In late January I did a quick trip on M1 of the FLT to a lean-to I have not yet spent the night. My college friend Colin joined me. We spotted a car at the Red House Chapel lot and then drove tot the Park Police office. After checking in and leaving our car details we headed up the hill towards the FLT. We were on the spur trail for most of our journey, passing by another hiker coming in from a different access point. Soon we were on the FLT proper and only about a quarter mile to the lean-to. The trail was easy, no snowshoes or microspikes needed. At the lean-to we collected firewood and chilled. A mom & son hiked by and stopped at the lean-to for lunch. We eventually built our fire, had dinner and reminisced. Colin and I did a similar trip last year. Hopefully this summer I can join him and some other college friends on a canoe/boating trip. Would be great to see some of the other guys again,
February break has arrived which means the "annual meeting" of the Preston Ponds Club. We met up at the Stewarts in Indian Lake and then proceeded to Upper Works. With snowshoes and pulks we headed to Henderson Lake. After this past December's near miss with Dan, we were very cautious about the ice. We kept away from the shoreline and other areas which might be sketchy. Every once in a while we could feel the snow settle which unsettled us. Later we would measure the ice thickness to bo over a foot, closer to 2 feet. So we worried needlessly. Crossing Henderson is always a nice view. I have taken countless photos from this vantage. At the lean-to we took a lunch break. Always an hour from the parking lot to here. The next portion is where is is sometimes slow. Sam had gone in on Thursday, so the trail would at least be broken out by one. The snow was not deep and a bit crusty. It made travel rather easy. We crossed the first bridge and Bob took a spill. No injury. The rest of the trail went quick. I took over on the heavy pulk from Matt a little ways up the big hill. We made it to Preston 2 hours after we departed the lean-to. This is average for non-winter conditions. We commented on how easy the pulk slid over the crusty snow. Sam met us at camp.
We set up, and stowed food and chatted. I cooked dinner for the gang as is typical for the first night. Swan's sausage. George & Tammy arrived not long after dark. We were sure to save some wurst for them. I went to bed early as did the other older members of the group. We allowed the younger to chat way. I slept ok, Sam and I were the first up and got the coffee water on.
Plans for the next few days were fluid. We needed to cut and stack some wood for the camp. Other additional options were to day trip to Duck Hole or to cut some holes in the ice and try our luck with the tip-ups. We eventually opted for the latter and had three holes cut in the ice. The ice was quite thick and took some time to get through. The depth of the water for one hole was about 30' and the other two closer to th 50'. We baited the hooks with a small bit of bacon and set the depth to be a few feet off the bottom. Over the course of the next few days we would hook up with only a single brook trout. A small guy about 8inches. We let him go back into the depths.
Our next few meals included a lot of venison, bacon, sausage and ham. Also potatoes from Sam's garden. We ate well and downed a few beverages too. The last night we ran out a little early. Probably a good thing though.
Cleaning up camp with 8 people makes the chores easier. We were back on the ice heading home around 10am. Preson Pond was all ice, just a bit of snow ot top. It was easy going with just microspikes. A short break at the lean-to and then back across Henderson. We all commented on how great the conditions were; the best we have ever had in winter perhaps all seasons. On the drive home I stopped with George & Tammy in Long Lake for lunch at the Adirondack Hotel.
