We failed to get a decent picture of one of the best events of the day. We were shuttled to the beginning of our hike by Will Brazill, the new Regional Trail Coordinator for Vermont and New York. So we got to spend an hour in the car getting acquainted.
Then he hiked with us for several miles, so we got to learn even more about him. I think he's taking on this job at just the right time for the association to see some great things happen in the Adirondacks. He stayed with us until the NCT turn off the Kunjamuk Trail. You can see the rocks and muck we hiked through. (Always- typical Adirondack Trail)
This cluster of Tiger Swallowtails was certainly interested in something.
I am beyond pleased to tell you that the entire route from Cisco Brook TH to Raymond Brook TH (22.5 miles) is sporadically marked with blue blazes and NCT emblems. At the present time the NY DEC will not allow the frequency of blazing we are used to, but at least there is something. One really good thing is that there is a turn blaze going from the Kunjamuk Trail to the Wakely Brook Trail.
The Wakely Brook Trail is a connector that the DEC built just for the North Country Trail. This is a typical stream crossing anywhere in the Adirondacks. This doesn't even have a name. It's a tributary of Wakely Brook. You step/hop from rock to rock and may or may not get wet feet. We've given up on dry feet. There's too much mud.
One of the neatest features of the Wakely Brook Trail is a sheer cliff the trail skirts. It's called Pine's Point.
And you get a pretty nice view of Humphrey Mountain.
We only made 6.5 trail miles. It took a long time to get the cars spotted, and there was a lot of mud even though we were in Siamese Ponds Wilderness where snowmobiles aren't allowed. (The snowmobiles compact the track and even tear it up a little, and then the water doesn't drain but just pools.)
We camped near Wakely Brook. We were within a quarter mile of where I camped three years ago. We did need room for two tents. This worked, but it was more slopey then would have been ideal.
The weather has held out for us. Our bodies are holding up, and data is being collected. So far, so good.
Adirondacks, NY. Cisco Brook, Kunjamuk, and Wakely Brook Trails. 6.5 miles
 | See Day Three- Mud and More |
Lulu: "I can hardly imagine being somewhere with so many streams that some of them don't even have names."
ReplyDeleteJava Bean: "Ayyy, it must smell fantastic there!"
Awesome views. That stream crossing where you step/hop from rock to rock. I'm betting I would end up with more than just wet feet.
ReplyDeleteBean- it smells heavenly with balsam
ReplyDeleteAnn- there are LOTS of those.