More Siamese Ponds Wilderness - Day 182

  This was another day entirely on trail. I had high hopes for a "fast" day of hiking since most of this was well-established trail, even though it was in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness Area.

One of the highlights was finding this interesting fungus that I've never seen before. It's some form of Ganoderma. It's related to the Hemlock Shelf Polypore, also a Ganoderma. Gano=shining, derma=skin. These fungi always look like they are freshly varnished. It may be an odd growth form of Ganoderma lucidum. I found some pictures online, and apparently it can grow into these candy-corn stalks, or spread out into a shelf.

But something else trumped the lovely fungus. When Paul dropped me off the day before, he was praying for my safety and health, etc. He also prayed that I see some bear cubs. I interrupted and said, "No, no, Lord... skip the bears, I want a moose." And look what I got! Not a calendar-worthy photo, but proof that I'm not pulling your leg. We looked at each other a few minutes, then I loudly said, "I hope you are having a lovely day. Would you allow me to pass through your domain?" It turned and walked away, giving me passage.

If you've read North Country Quest, you know that Marie and I saw a moose, a bull, on our last Adirondack hike too.

I just got a kick out of this section of trail. I guess every trail in the woods must use this path!

But the real story of the day was bridges, er... the lack of them. Sigh. At the first one, I probably crossed in the wrong place (no turn marker), so I don't know if there really was a bridge. I slid down a sandy bank and waded with the fishes!

At Hour Pond Brook, you can see the bridge abutments, but no bridge. No rocks either. This was another wade.

The Sacandaga River bridge is long gone, and they have no plans to replace it. This picture looks more serious than the actual situation. There are big rocks you can get across on.

However, at the very end of the day, the outlet to Botheration Pond was a challenge. This is on a ski trail, but the bridge is totally gone. Yes, it's pretty much a sheer drop after the orange warning flags. You can see the abutment on the far side. Well, there was no other choice. I clambered down. This was where I was getting water for the night and morning, so I waded across and took care of that chore. Then I climbed up the other side.

The pond wasn't much of a botheration, but the waterway sure was!

It wasn't even 4 p.m. yet, but it was a difficult day, and Botheration Pond was my planned goal, so I stopped for the night.

Miles today: 10.6. Total miles so far: 2313.2.

See Trail Built Just for NCT