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  • Gone Backpacking

    Middle Settlement Lake
    Two Beavers

  • #2
    Beautiful hike, I had to go to MiddleBranch Lake. MiddleSettlement was booked. The mosquitos had no mercy on me in the evening. They were big as Crows and as thirsty for blood as Dracula.
    Two Beavers

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    • #3
      Yeah, Middle Settlement can be popular. Middle Branch tends to get a little bit less use but even that area can get busy.

      If you ever get a chance to head north to East Pond, that area gets less use.

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      • #4
        During my stay at MiddleBranch, a gentlemen came in on a day hike and chatted of a once used camp in the area that was part of an early railroad system for logging. He explained he had a 1912 series map which included old buildings and a railroad bed in the area. According to his findings, all he found were remnants of some rusty metal and such. I found this of some interest. I would like to delve into this further, this area is intriguing.
        I also came in on the easement side of the trail system and the logging has since ended.
        Two Beavers

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        • #5
          If you ever get a chance to head north to East Pond, that area gets less use.[/QUOTE]

          Thanks for the direction DSettahr.
          Two Beavers

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          • #6
            Originally posted by DSettahr View Post
            Yeah, Middle Settlement can be popular. Middle Branch tends to get a little bit less use but even that area can get busy.

            If you ever get a chance to head north to East Pond, that area gets less use.
            How is the Pine Lake Lean-to?

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            • #7
              Originally posted by ILikeRocks View Post
              How is the Pine Lake Lean-to?
              When I stayed there back in 2012, it appeared to get less use than either the Middle Settlement or Middle Branch Lean-tos. But it also looked like there'd been issues with illegal ATVs driving past the lean-to at one point- nothing recent that I saw, but it looked like it had been a problem in the past.

              I know that there's been on-going issues with illegal ATV use up near Big Otter Lake. And on a more recent trip in 2016, ATVs were riding up and down the Big Otter Truck Trail (which bisects the Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness).

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              • #8
                Originally posted by DSettahr View Post
                When I stayed there back in 2012, it appeared to get less use than either the Middle Settlement or Middle Branch Lean-tos. But it also looked like there'd been issues with illegal ATVs driving past the lean-to at one point- nothing recent that I saw, but it looked like it had been a problem in the past.

                I know that there's been on-going issues with illegal ATV use up near Big Otter Lake. And on a more recent trip in 2016, ATVs were riding up and down the Big Otter Truck Trail (which bisects the Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness).
                Thanks. I like to snowshoe to Middle Settlement and Middle Branch, definitely will check out the East Pond area this winter then.

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                • #9
                  Is Big Otter Lake considered Wilderness area?
                  Two Beavers

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                  • #10
                    The eastern shoreline of the lake is the boundary line of the Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness, but the lake itself is not considered to be within the Wilderness.

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                    • #11
                      Illegal ATV's

                      I got an illegal ATV on my trail cam set up in that area, complete with license plate number. I took it to the local ranger and only got an Oh Hum response. So much for pursuing illegal ATV use.

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                      • #12
                        Strange, you think they would be interested. They may have already knew of such activities.
                        Two Beavers

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                        • #13
                          There's dead wood in every organization.

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                          • #14
                            There's an old logging road/trail coming into Big Otter from the west in Lewis County that frequently sees illegal ATV use, and the damage is quite evident as they veer off to their newly created trails off the main access road. The only thing keeping them from going further east is they cannot get across a bridge at the outlet of the lake. This has been the situation for decades. Legislators and LE in Lewis County are extremely pro ATV, and claim a big financial benefit no matter how they are used.

                            I was hiking on the east side of the lake one time and witnessed ATVs running on the other side actually in the shallow water up and down along the shallow sandy bottom western shore. There's a clearing at the former site of an old hotel where they like to congregate.
                            "Now I see the secret of making the best person, it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth." -Walt Whitman

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                            • #15
                              Not sure how, but the atvs have been able to cross to the eastern side. I was close to the outlet 2 years ago (iirc) and a couple drove up on atvs from the western side.
                              "There's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us, And the Wild is calling, calling . . . let us go." -from "The Call of the Wild" by Robert Service

                              My trail journal: DuctTape's Journal

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