Pigeon Lake Wilderness in winter

[Alpine1]

Bill,
As a member of L2R I helped with the Nelson Lake L2 and what you've written regarding the Hemlock logs being to heavy for the chopper is what I was told as well. Maybe the original plan was to put the BB L2 at the Walface site. Based on info in the log book the L2 is either new (roof and deck certainly are) or got a major face lift. The logs at the WF site have graffiti on them. I wonder where they came from if they are not new.

There are a few L2R members here that have been members longer than I. Hope one of them chimes in to clarify.

The logs from the Nelson Lake Lean-to are definitely from Bear Brook. (The floor and roof look new.) I am not active in Lean2rescue but I somehow got on their mailing list, so for a while I was getting regular updates on its status. If you examine the carved graffiti you will see references to mountains like Gothics.

My understanding is that DEC did briefly consider flying the logs to another location in the High Peaks, but the logs weren't cedar and were therefore too heavy for the helicopter. Nelson Lake was chosen because canoes and horses could be used to transport the materials to the site.

But I know there are L2R members who participate on this forum, so I'll refrain from stealing their thunder and let them tell their own story, if they so choose.

[dundee]

Wow, someone might get drunk at Nelson Lake, wake up the next morning, all hungover, and then they start reading things on the wall about Gothics and start to wonder where they really are!

[JimB]

Brendan, thanks for the cool link to the fire towers. Lots of great info.

[Zach]

I went in from the Higby/Judson Rd trailhead last August and bushwhacked up to Russian and then up to Andy's Creek and Lower Sister. The hike across the beaver swamp to get to the trailhead for Andy's/Lower Sister was definitely not one of the high points of my hiking career. Much of the swamp(which seemed really big) is crisscrossed by ditches in the 2-3 foot deep range and the ground is covered with tall grasses and/or waist high bushes which make the ditches hard to jump across, especially with a backpack on. The beavers were visibly active and the water level was high. I would not think it would be very fun in the winter. In previous years I had visited Queer Lake and Chub Lake twice and Cascade Lake once. I liked the scenery of those areas much more, and both on and off trail the going seemed much easier. Queer Lake LT is very nicely placed from a scenery point of view, although it may be too close to the water. Cascade Lake does not have a lean-to but both the 'cascade' at the east end of the lake and the small open rock area on top of Cascade Mountain to the south are very nice, in my opinion. Chub Lake is very pretty and feels more remote than it probably is. There is a nice rock ledge at the campsite there that extends under water and has nice views. I have never been there in the winter, but I think it would be pretty nice.
Zach
Zach

[madison]

I spent a winter near Eagle Bay a few years back and used to snowshoe regularly to Cascade Lake. Access was from a parking area right on Big Moose Rd that was usually clear. You can get to Queer Lake in winter also- I think it's about a 5 mile trip from the Cascade trailhead, or there's a trailhead a few miles farther up the road. From that trailhead it's about 3.5 miles in to Queer Lake. I've stayed at the Queer Lake lean-to several times, never in winter, but it's a really nice spot- one of my favorites.

[DSettahr]

I think I'll definitely put Russian Lake on the list for this winter then- an easy 1 night overnight.

Good to know that Chub and Cascade Lakes are worthwhile destinations in addition to Queer Lake. I'll probably save that area for when there is no snow.

[dundee]

I think I'll definitely put Russian Lake on the list for this winter then- an easy 1 night overnight.

Good to know that Chub and Cascade Lakes are worthwhile destinations in addition to Queer Lake. I'll probably save that area for when there is no snow.

Chub is nice, but Cascade I can do w/o. It's an old road into the lake (it was once a girls camp) and is very rocky & eroded. The trail at the far end is mud soup. It gets a lot of use and I believe it to be open for mt. biking which detracts from the Wilderness characteristics.

[Alpine1]

and Moss isn't much different than Cascade. Good places to stay away from during the summer months.

[DSettahr]

Is there any designated campsites at Pigeon Lake? How about Chub Lake? I'm thinking that in order to best explore this area, it'd be good to spend 2 nights... one at Queer Lake and one somewhere else (preferably Pigeon Lake if I'm going to be coming from Raquette Lake and leaving the same way).

[Wldrns]

Thread drift....
The L2R team was busy this past weekend, relocating the WolfJaw L2 some 300 yards to the west of the original location with about 20 folks participating in the log-by-log haul. The new location has a nice winter view of LWJ and several slides.

[dundee]

Is there any designated campsites at Pigeon Lake? How about Chub Lake? I'm thinking that in order to best explore this area, it'd be good to spend 2 nights... one at Queer Lake and one somewhere else (preferably Pigeon Lake if I'm going to be coming from Raquette Lake and leaving the same way).

There's a designated site at Chub, but nothing at Pigeon. Chub is fairly sizable with loons and good swimming. Pigeon is small, shallow and you don't see much of it. The woods are very thick, no place to put a tent anyway, but there are some big pines there.

The trail takes on a real wilderness character east of the Chub jct. and sees little use; nice to travel on.

[DSettahr]

That's what happens when the DEC puts these new LT's so close to a trailhead. Why?

In the Catskills, there is a lean-to that is literally a 5 minute walk from the road. The trailhead sign says it's .3 miles, but there is no way it's even half that distance. Funny enough, the lean-to doesn't seem to get nearly as much use as one would expect. Apart from some "urban graffiti" inside the shelter, it's in pretty good shape.

Come to think of it, I can think of at least 4 lean-tos in the Adirondacks on state land that are less than a 5 minute walk from the road, and 1 more that is less than 10 minutes in. One of them is so close you could probably play catch with a baseball, with one person standing in the road and the other person standing at the lean-to. Again, they are in much better shape than one would expect... I would bet that there's 2 reasons for this- they aren't "far enough" from the road, so most people looking for solitude head elsewhere, and the powers that be (DEC/ADK) don't really advertise their existence. Probably they are also more regularly patrolled by law enforcement.

[dundee]

BTW, firewood is vry scarce at Queer Lake and the forest is rather open fom years of cutting.