Adventures on the Cranberry Lake 50!

[ADK88]

“You’re heading NORTH?!?” one of my professors asked when I informed him of my Easter Break plans. I guess he wasn’t too familiar with the typical behavior of the common Adirondack addict. He had heard of the Cranberry Lake 50, though, a loop I had wanted to hike since I was informed about it by our very own DuctTape. An acquaintance from another forum wanted to hike it this Easter weekend, which happened to be the only time I had a long weekend this whole spring, so I happily accepted. As it turned out, he had some problems at work and had to drop out at the last second, so Thursday evening I prepared myself for a long solo hike.

DAY ONE (23.5 miles, 12 hours)

I found myself on the trailhead in Wanakena, NY, at 9 AM on Friday morning. It was chilly, but the warm sun made me smile at the clear day I would have ahead of me. The beginning of the trail was flat and easy to follow. Before I knew it I was at High Rock, which ended up being my first rest stop. It was neat to see it in this season, with the water so high and the landscape so barren. After some trail snacks I headed out again. The part of the trail in-between High Rock and High Falls was some of the most beautiful, in my opinion, on the whole trail. I love hiking among pine trees, and crisscrossing streams and rivulets. I saw a bunch of moose tracks, and “crazy birds” (have you read Hatchet?), aka grouse, scared the heck out of me quite often. The path went back and forth between a hard, flat trail; a soft, muddy trail; and a wet, snowy trail. By the time I arrived at High Falls, I was beginning to feel my feet. I took a long break there, taking pictures, enjoying the sun, eating a bacon cheeseburger, and loving the outdoors.

Once I left High Falls, the difficulty of the trail began to increase in a direct proportion to my sense of humor decreasing. There was a LOT of snow in some sections, up to my thighs in many places. The mud increased quite a bit as well, and I did an excellent job of getting my boots and gaiters plastered. I was very pleased to see the trail sign at the intersection of the Dead Cr. Flow Trail and the Cowhorn Jct. Trail! I took another long break here, and decided that I wanted to climb Cat Mountain as well. Cat ended up being a very nice choice, and the quick .7 miles to the summit was easy and delightful. The view was very enjoyable, and the lack of wind made for a most pleasant time relaxing above the ledges. The hike down was nice as well, and soon I was heading onto Cowhorn Pond. This section of the trail had the worst blow down of the entire loop, I believe. It was quite the challenge, between the snow and the downed trees, to even make it to the Cowhorn Lean-to.

Upon arriving there, I was greeted by people for the first time that day. They were a group of men from Watertown and surrounding areas who had apparently been out in the woods for 8 days. Each of them had a bit of a crazed look in their eyes as they spoke of their difficulty in getting to the lean-to. They informed me that they “wanted to die” as they hiked in via Wolf Ponds, since the snow was over their waist and they were carrying large packs. I figured it was best to let them duke out their angst with nature by themselves, and I excused myself from their presence to continue my hike onto Olmstead Pond. The hike from Cowhorn to Olmstead didn’t seem to take too long, and before I knew it I was eating a delicious quesadilla while sitting on the floor of the lean-to. There were lots of beaver on this pond, and at one point 4 different ones slapped their tails at me at the same time!

GETTING LOST:

After my dinner break I continued on around the loop, and then onto West Flow. This is where the adventure began. Instead of turning to the right and heading back up the trail to find the connecting trail, I hiked down to the water and promptly got myself lost. I had the CL-50 map, the Paddles Map, and the ADK Mt. Club USGS map all out, trying to figure out how to get to Chair Rock Flow. I figured it was a new trail, so maybe it wasn’t marked yet. I saw a faint herd path heading directly East from West Flow, so I figured that was it. Soon I was lost, wandering around on the cliff-like bank of the lake. This entire scenario demonstrates my sheer stupidity at times. I actually thought I was almost to Chair Rock Flow, as I followed the edge of the bank around to SOUTH FLOW! I By this time it was almost dark, and with adrenaline flowing through my veins I bushwhacked though the woods, knowing that if I followed the shore I would eventually find some trail. Finally I arrived at Six Mile Creek, thinking it was Chair Rock Creek. It’s amazing how once I got something fixed in my mind, I didn’t even consider an alternative, I simply tried to make that pre-conceived notion fit the situation. After crossing the creek I decided that I was not thinking rationally, and should really just set up camp and chill out until morning. So that’s what I did, and I’m sorry to say I spent my first night in my hammock about 50 feet off the trail. I apologize for breaking the rules! It was cold, and dark, the GPS couldn’t get satellite reception, and I thought it was the best decision.

The following morning I awoke to 25 degree temperatures, 5 owls hooting loudly, and a welcome stream of sun cutting though the trees. I still had in my mind that I was on Chair Rock Flow, and was heading down a blue trail to the Biological Center, where I didn’t want to go. So I headed BACK down the trail and over Six Mile Creek again, eventually coming to Sliding Rock Falls. At this point I slapped my mind into submission. I sat down, got out the GPS, got out my guidebook, got out my three maps, and got out my open-minded thinking. After reading and thinking and letting my boots thaw out for about 20 minutes, it finally dawned on me that I had NOT been on Chair Rock Flow, but on South Flow. That’s when it clicked; I laughed in embarrassment, and began my actual hike in the correct direction. Looking back I’m ashamed to have made such a dumb series of mistakes, but learned my lesson though it. It also provided me with the opportunity to see the lovely sunset, and the beautiful cascade on Sliding Rock Falls. I would have seen neither if I had not been dumb, so I guess it all worked out in the end.

Moose Track video
High Falls video
Summit of Cat Mountain video
Olmstead Pond video
Sunset on Cranberry Lake video

[ADK88]

DAY TWO (22 miles, 12 hours)

After becoming oriented with my surroundings, and finally making it to the real Chair Rock Flow, I was pleased to find a newly-constructed bridge! Excellent! Soon I was on my way to Dog Pond. It took a long time to get into a rhythm, but once in it I made pretty good time. The trail was a little frustrating at times, since there were many paths weaving in and out and the markings were few and far between.; this made the correct trail ambiguous, and more than once I wondered If I was even going the right way. Once at Dog Pond my feet began to really, really hurt for the first time. I had put 30 miles of mountain and flatland hiking on them, but I guess that wasn’t enough to break them in fully. But after some more adjustment, moleskin, duct tape, loosening, and re-lacing, they felt better. The trail in between Dog and Curtis pond was lovely, and I enjoyed the variety of terrain and landscape that passed by. I stopped for another long break at East Inlet as I watched the waves glide across the water and the clouds drift across the sky. I took another break at Hedgehog Pond, listening to the soothing sound of the Red-Winged Blackbirds and other marshland birds.

On the trail in-between Hedgehog Pond and Brandybrook Flow campsite # 6 I crossed paths with a 4-H group hiking in for the weekend. We chatted for awhile, and I was surprised at how much my moral was boosted by seeing people. I enjoy overnight solo trips, but anything much beyond that becomes very lonely for me, so simply seeing a bunch of smiling kid’s faces and some well-prepared adult leaders made my afternoon very bright! After parting ways with them, I took note of the mistake in the map. The trail actually travels directly past campsite # 10 on the lake; all my maps showed it being further into the woods. Within very little time at all I was heading North on the snowmobile trail. By the time I reached the path towards the Cranberry Lake Campground, the afternoon sun was beginning to wane, and I decided that my final leg of the journey would be to the campground and back. That proved to be one of the longest 4.8 miles of my life, and I almost hobbled on my blister-laden and partially nerve-damaged feet. I made it back to the main trail just as the sun set, though, and hiked 100 yards into the woods to lay my pad down and drift off to sleep.

DAY THREE (18 miles, 6 hours)

I awoke the next morning, at 4 AM, shivering in the 20 degree temperatures. I had decided that I made it far enough to be back to my house for Easter Dinner with my family, so I got up early to hike the remaining part of the trail. Almost everything was frozen solid, including last night’s sweaty clothing, much of my water, and most disappointingly, my boots. So I decided to hike out in my fleece clothing and Keene sandals. Thank goodness for merino wool socks! I By 5:00 am I was moving along and I must say that the road part (5.7 miles) was rather boring. I did, however, enjoy seeing the town up close. So often I simply drive though these quaint Adirondack hamlets and take no notice of the minute details and subtle cultural aspects of the community. It remained cold and windy all morning, and I had to move quickly to stay warm. Once back in the woods the sun really started to warm up the air, and I was able to layer down for the last part of the hike.

To be honest, I just flew though the Peavine Swamp trail. I didn’t really care much about scenery at that point; I simply wanted to get back to the car. Even though most of the mud was frozen, and much of the snow still hard, every now and then I would break though a thin layer of leaves and ice, thus flooding my sandals and socks with cold, clingy mud. I chose to ignore the problem, and just continued hiking. Soon enough I was at the Ranger School, and actually pretty shocked that such a long journey was ending so quickly. For the last walk down to my car I reflected on my experiences over the past two days. There were so many little things that had made the trip special, but I don’t want to push your attention span or interest any farther than I already have by writing them down.

I arrived back at the trailhead in Wanakena at 10:00 AM on that beautifully sunny morning. I was thrilled to have made it, and the joy overwhelmed the physical pain by leaps and bounds. I needed to call Viewseeker, and wanted to do a fire tower hike while I was so close, so I decided to jog up and tag Cathedral Rock while I was in the area. Having my pack off made my feet light, and within 40 minutes I had made the round trip hike. It was a nice warm down, and finishing it brought me back to my car at 11pm, exactly 50 hours after I began two days before. Overall the entire adventure was challenging, enjoyable, and rewarding. Thank you so much for everyone who created and maintains this trail, it’s a wonderful resource for us all!
So sorry for another long trip report by yours truly, but I hope you found it somewhat entertaining. As usual, thanks for reading it! I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story: Lots of Pictures

Stats (all distances were calculated using trail signs and my guidebook):

Total estimated/calculated distance (including Cathedral Rock): 63.5 miles
Total time (including Cathedral Rock): 50 hours
Total estimated moving time (as in when I began hiking in the morning, and later finished hiking that evening, and including all breaks and Cathedral Rock): 30 hours
Total estimated steps (my pedometer broke at Dog Pond, so I just doubled the number there): 87,060
Total amount of weight lost: 7 pounds
Total pack weight: 40 lbs (WAY TOO MUCH, could’ve made it much lighter)
Total amount of water consumed: 490 ounces
Total number of pictures taken: 346
Total amount of video footage shot: 5 min, 39 sec
Total number of pieces of trash picked up: 14
Total estimated number of blinks: 75,000
Total estimated number of times a profane word was thought (and maybe said out loud): 112.4
Total estimated number of times I thought about food: 350 (+/- 100)

Sliding Rock Falls video
Bear Mountain Swamp video
Cold morning on Sunday video
CL-50 FINISH video!
Summit of Cathedral Rock video

[ADK88]

P.S. Here's the trail map:

http://picasaweb.google.com/adktyler...08645177583874

[hobbitling]

I see no map.

Sounds like you had a good time in the end.

[ADK88]

Originally Posted by hobbitling

I see no map.

looks like a fun time

Can you really not see the map? Anyone else have this problem? I can see it .

If you can't view the map, just go to the website link at the beginning of the report, it's on there.

Thanks, it was a fun time!

[Dustin]

Your trip report was excellent and the pictures were awesome as well! I bet that trip's scenery is really great during the later spring and fall months, less the bugs. Glad that you saw others out on the trail to keep your spirits up. I'm not too sure about the sandals/socks hiking in those kind of conditions. Sounds like the beginning to one of those stories you hear in dramatic survival, or non-survival, stories. Glad you had a good time!

[viewseeker]

I Could See Map But Couldnt See It On Vftt. Btw, The Mosquitos Are Out Along With The Nats Here ...

[Stephan26]

Very cool hike my friend. Great way to spend the weekend. Are those campsite or lean-tos available to all? can you just show up and camp there? Great report and pictures, pictures, pictures as usual.

[hobbitling]

probably the museum firewall.

I found the map on the website.

I'll have to add that trail to the list.

[DuctTape]

Glad you got to do the trail. Nice trip report and photos. Good to see the new bridge. It was tricky for me to cross and stay dry, when the water is high it would be darn near impossible. I can hardly wait to hike it again. Maybe together next time.

DT

[ADK88]

Originally Posted by Dustin

Your trip report was excellent and the pictures were awesome as well! I bet that trip's scenery is really great during the later spring and fall months, less the bugs. Glad that you saw others out on the trail to keep your spirits up. I'm not too sure about the sandals/socks hiking in those kind of conditions. Sounds like the beginning to one of those stories you hear in dramatic survival, or non-survival, stories. Glad you had a good time!

Thanks, Dustin! I bet fall would be an excellent time to hike it! I'm also not too sure about the sandals/sock deal, it was certainly NOT my first choice. It ended up working okay, but if my boots had not hurt so much or been frozen, I would have put them back on. This was the longest I've ever hiked in sandals, and I must say hiking boots are peoples choice for a reason!

Originally Posted by viewseeker

I Could See Map But Couldnt See It On Vftt. Btw, The Mosquitos Are Out Along With The Nats Here ...

Ok, I don't know about the map thing. It's on the website, that's all I can say.

Originally Posted by Stephan26

Very cool hike my friend. Great way to spend the weekend. Are those campsite or lean-tos available to all? can you just show up and camp there? Great report and pictures, pictures, pictures as usual.

Thanks, Stephen! Yup, the lean-tos are available for free all the time, just show up. Keep in mind, though, that it's first come, first serve. So if you show up, and it's already filled, you might have some trouble. Keep in mind, too, that the Olmstead Lean-to is often trashed with junk. I carried a bunch of things out from there, but there was more than I wanted to haul though the woods.

Originally Posted by hobbitling

probably the museum firewall.

I found the map on the website.

I'll have to add that trail to the list.

You should! There are at least 5 groups I know who are doing it between now and October, maybe you could join one of the 3 forum groups?

Originally Posted by DuctTape

Glad you got to do the trail. Nice trip report and photos. Good to see the new bridge. It was tricky for me to cross and stay dry, when the water is high it would be darn near impossible. I can hardly wait to hike it again. Maybe together next time.

DT

Thanks! I thought of you when I crossed the creek. I had read your TR about 5 times, and remembered your issues. Next time you should be fine! THANK YOU so much for your info. Your trip report was very helpful!! I hope you have a blast when you hike it again!

[hobbitling]

i believe you had an experience with "bending the map". Which is when you convince yourself you are somewhere you aren't, despite the fact that the features on the map don't match with the landscape around you.

[ADK88]

Originally Posted by hobbitling

i believe you had an experience with "bending the map". Which is when you convince yourself you are somewhere you aren't, despite the fact that the features on the map don't match with the landscape around you.

That sounds about right. The features SORT of matched, in my mind, but if I compared the millage and looked at the big picture, they were not even close.

This is actually the first time something like this has happened to me, so I've hopefully learned my lesson and will be much wiser for it in the future.

[ALGonquin Bob]

Sweet. Quite the hike, eh? I liked the 4 beavers slapping in unison. Those were likely Red-Winged Blackbirds. I'll probably be paddling past High Falls in 2 months, or so. Congratulatons on doing the CL50!
PS: "Who cooks for youuuuuuu... who cooks for you alllllll?"

[whitefoot]

Good report, looks like the snow will be gone when i go in early may, hopefully the water levels will go down also, im not sure how i will get my dog accross that bridge, looks like he'll be swimming,LOL
I'm looking foreword to may.

[chairrock]

Nicely done! great pictures bring back fond memories! Glad to see the new bridge, hope it doesn't wash out. The cliffs you found on West Flow are the Wildcliff Ledges. Nice bushwack!

[ADK88]

Originally Posted by ALGonquin Bob

Sweet. Quite the hike, eh? I liked the 4 beavers slapping in unison. Those were likely Red-Winged Blackbirds. I'll probably be paddling past High Falls in 2 months, or so. Congratulatons on doing the CL50!
PS: "Who cooks for youuuuuuu... who cooks for you alllllll?"

I would say so! Thanks for the correction on the birds, I knew that, but had a classic Tyler-ditsy moment. I would love to paddle up to High Falls, it'd be an excellent camping site in warm weather.
I usually cook for myself, but this whole trip I used dry food:
12 packs of pop tarts
4 sandwiches
18 trail bars
4 bagels
2 apples
1 quesedilla
1 burrito

I ate all but two packs of pop tarts, one apple, 6 bars, and one sandwich!

Originally Posted by whitefoot

Good report, looks like the snow will be gone when i go in early may, hopefully the water levels will go down also, im not sure how i will get my dog accross that bridge, looks like he'll be swimming,LOL
I'm looking foreword to may.

I'm sure it will be gone by then. Maybe a few little patchy spots, but it was melting pretty fast in the warm sun. It would be nice if someone put some cross boards across the bridge to make it a little more legit, but I was just glad to have a bridge. The water really wasn't that high, I don't think. I didn't have a single water crossing issue, besides being clumsy and slipping in a few times.

Originally Posted by chairrock

Nicely done! great pictures bring back fond memories! Glad to see the new bridge, hope it doesn't wash out. The cliffs you found on West Flow are the Wildcliff Ledges. Nice bushwack!

Thanks! At first I thought I was trespassing on the cliffs, and was like "blast it!" But when I looked on the map I saw that they were on state land, so it worked out well. Lovely views of the lake from up there!
Next time I'll go clockwise I think, and take 4 or more days!

[chairrock]

The bridge is new this spring, at least it wasn't there in November. It must be a work in progress. I am glad they got past the non-conforming use issues.I know they were looking for historical pictures or records that showed a bridge there.

[ALGonquin Bob]

Originally Posted by ADK88

I usually cook for myself, but this whole trip I used dry food

Well I'm glad that you ate well, and I'm sorry for the somewhat obscure quote which is actually the common way of writing the call of the Barred Owl.
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barred_Owl/id
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fppKGJD3Y6c

[ADK88]

Originally Posted by ALGonquin Bob

Well I'm glad that you ate well, and I'm sorry for the somewhat obscure quote which is actually the common way of writing the call of the Barred Owl.
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barred_Owl/id
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fppKGJD3Y6c

HAHAHAHAHA!! That's really funny. I was wondering if I might have been missing something. Thanks!