Cranberry Lake Wild Forest
April 21-23, 2026
Chill in the air at the Burntbridge trailhead, but warming quickly in the early afternoon. Headed about 8 miles to Curtis Pond for the first night. 30 minutes later I was at the junction with the CL-50, a newer section since my traverse in 2008. Still have plans to redo the hike with the new sections. Perhaps this summer. So far the trail is along a snowmobile trail, obvious it was an old woods road. Another half hour to the Brandy Brook flow junction. A number of campsites here and further down the lake. Staying on the CL-50, I continued on along the lake often moving inland with the trail above the marshy spots and bays. My pace was slowing as the day wore on. I need to do more miles. Nice weather and temp; no bugs either.
I paused at the junction to Hedgehog Pond. About 2.5 miles to Curtis. The trail approached the lake again with a campsite before swinging east and up around the bay. Trail swung to the south, starting to feel the miles now. Trail sign appeared signifying I was getting close. A spur trail to Cranberry Lake headed west. Up a short hill and Curtis came into view. Trail hugged the shoreline a bit above the pond as it descended to the outlet dammed up by the resident rodent. I rock hopped just below the dam and found the campsite soon thereafter. The site was situated on a rocky prominence a fair bit above the water. Easy path to the waters edge.
I set up camp and prepped a fire for dinner. Tested out the T-mobile satellite connection again, still not working. Hope to find cell service tomorrow to set Emily's mind at ease. Oddly I am having difficulty getting my own mind right too. Trying to connect with technology is making it difficult to connect with the outdoors. I am sure this will pass. Not very hungry, but know I should eat. As the sun set I could feel the temperature dropping. Supposed to get close to freezing overnight.
Definitely a chilly night. A warming fire for breakfast along with some hot coffee is welcome. Made a skillet breakfast of potatoes, bacon and cheese. Plan is to hike past a few ponds today and swing around the otterbrook trail to Chairrock flow. I think I will see how the ponds do for fishing and consider the campsite at Dog Pond.
After Curtis is Irish Pond, then Willys (or Target) then Dog Pond about 2 miles away. The trail goes up and down over an esker and some small hills, crossing the outlets of the ponds below beaver dams. Another great day of hiking weather. Atop one of the eskers I found a cell signal and was able to check in.
At Dog Pond, some trash left in a heap off to the side. Grrr. A nice rock jutted out into the pond providing a perfect spot from which to fish. Aggressive brook trout here, all around a foot long or just under. Kept a couple for dinner later. Set up camp and had a snack. I suppose I decided to stay here for the afternoon and night. Very pretty pond. Located a spring nearby for some cool refreshing water. Fish made for a nice dinner. The sun set away from the water's view but the golden hour colors and reflection was still nice.
Night started off warm, but was cool in the wee hours of the morning. As the sun crested the hillside, the day was already warmer than yesterday. Another skillet breakfast, bacon, eggs and cheese rolled up in a tortilla. Plan for today is to head back north towards the car and set up camp at one of the sites on Cranberry Lake. Will check out Hedgehog Pond too. If the site is awesome, will stay there.
Definitely the warmest of the three days so far. No rush for the day. The short mileage yesterday was a good idea. Feel great now. Spent more time scanning the woods while hiking. Sent another check-in at the spot on the esker. At the campsite on Cranberry Lake, I laid down on the dried grass and took a sun bath for 20 minutes. The trail to Hedgehog was only a half mile away. Someone has strung some cables between trees here above the campsite which would be useful for hanging food away from critters. The trail to Hedgehog (Clear Pond on the old maps) crossed its outlet before terminating at the campsite. A boat and canoe were both here. The campsite was ok, not great for a hammock so after a lunch break I would head back to Cranberry.
Soon I found myself nearing Brandy Brook flow. It was late afternoon and only 3 miles from the car. I chose to hike the last hour out. I know Emily would be happy to have me home early. Will stop in Oswego for a cheeseburger sub.
Cranberry Lake
Hedgehog Pond (aka Clear Pond)
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