St. Regis Canoe Area: Canoeing to a remote Adirondack lean-to

September 24, 2021 / adkjoe / 4 Comments

“The Bourbon Brothers” consisting of Scott Ireland, Gary Sharp & myself adopted a lean-to on a remote pond in the Adirondacks of New York.

Our brother Scott recently had dual knee replacement surgery and could not join Gary & I for our overnight journey to inspect the lean-to. Our trip into Fish Pond consisted of short and long carries. Our route began on Long Pond in the St. Regis Canoe Area as we paddled through Slang, Turtle and Clamshell Ponds in order to reach Fish.

Originally we had planned to return the following day via another route but had heard the mud on some of those carry trails was knee deep, so we opted to reverse route instead.

So please join us for our journey!

Canoes: Hornbeck Boats “New Tricks” 14

Camera: DJI Osmo Action Camera

“Recently the United States Military has been training over the Adirondacks. The roar of fighter jets could be heard above the clouds. Just as we arrived at the lean-to on Fish Pond an Army UH60 Blackhawk flew over. Although this stuff is neat it also disturbs the solitude that we seek in the wilderness.”

Adirondack Canoe Adventures

August 19, 2021August 19, 2021 / adkjoe / 1 Comment

All set for my 3 mile hike into 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.

Cheers!

The Start of my Day

July 29, 2018August 2, 2018 / adkjoe / 4 Comments

It has been well over a year since I’ve graced the waters of Long Pond in Smithville Flats, NY. I had planned to go there early this morning to canoe, catch the sunrise and have some breakfast. But my overall motivation was to try my new “Twig Stove” made by Solo Stove. The Solo Stove “Lite” stands 5.7″ tall by 4.25″ wide and weighs in at 9 ounces. I also purchased the Pot 900 with it as well.

Driving north along route 12 I encountered pockets of fog and had wondered if Long Pond would be shrouded in mist as well. Fortunately it was not and there was just a light rolling fog hovering over the waters surface. The landscape was quiet except for a few bird songs and a playful beaver. Out on the water watching as the sun turned the sky into a painter’s palette of color. Soon a fisherman with an electric trolling motor glided past and a restless camper had awaken and stepped to the shoreline to greet me. Slowly I continued paddling along the quiet waters making my way back as I was craving some coffee and breakfast.

With the recent rains everything on the ground was still damp making starting the fire in my stove extremely difficult. I had to improvise and all those coffee receipts stuffed into my glovebox came in real handy. Finally a fire was born and I fed it a healthy diet of small twigs and bark and soon enough I had boiling water. This mornings food of choice would be Good To-Go oatmeal, it was different than your traditional oatmeal as I enjoyed the sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds it had in it along with the rolled oats.

I sat by the waters edge enjoying the morning before cleaning up and heading home.

Cheers!