventure for a while now. This is one of the reasons I originally purchased light weight carbon/kevlar canoes in order to explore ponds and lakes further into the wilderness.
Middle Settlement Lake is located in the 26,600 acre Ha-de-ron-dah Wilderness in the western foothills of the Adirondacks, there is a lean to located on the lake as well. Almost immediately after signing the trailhead register you are treated with 2/10 of a mile steep climb. From here the trail descends and becomes relatively rolling all the way to the lake. However there are some muddy sections and at one point I thought I was going to literally loose my shoes.
Once we reached the 46 acre lake we discovered a large group currently at the lean-to. We were disappointed but found a nearby vacant campsite to take a break and have lunch. I enjoyed paddling this lake and the adventure of getting there and back. I will say by time I got back to my car I was done. It was so humid on the trail and my clothes were completely soaked through. In the end I was happy that I did it!
Life has been hectic for me this year as I have barely gotten out on the water. Below you will find a video link to this adventure and two other recent outings in the Adirondacks.
Joe Geronimo 