Adirondacks planning

[wsp_scott]

I know there are some NE people here who I hope can give me some advice.

My wife's parents have a place near Watertown NY. She takes the kids to visit each year at the end of July/ beginning of August. I don't want to hang out with her parents so I'm looking at the Adirondacks. Everything I read says BUGS in the summer. Mosquitos seem to be the biggest problem that time of year. I can handle those, but I'd rather not be hiking with a bug net or hiding in a tent to avoid them. How bad are the bugs? Lakes worse than mountain tops? Or doesn't really matter?

Also, if it was the middle of the week, how crowded are the trails? I don't mind seeing some people while I'm hiking, but I really prefer to camp with no one nearby. I suspect that this depends on the location.

I'm thinking 5 - 7 nights, any suggested places to check out? Specific lakes or mountain views or ...?

 

[Janice]

Will you go solo? Or will your kids be with you? My kids really enjoyed the Catamount day hike if you're looking for something to do together. When we were there, it was mid-summer (July) and I don't remember the bugs being a problem. Maybe we were lucky?

 

[kwc]

Mosquitoes can be a problem at that time of the year in the Adirondacks. Weather plays a part of course, with wet rainy summers leading to mucho mosquitoes.

The closest area to Watertown would be the Cranberry Lake area (Five Ponds Wilderness) and you can easily make a nice loop backpacking trip in that area. The Cranberry Lake 50 is a loop trail there (roughly 50 miles total). There is information on the DEC website (dec.ny.gov). Portions of the trail system can be fairly wet due to beaver activity. Weekends can be busier of course.

Farther east, way farther east, is the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness area. You can devise your own loops through this area and hike up a couple mountains there as well (Pharaoh and Treadway). Plenty of lakes, a couple waterfalls. It can be busy on weekends. @Titans can attest to the beauty of this area I’m sure. Again more info on the DEC website.

A longer challenge might hiking the Northville Placid trail, 130+ miles long. You could start in Northville in the southern edge of the park and then head north to Lake Placid. It’s a mostly lowland kinda trail passing by a lot of lakes and rivers. You could just do a section of the trail like from Long Lake to Lake Placid. That section would take you through some nice wilderness areas. The Adirondack Mountain Club has a guidebook specific to the trail.

There are some groups on Facebook that can be helpful as well as the adkforum.com … Rob Earle made a series of youtube videos of his backpack on the NPT, search for Backpacking Adventures. It’s a few years old but can give you an idea of the trail and the sections. Be aware that Rob is an UL backpacker and hammock camps. I have hiked with Rob on the Long Trail and IMHO he hikes fast.

There is backpacking in the High Peaks region but it’s gonna be much more crowded than those other areas. But you could combine hike peaks along with some lower hiking. You will encounter a number of hikers trying to climb the 46 high peaks so they can get their patch and “bragging rights”. With the border open now it’s going to be even busier this summer.

Hope this was a little helpful.

 

[Titans]

Tagging @kwc , as he is the expert….. well, we just had dinner and now he posted before I finished this post.

WRT the bugs, early August might be doable, if we don’t get rained out like in 2021, but before August : no (if you want to avoid the bugs). Last year after a very rainy summer we had a few mosquitoes at dusk and dawn early September (!). 2 years ago in early August we had zero bugs, much to our surprise. A ranger said the mosquitoes have a very narrow temperature window where they come out. It could be very muggy, but you’re used to that. Last year early September at one TH at elevation, it was so buggy we couldn’t even take the coats off outside the car, but we had few mosquitoes at the lake and camp the same day. IMO the mosquitoes are angles as compared to the deer flies earlier in the summer and the black flies in spring. (So Rick will look up the date on photos, when he was surrounded by deer flies around a car at one lake, edit: July 16 one year).

The Adirondacks has many “Lean-To“ and people are expected to share them. Other more dispersed wonderful campsites for tents (where you will be alone) are located and clearly marked in the forest and along lakes. Then you are also allowed to set up a tent in the forest, BUT it needs to be a certain distance from a lake or trail.

The high peaks are super popular and very busy IMO. I will PM you this weekend about a “quiet” area for midweek (w some awesome lake campsites), but it won’t be a 5-7 day trip. Actually your kids would love that area, but they will probably be in Watertown…..

Pls come prepared with permethrin on your clothing and take the ticks seriously. Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis etc are all a serious risk and common in NYS. You have to check yourself often for ticks…

 

[Titans]

Will you go solo? Or will your kids be with you? My kids really enjoyed the Catamount day hike if you're looking for something to do together. When we were there, it was mid-summer (July) and I don't remember the bugs being a problem. Maybe we were lucky?

Yes, you were very lucky . How many spray cans of DEET did you use?

 

[kwc]

If you have access to a canoe, preferably a solo lightweight canoe, there are several canoe trips you can take. Or you could canoe into Little Tupper Lake in the Whitney Wilderness, secure a campsite (first come, first served), and explore.

 

[Janice]

Yes, you were very lucky . How many spray cans of DEET did you use?

Just found a date - instead of July we were there in the August 10 range, so I guess that was a less buggy time. Lucky for me, as I am a total mosquito magnet!

 

[Janice]

Will you go solo? Or will your kids be with you? My kids really enjoyed the Catamount day hike if you're looking for something to do together. When we were there, it was mid-summer (July) and I don't remember the bugs being a problem. Maybe we were lucky?

Just looked on a map and saw where Watertown is. Catamount isn't close to that at all - oops!

 

[wsp_scott]

This would be just me, no kids. Talking to my wife this would be basically the first week of August.

It sounds like the mosquitos could be horrible or no problem depending on lots of different variables. Thanks for the mention of ticks, I had not thought of that.

I would not stay in a lean-to, so ideally I would camp away from the crowds.

I do have an inflatable kayak that I have used for some overnight trips. I would assume that bugs would be worse near the lakes, true?

As far as distance, I don't mind driving and extra hour or so if it is worth it.

 

[Traildog]

I would definitely second @kwc's recommendation of the Five Ponds W. A. It's a big area with a lot of tent sites and you should be able to find some solitude up there.

The other thing to think about are deer flies. They can be an issue

 

[kwc]

This would be just me, no kids. Talking to my wife this would be basically the first week of August.

It sounds like the mosquitos could be horrible or no problem depending on lots of different variables. Thanks for the mention of ticks, I had not thought of that.

I would not stay in a lean-to, so ideally I would camp away from the crowds.

I do have an inflatable kayak that I have used for some overnight trips. I would assume that bugs would be worse near the lakes, true?

As far as distance, I don't mind driving and extra hour or so if it is worth it.

Bugs aren’t necessarily that bad near the lakes since there’s usually a breeze on and around the lakes to keep the bugs at bay. Deer flies are a pain for sure and some duct tape or some other sticky tape on your hat will help trap them and keep them from buzzing around your head. Their incessant buzzing around your head is what can drive you nuts.

If you do decide to hike in the Five Ponds WA, you’ll probably find some abandoned logging equipment and other artifacts along the way since this was once a bustling logging area. At one time you could board a NY Central train in Manhattan and take it all the way to Wanakena and stay in one of the fancy hotels that were once there. None of them remain nor does any railroad. The one trail from Wanakena to Janacks Landing follows the old railroad bed for much of the way.