Allegheny National forest

[111t]

http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/allegheny/maps/location_maps/vicinitymap.pdf

Over the weekend of August 3-5 I had the pleasure of hiking a section of the North Country Trail in Allegheny National Forest with my girlfriend Kelly and my good friend Matt. Matt was coming down from Rochester that Friday, so I knew we would get a late start. Several weeks earlier I took a scouting trip to find a good bivy site within an hour’s walk of the trailhead. We dropped the exit car at Chappel Bay and drove back to the north end near willow bay. We were on the trail at about 8pm. We had just about an hour of daylight left. Kelly captured this great shot of the sunlight filtering through the trees.



We used the GPS to find the clearing I had scouted earlier.



If you look closely you can see a reflection from one of the many Blue Diamond blazes that mark the path of the North Country Trail

Matt And I ready to press on…



Within an hour of setting out Saturday morning we came to the first of many little bays along the Allegheny Reservoir.



Another Great View…



We stopped here and filtered water and then moved on.

About mid afternoon we stopped for lunch at some glacial boulders. The entire region is littered with boulders of this sort, remnants of the formation of these hills and Valleys.

Peanut butter and M&M’s on pita bread.





mmm. Note the Bear canister… increasingly important in the east. Black bear are common here. In the north country of New York State these canisters are required by law. Matt and I each had one from a previous trip. They’re heavy and bulky… but they are way easier than hanging a bag. They also allow you to carry more delicate food items. Matt has become a fan of carrying grapes.


Matt on his perch.


A view through the woods towards Sugar bay.

We stopped once again along the trail to filter water and cook dinner. Dinner was mashed potatoes and Mountain house. Not exactly gourmet fare… but we were in a hurry and tired. I set up my Nova and set it to prime…




I was, perhaps, a tad bit impatient with my little stove…


…Not quite ready…


THERE we go!


Kelly samples the chicken…

Camp for night 2 was better than Friday. We found a spot near a stream and set up camp on dry pine needles. The next morning we took some photos around camp.




Who’s that snappy dresser?

Breakfast consisted of instant coffee or cocoa, snickers, and betty crocker seasoned skillets: garlic and herb potatoes. This last being my best new find in the world of supermarket foods that do well on the trail.



More glacial rocks… much bigger…





The end of the road…

[timetohike]

great pictures. Looks like you had a great time.

I've spent a lot a time in New York's Allegany State Park (note the spelling difference, why I don't know) just across the border from Allegheny NF. The NCT passes through the park and it is the only trail in the park on which you can backpack.

Despite the expansion of bear hunting, the population has been growing in the southern western counties of NY (and I assume Allegheny NF as well). Bear-human problems are escalating similar to that experienced in the ADK. A few years ago the parks department, in conjunction with the DEC, gave up re-locating problem bears because they found that most of them just return to the park anyway.

I'm guessing in a few years they'll have to enact regs requiring bear canisters for NCT hikers in the park. for the site campers, they have trash sheds surrounded by electrical fences.

[111t]

I found this Link to DEC's report on bear in NY. I went to cannisters last year after an ADK Trip. I kind of like them... I'm not a big fan of hanging bags after dark. I think it's a +1 for e-frames that cannisters fit in/on them well. There are definitely more bear in the park. I watched them constructing the dumpster corrals with some interest. I actually almost hit a bear that was sitting in the road last year. (!)

[timetohike]

7 or 8 years ago a bear was struck and killed on route 17. I heard that the guy who hit the bear was ticked because it caused damage to his car but he wasn't allowed to keep it. The carcass was given to the Seneca Nation because the part of 17 on which it was hit was on the reservation.

[111t]

I don't know i guess I can see both sides of that one... What the heck is the Seneca Nation going to do with a roadkill Bear? Serve it at the Casino? I hit a deer a couple of years ago and before the trooper even got there, there was a guy pulled over asking me if he could have it. It could be a windfall for some of the people out here. There's a lot of good meat there. That Deer did $3500 damage to my car. But what was I going to do? Throw it in the back (Leather) seat of the Bonneville with my dog? I didn't figure that was a good idea. The trooper learned the hard way that the best way to put down a deer is to shoot it in the neck NOT the head... (i guess you could say the deer found out the hard way) Unbelievable. I digress.

Then again WNY Native Americans generally get the short end of things. I doubt any of them are sorry about the recent problems in Albany. I think there are better ways NY could show respect to the Native Americans than dutifly turn over every bear killed in road accidents. There are really major problems between Albany and the Senecas.