Adirondacks Excursion Fun...

[Coulter]

Just got back this afternoon from an Adirondacks trapline scouting mission. The mission was a huge success and I believe I've found my first area to set up the trapline this fall. Take a look...It should hold a few fisher or marten, maybe even an otter or bobcat.



I'd like to get back up there and scout a couple more areas prior to the season, never hurts to have a back up plan. Especially since this area was literally the end of the road. The main road I was on was closed for repairs due to high water. This place is about a mile hike back in, but I will likely add another mile or more circling the pond and venturing up a feeder stream and the outlet in search of otter.

After the scouting of that area was complete I decided to climb Wakely Mountain, the trail is 3 miles in, 3 miles back. The first two miles aren't bad, its that last mile that gets ya. This is the sign found at the two mile mark telling you that you have another mile to go. What it fails to tell you is that you have to climb nearly 1200' in the next mile.



This is what the trail turns into...



Yep, thats the trail straight up the rocks. And yes they are wet. I can't say climbing the mountain in a thunderstorm was the smartest thing I ever did. Luckily the storm was more bark than bite, with a whole lot of rain to go with it.

That wasn't the bad part...within a 1/4 mile of that sign the trail and habitat make a complete change from deciduous to coniferous forest and keeps the flat, large rocks in the trail to make things interesting...believe it or not it is pouring rain in this picture and the sunlight was shining through each drop. It just didn't turn out that way in the picture. And yes this is still the trail, note the trail marker on the pine in the foreground.



The rewards are well worth it though. Here is a sneak peak of the view, pre-summit, looking out towards Cedar River Flow...



Before reaching the summit there is a heli-pad just off the trail...



Then you will reach the observatory cabin, pretty neat for being on top of a mountain...looks like a fine place for a hermit (or trapper) to live.



Of course, the most prominent feature on this mountain is the fire tower. At 70 feet, it is the 2nd tallest in NY state. And a tad bit rickety I might add. I only had the gumption to make it up four flights of stairs. It was really windy though. That and I think I mentioned that climbing this mountain in a thunderstorm wasn't the brightest of ideas. I didn't want to stand on a rickety metal tower on top of a mountain in a thunderstorm for any duration of time.



A view from the forth flight or stairs, note those ominous looking clouds obscuring the view...



One last picture before descending. I know my hat is all jacked up. Thats because it is retaining more water than the bottle of Gatorade in my day pack.



And this is why my wife frowns on me going on these solo excursions 6 1/2 hours away from home. This was in the trail register at the trailhead. Don't know if the poor chap was ever found or not, I don't believe he was.



Oh yeah, those North Bay turkey calls work in the Adirondacks too. Called this fella in at 07:30 yesterday morning. 9 3/4" beard, spurs 1" & 1 1/8". Figured I had a couple of NY tags to fill still, why not bring my turkey hunting gear.



The only thing I didn't bring bring was my FNF stuff, so this bird won't be entered into any contests either.



And one last picture looking out over Adirondack Lake...note the two kayakers (the little spots left of the island in the middle).



This concludes my Adirondack journey. Next stop the Adirondack High Peaks Region...Thanks for looking,

Steve

[FOsteology]

Nice set of pictures! Very pictures' t.

[KySongDog]

Great pics.

Looks to me like a good place for bears.  Maybe that's where the lost fella went.   

And congrats on the turkey!   

[Tikaani]

Really nice pictures Steve.  I know all about the wife not liking solo expeditions LOL.  Hope all works out setting up your trapline.

John

[John_NY]

Nice pictures. Looks kinda like the trails outside of Cranberry lake. Those mountains look nicer than they do on the north western side of the mountain range where I'm at. I plan on going up to bear mountain one of these days and test some calls on bobcats up there. This time of year here if you want a good picture of the mountains here ya have to stop in the middle of route 3 and take a picture. The woods are too thick to get anything on camera but a blanket of green ten feet in front of you. 

John

[FinsnFur]

Thats was pretty cool.
Did it cost anything to get in there? Cause I feel kinda guilty getting in for free

What was the helo pad for I wonder?
Oh and you coulda wrote FnF in the mud for that Turkey

[HaMeR]

Heckuva show you put on for us Steve!! Very nice pictures of some beautiful American soil!!

Congrats on the birds as well!!  Thanks for taking us along too!! 

[Coulter]

There are plenty of bears around Semp...I'd hate to shoot one of any size in some of these areas though. That would be one tough drag out.

Tikanni...The Adirondacks will hopefully suffice until I can make it to Alaska to trap someday. This is about the best substitute I could find close enough to home. I have my wall tent on order, it should be here any day now. I even have a couple of good looking campsites all picked out. Can't wait til November...

John_NY...I know what you mean about that thick brush. I never saw that turkey until he was 20 yards in front of me. And then all I could see was a white head and pieces of him as he broke into strut mode. I found an opening just big enough to take a shot and let him have it. I reckon most of the woods up there are really thick, thats what I noticed anyway. If you venture off trail at all you are certainly bushwhacking in the truest sense. I'll save that for the fall trapline. I was a good bit south of Cranberry down in the Eastern Region of Moose River Plains...beautiful area. Can't wait to get back.

Jim...didn't cost me anything but 3 tanks of gas and a bit of ice for that turkey. I'm not sure what the Heli-pads purpose is, other than maybe to bring up supplies for maintenance and such on the cabin and tower. That and to bring up Rangers when the need arises. Honestly, I never thought about writing FNF in the mud or on a piece of paper until after the fact. The skeeters were so thick I was just trying to get back in the truck before they took me off to see their leader.

It was my pleasure Glen and FOsteology...really, I have a lot more pictures, but I didn't want to go overboard. I'll post some up when I go up again for another scouting/climbing mission...that will be either the July 4 weekend or the end of August...stay tuned.

Steve

[coyote101]

Great pictures Steve, that is some beautiful country. Congratulations on the gobbler.  I'm anxious to see the pictures from your upcoming trapping adventure.

Pat

[Coulter]

Here are a couple more pictures to check out...you can see the rain pouring on the trail through the break of sunshine a little better in this picture...still on trail.



This one is from the summit (actually up four flights on the fire tower) looking out over the Cedar River...



One expansive beaver pond that has been abandoned. This was a couple thousand feet up Wakely Mountain (2 Miles) I thought about making this part of my trapline it looks so good, but it is quite a distance from where I want set up my main line. We'll keep this one as a possibility though. Looks real good around the perimeter of the abandoned pond for fisher and marten.



And a popular pond to canoe and do some fishing at. This one links up to another pond not to far away via a small stream. I'll have to go investigate this link between the ponds next time I'm up there. The other pond has two massive beaver lodges (fortresses) in it. Where there are beaver, theres a pretty chance of otter being in the area as well.




Steve

[Coulter]

Thanks Pat...I'm just as anxious to take those pictures I'm planning at least 1-3 more scouting trips up there if time permits. I want this to be a successful venture. I've done this before closer to home in my own state on a smaller scale and didn't have much success. I believe the limited success was due to insufficient planning and scouting. I'm older and wiser now, at least I hope, so planning this trip properly is a priority for me. I'm sure there are factors that I won't be able to consider until I actually get up there in the fall...ie hunting pressure, other trappers, etc. Thats my rationale for making numerous trips up and locating as many likely areas as possible to set up a line. The nice thing is when one enters the area they must register at the trailhead. I took the liberty of scouting through the trail register before I left and noticed where some trappers prefer certain areas. Another trapper mentioned catching a marten in an area. I'm sure the vast majority of people don't write in their catch or mention they are trapping. They don't want to give away there spots for obvious reasons. This is a start though, I'll have back up plans in place prior to arriving in the fall.

Steve

[Hawks Feather]

WOW!  Really nice looking place and I am glad that I got to go along.  The pad will come in handy when you start trapping - you will just be able to hop in your copter, fly up, load the critters into the copter, and return.  Way better than all that walking.

Jerry

[Dave]

Nice pics.  Sounds like you're going to have an adventure this fall.
Congrats on the bird, too.

[Coulter]

I was thinking the same thing Jerry...I suppose that would be the equivalent to a bush plane in Alaska right? Probably be down right expensive though.

Thanks Dave - Looking forward to the heading up in the fall with trapping gear in tow...I gotta say though, planning the trip is half the fun.

Steve

[Frogman]

That's some great looking country!!

Jim

[iahntr]

Thanks a lot for the pics.
Man that's a very nice area !

[shaddragger]

  Wow what a spot! Thanks for taking us along!

[Todd Rahm]

Man, thats some beautiful country!!!!!!!!!!  I can't wait for trapping pics in that area.