Big #70 @Big Island #1

Due to the storm last weekend which cancelled my trip, I was able to sneak away for a quick overnight. I opted for Big Island lean-to on Raquette Lake. This was the lean-to I helped move slightly inland not long ago. This would also ,make the 70th lean-to I have slept in. When I arrived at the boat launch there were dozens of snowmobiles. Not much of a surprise. What I did not expect was the community ice-cutting and fishing derby. The entire complex was over-run by all these different groups. Coupled with the giant snow piles, parking was at a premium. Solely by luck, a lady pulled away from her spot just as I rounded the corner. This section was marked no parking but I was next to the fire chief. I hoped for more good luck.

With my pulk loaded with firewood (knowing the island would be picked clean) I headed out onto the ice. To my right was the ice cutting operation. They were sawing and removing blocks at least 2ft in all dimensions. Ahead of me was the island and a few ice-shanties. The bulk of the snow-mobilers were to the left, following the western shore. As I approached the island I could see a series of tip-ups and 2 fisherman tending to them. I said hi, and we talked briefly. They were in the lean-to and told me about the derby. I asked if would be ok if I crashed in the lean-to. They were very obliging, even offered me a beer. I added my pile of wood to their diminishing store.

Tom, Dave and I chatted for a few hours. I cooked up some dogs. The temp was in the teens with an ever so slight breeze. Tom and Dave said the wind made the lean-to cold last night. I imagine it would have been worse in its previous location. The guys would check on their lines every once in a while with no luck. One flag had its line cut/broken. The assumtion was a pike. That was the closest these two had for a fish. We joked that is why it's called fishing not catching. As the time approached 5, and no fish Tom and Dave decided to pull out and head in to the "party" at weigh in. We shook hands and they departed. The sun was getting lower, but I still had some good light.

I set up my sleeping gear in the lean-to and enjoyed the waning daylight. I stoked the fire periodically and watched the sun drop below the horizon. I stood on the ice and watched the snowmobilers race back and forth. By now their headlamps and taillights were all I could see. As usual, I would be in bed shortly.

Tom and Dave said the riders were out past 11pm friday night. They went quiet much earlier tonight. I was quite warm in my bag and slept soundly until the winds in the morning awoke me. Something shifted as the winds were blowing hard from the SouthEast. Not a good direction; often a storm system. Looking out over the lake there was zero visibility and with the wind I would want to keep my head down. After packing up I took a bearing and would navigate across the frozen lake by compass only. This is the backcountry version of the "bird box challenge". The wind was fierce. I kept my hood clutched over my face with one hand and my compass in the other. It was a short crossing and soon the launch came into view as did my snow covered car. The driving conditions were almost as bad as the hiking. I was traveling 20mph in the 55 zone with my flashers. I saw 5 other vehicles between Raquette and Old Forge... which took an hour to drive. Roads were mostly clear when I left O.F. after a bite at Walts Diner.

"Wait till Otis sees us..." -Dexter Lake (club)

Another trout pond recon trip with Dan as a short overnight. We ventured into the Ferris Lake Wild Forest. This would only be my second foray into this area, the first being the fall trip with Jeff a couple years back. I will also be exploring more of this area in the near future as part of the NPT-west. With only a few inches of snow, we left our snowshoes in the car and headed down the trail. We passed by the gate and a half mile later came to the first intersection with the trail register. We had been following some tracks and they continued in our direction of travel. If the folks who made them signed in at the register these were quite a few days old. The Dexter and Dry lakes trail continued on another 1.6 miles to Dry Lake. At this point the tracks we were following turned around. There was a wet area which we needed to navigate around/over to continue. We poked around a bit at what looked like a good place for a campsite, but didn't see anything. Just under a mile to the eastern edge of Dexter Lake. The trail had a few rolling hills, but no big elevation changes. The trail followed the southern shore of Dexter Lake. An old trail sign and a small campsite appeared before the next junction.

As we neared our turn, we opted to head the other way just to see the drainage of Dexter. There were some neat rock formations here, but other than that not much else caught my eye. We crossed the bridge over the main outlet and then another. The beavers have been busy here. On the other side of the lake we entered the area where the old maps showed structures. While there were no remains, a few artifacts could still be seen scattered around. we chose this area to make camp as it has already been impacted by man's presence. Plenty of firewood in the immediate vicinity too. We set up camp and collected wood. Dan needed to make a repair on his knee brace and then put together a few seats for us by the fire pit. With everything set up, we took an afternoon walk to Knapps Long Lake. An old guide book talked about an easily discernible roadway. even in winter it was quite easy to follow mostly because there was no other way to go. It only took about 20 minutes for us to get to the dammed up outlet. We each took a shore and gave ourselves a 20 minute turn-around time. Dan on the north, and me on the south. My side had a steepness which slowly began to narrow to the shoreline making walking difficult. I soon had to head uphill away from the lake's edge. A few contours up and it was easier walking. I made it quite a ways around before the 20 minute mark. I was able to get back to the shoreline here and look out over the lake. A few potential campsite areas piqued my curiosity, but they bore no fruit. I headed back to our rendezvous point, staying along the higher contour until it was time to drop down. Dan had found the continuation of the old roadway, it must have crossed the outlet farther downstream.

We headed back to camp to get the fire going and have something to drink. So far it hadn't been very cold for a winter trip. With the fire going and some relaxing we enjoyed the glow over the lake from the setting sun. Soon the stars appeared, then were obscured by clouds and re-appeared. We each had our own dinner and couple cold barley drinks. some dark chocolate for dessert. We stayed up as late as we could, but it was probably still before 9pm when we retired.

We stashed some tinder material under a fallen tree in a dry spot for the morning as well as some other kindling. Good thing as there was some icy snow overnight. With the pre-arranged kindling and the charred logs from last night a morning fire was easy business. Snow returned on/off through the morning, it was also warming up. We had plans to check out some other nearby ponds which are supposed to have fish, but we opted to head out and then explore other access points and take a day hike instead. We drove to Powley Piseco Rd and took the unmarked path behind campsite 2 to House Pond. while the pond looked to have a small channel dividing the lake into 2 parts, there was only one main section and the channel flowed into marshland area. These ponds and trails off P-P road I have not explored at all, not sure why. We ate lunch on the drive back back. Great little over night trip to a new spot. will need to come back and explore more.