Siamese Ponds
Where: Siamese Ponds, Adirondacks
When: 8/14/93-8/15/93
With: Bill, Tom
When: 8/14/93-8/15/93
With: Bill, Tom
Another Ritz Brothers hike. I was up at 5:30, on the road at 6:00, at Bill's at 8:20, in Delmar to pick up Tom at 9:00, and on the road at 9:30 heading north.
We hit the trailhead at 11:00 and found a lot of vehicles parked there. That was a bit of a concern, but it didn't change our mind about the hike. We all did a bit of load lightening, removing stuff from our packs, and then started the hike.
The trailhead sign said 5.8 miles to the pond, which seemed reasonable. There was a short uphill to start, then downhill a bit, then a level walk next to river. A recent rain brought out a nice variety of fungi - lobster mushrooms, white coral-like fungus, and others. We also spotted a woodcock along the way. It was a warm, partly cloudy day and the walking was pleasant.
Despite all the cars at the trailhead, we didn't run into too many other people on the trail. There was a dayhiker with dog, but that was about it. Eventually, we reached the trail junction to 13 Mile Lake. The sign there said it was 3.5 miles back, 2.8 to go - total = 6.3, not 5.8. Oh well.
Shortly afterwards, we came to a stream crossing with a bridge and a lean-to. After crossing the bridge, the trail started a climb. As guidebook said, this seemed longer than it was, but eventually we got to the lake. There was a large group at the site at the end of the trail, so we looked elsewhere. We found a good spot a ways away in the woods. It was a little trashed, as was the whole area, but seemed okay. Open, with a fire ring and trails to lake. We debated paddling to another site, but decided not to.
Since we were staying put, we inflated the boats, set up the tents, and paddled out for fishing. Bill had fly gear, Tom had worms, and I had a telescoping rod with both spin and fly reels and Powerbait. The fish were rising, so we figured we'd have some luck. Not so. I tried the fly gear, switched to the spincast with a lure, then P-bait, and finally just napped. Bill & Tom both got minnows, but no real catches for anyone.
We heard some loons, and noted campers at other sites around the lake, some with a canoe. Hearing thunder in distance, we decided to come back to camp. Bill did a little swimming, then we made dinner. Bill & Tom had freeze-dried meals, and I tried to be creative. I made rice with veggies and tried to make falafel, but it came out too soupy. Wound up making a glop of it all. Bill proclaimed it "vile".
After dinner, we got a fire started and then the rain came. It wasn't too bad, so we put on rain gear, stayed out, and had S'mores. After a bit, the skies cleared and we decided to go out on the water. The stars came out, and there were some nice meteors. The Milky Way was especially impressive. Unfortunately, some noisy campers with bright lights made things less than perfect, but we enjoyed it anyway. After a bit, we went back for more fire, and then some sleep.
The next morning, we all went back on the water but still had no luck catching any fish. We paddled in for breakfast, then packed up and headed out. We did a short bushwhack on the stream from the pond down to the bridge, checked out the lean-to, and then continued on the trail. We made one more stop on the stream to make one last attempt to catch a fish, but all we go was a nice crop of leaches that latched on to Bill's legs. He cleared them off and we finished the hike out around 3:30PM. We made a stop in town for subs, then headed for Delmar (6:00), Bill's, and home (9:30).
More pictures
We hit the trailhead at 11:00 and found a lot of vehicles parked there. That was a bit of a concern, but it didn't change our mind about the hike. We all did a bit of load lightening, removing stuff from our packs, and then started the hike.
The trailhead sign said 5.8 miles to the pond, which seemed reasonable. There was a short uphill to start, then downhill a bit, then a level walk next to river. A recent rain brought out a nice variety of fungi - lobster mushrooms, white coral-like fungus, and others. We also spotted a woodcock along the way. It was a warm, partly cloudy day and the walking was pleasant.
Despite all the cars at the trailhead, we didn't run into too many other people on the trail. There was a dayhiker with dog, but that was about it. Eventually, we reached the trail junction to 13 Mile Lake. The sign there said it was 3.5 miles back, 2.8 to go - total = 6.3, not 5.8. Oh well.
Shortly afterwards, we came to a stream crossing with a bridge and a lean-to. After crossing the bridge, the trail started a climb. As guidebook said, this seemed longer than it was, but eventually we got to the lake. There was a large group at the site at the end of the trail, so we looked elsewhere. We found a good spot a ways away in the woods. It was a little trashed, as was the whole area, but seemed okay. Open, with a fire ring and trails to lake. We debated paddling to another site, but decided not to.
Since we were staying put, we inflated the boats, set up the tents, and paddled out for fishing. Bill had fly gear, Tom had worms, and I had a telescoping rod with both spin and fly reels and Powerbait. The fish were rising, so we figured we'd have some luck. Not so. I tried the fly gear, switched to the spincast with a lure, then P-bait, and finally just napped. Bill & Tom both got minnows, but no real catches for anyone.
We heard some loons, and noted campers at other sites around the lake, some with a canoe. Hearing thunder in distance, we decided to come back to camp. Bill did a little swimming, then we made dinner. Bill & Tom had freeze-dried meals, and I tried to be creative. I made rice with veggies and tried to make falafel, but it came out too soupy. Wound up making a glop of it all. Bill proclaimed it "vile".
After dinner, we got a fire started and then the rain came. It wasn't too bad, so we put on rain gear, stayed out, and had S'mores. After a bit, the skies cleared and we decided to go out on the water. The stars came out, and there were some nice meteors. The Milky Way was especially impressive. Unfortunately, some noisy campers with bright lights made things less than perfect, but we enjoyed it anyway. After a bit, we went back for more fire, and then some sleep.
The next morning, we all went back on the water but still had no luck catching any fish. We paddled in for breakfast, then packed up and headed out. We did a short bushwhack on the stream from the pond down to the bridge, checked out the lean-to, and then continued on the trail. We made one more stop on the stream to make one last attempt to catch a fish, but all we go was a nice crop of leaches that latched on to Bill's legs. He cleared them off and we finished the hike out around 3:30PM. We made a stop in town for subs, then headed for Delmar (6:00), Bill's, and home (9:30).
More pictures
