Winter Camping

With the dearth of winter around here this year, I was really looking forward to the annual camping trip up north with the boys.  Winter has been lacking there too, and when Glenn checked out the access to Pharaoh Lake he wasn't impressed with the ice on the beaver pond we would have to cross to bypass a bridge that recently washed out.  He and Roy decided not to go.

 

I was on my own.  Pharaoh is over a four-hour drive and a tough haul in with too much gear.  I decided to try a new spot I could get to with a drive under three hours and potentially more skiing.  The weather in the weeks before worked in my favor, the area got plenty of fresh snow with cold temps to assure frozen lakes.  Gull Lake (the one south of Bear Lake, north of Chub Pond) in the Black River Wild Forest was my destination.

  One benefit of camping solo is that no one complains when you leave your shoes on the table.

The trails were great, mostly snowmobile trails that don't get used by snowmobiles.  I took my new folding saw and cleared quite a bit of blow down, especially on trails I covered several times.  This spot near the Gull Lake outlet was a favorite; I took a picture of it every time I went by.

Sunrises and sunsets were pretty nice, but the moon rise was incredible.

The skiing on the lakes was fine.  Firm snow kept me from sinking into any slush that might have been under it, and the ice was reported to be 10'' thick in a nearby lake.

I failed to bring ski wax to deal with all the snow fleas.  They were out in force the whole weekend.  I melted snow for drinking water but didn't have a way to filter them out.  Not very vegetarian of me.  When I spilled about a quart of water in my sleeping bags Saturday morning I wondered if they would be an annoying version of bed bugs, but I don't think they survived the bags hanging in the sun all afternoon.

My destinations on the full-day skiing adventure Friday was to Woodhull Lake/Bloodsucker Ponds/Bear Lake and back.  A little more than five miles would be on a snowmobile highway so I started early figuring that would be the best way to avoid them.  I made it all the way to the Woodhull Lake lean-to, the largest public lean-to in the Adirondacks, without any sleds going by.  While I sat there cooling off and eating a snack, a sled with a trailer filled with gear and beer pulled right up to the lean-to.  The guy immediately made it clear I'd be sharing it with a large, rowdy group.  I thought of making the case I'd need the whole space, but just let him know I was only stopped for a break and I'd soon be getting dressed and on my way.  I think he was relieved.  So was I.

 

I ate a cold lunch at Bear Lake after a great ski down from Woodhull,.  These pics are from a solo trip there in extremely deep snow in 2018.  After eating, I struggled to follow the Neejer Hill Trail back towards Gull Lake.  My hope was to go past Granny Marsh but I don't think the trail exists anymore.  I managed to get around Neejer Hill and calculate it was close to 15 miles with all the distance added while searching for discs.

Saturday I would not encounter any snowmobiles, only people on snowshoes trampling the trails I set ski tracks on Thursday.  I was in search of the elusive and notorious Chub Pond lean-to #1.  Stories vary how it came to be, but there used to be a wood stove in it, and the outhouse doubled as a padlocked storage shed for the lawnmower and other equipment.  There was also a covered deck extended off the front.  I tried to find it once before but was unsuccessful.  This time I scoped it out on a satellite photo so knew I could cut across the pond and find the trail, but it still wasn't easy and what I thought would take 10 minutes of flat skiing turned into an hour with lots of elevation changes.  Nobody showed up while I strutted around shirtless this time.

I saw plenty of cool trees in my travels.  A birch taking up residence in a cedar trunk, a nest, probably for an osprey, along the edge of Gull Lake, a big-ass hemlock near Chub Pond and an arched birch pointing the way to Chub Pond lean-to #1.

The view out of Gull Lake lean-to while it snowed Saturday morning.  The only change to the fire pit over the weekend was this additional snow covering the half-burnt wood left by previous campers.  It's nice to get some fresh air.

I did have a small fire to warm my lunch at Chub Pond.  The tortillas I used to make my burritos were like cardboard and I struggled to choke them down cold on Friday.  Warming them helped, a little, and sustained me for a roughly 14-mile trip.  I can't be precise with the mileage because the trail signs have different distances for the same trail.  One end of one trail posted said it was 3.2 miles, at the other end it said 1.4.  There were two signs at another intersection: one had .7 miles to the lean-to, the other had .8.  Maps are even worse, some trails are on the map, but not on the ground.

No problem choking down cold lemon curd.  Gail has been making it regularly lately and when I found out five eggs and a stick of butter go into a batch, I thought it would be the perfect camping food.  I was correct. Gail even got me some cookies for dipping.

Groomers are getting quite a bit of bad publicity lately.  I am here to say they are welcome in my life any time I need to ski a snowmobile trail.  This road was a mess when I skied in Thursday and even worse on Friday.  A little fresh snow and a pass by the groomer made the trip out on it Sunday a breeze.  I was able to throw my backpack on the sled and cruise back to the car.  Coincidentally, I only encountered snowmobiles on the trail when I was either unloading the car Thursday, and within 200 yards of it on Sunday.  Not bad for how many were out over the weekend.  The guys at Woodhull Lake made multiple trips back and forth just to get more beer.

Next time I say I'm going to Gull Lake, ask if you can join me.  You won't regret it.