Fulton Chain WF Designated Campsites

[montcalm]

I see DT - different Gull Lake! I thought you meant the one in BRWF.

But yeah, you added a little bit on in Haderondah but actually quite a bit more on the west side looping back down through MRPWF by Black Bear Mtn.

If I was going to add that last part I might as well just start in Eagle bay and just close up the last loop. The worst part of the original trip I did was the section between Haderondah and Rondaxe Lake. It looks like about the same route I picked. When I actually hiked it I didn't have a good map of that section and it's a maze of snowmobile and 4wd trails. There are also ways to get through there on the south side of the Moose River which is FCWF land.

[DSettahr]

Pine Lake is nice. When I was there I did see old evidence of ATVs but it looked like it had been some years there'd been any illegal ATV use there.

Middle Settlement is gorgeous- but a bit close to the road, and I think it receives more use than either Pine Lake or Middle Branch.

Since you mentioned BRWF: I've found that this area is generally good for solitude. I think the majority of use here is in the winter, by snowmobile. From the south end of Ha-De-Ron-Dah, a little bit of road walking will get you to the access road down to the Middle Branch Moose River (west of Nelson Lake). From here, you can either ford the river and pick up the trails on the other side. Both the Nelson Lake and Remsen Falls lean-tos are nice, Neslon Lake gets light to moderate levels of use, Remsen Falls gets very little use. The trails here do get brushy in spots but they mostly follow old roads so the tread is usually fairly obvious. You could end your trip at Nelson Lake or even up in Thendara.

If you're particularly brave (and prepared for a wet crossing), fording the South Branch Moose River at Remsen Falls gets you to more trails and perhaps another day or two of hiking. There's 2 or 3 designated tent sites on the south side of the river right at the falls (but you can drive pretty close to here so they do get a decent amount of use). The Woodhull Lake lean-to is moderately to very popular; it sits literally right on the shoreline (and adult male could probably pee into the lake while standing in the lean-to; unfortunately I've no doubt that it's been done, either). The Bear Lake Lean-to is newer and I think it will get more use as the word continues to get out about it (although Nat Geo mistakenly left it off the most recent version of their maps for the area). The fire pit at the Bear Lake Lean-to is really nice, it's built up against a rocky outcrop that the lean-to faces. Further south, Sand Lake Falls gets relatively little use (although from what I remember, the trail that runs south through here to North Lake gets pretty wet in spots).

With a little bit of road walking at North Lake, you can get back on trails that will take you all the way to Nobleboro.

[backwoodsman]

You can definitely hear traffic on Rt 28 at Middle Settlement , and be prepared for yahoos. Middle Branch you can hear atvs running off towards Big Otter , Partridgeville Rd , maybe even Steam Mill Rd on a quiet night . There is a campsite on Pine Lake , I think there used to be a "camp here " tag on it but there isn't anymore .
I carried and carted a canoe into Pine one time and when I was out on the lake someone went down the trail on an ATV with a canoe on a rack over it , like a ladder rack on a pickup. He couldn't hear me as I screamed WTF !

[montcalm]

I’ve been to middle branch in the winter and it was about the only place in the area I couldn’t hear snowmobiles.

I’ve never been to the east side of haderondah...

I’ve camped or at least hiked most marked trails in brwf and perhaps it would be better to do haderondah with that area and mrpwf with plw.

I linked a different map page. Should work now.

[Wldrns]

The "other" Gull Lake in the BRWF, the leanto is around the point on the far left :

[DuctTape]

Jackson, some of what you describe is part of my NPT-west Arc.

[bridgeman]

Chub Lake (northeast of Queer Lake in the Pigeon Lake Wilderness), as I understand it, has an established tent site that I believe is meant to be a designated site, although there is no "camp here" disc (and it seems like there never has been one). It's shown on the DECInfo site, at least.

The DECInfo site also shows a designated tent site on west end of Queer Lake (actually on the smaller, separate pond adjacent to Queer Lake) but I don't remember seeing a site here at all when I took a day hike there a few years ago.

It's not directly on your route but I believe there's 2 or 3 designated tent sites on Cascade lake, south of Queer Lake.

Moss Lake has a bunch of designated tent sites, and they are all pretty obvious. This area can be popular for camping, however, since the sites are so close to the road.

Middle Branch Lake doesn't have any designated tent sites, but there is a ton of open woods here so the 150 foot thing wouldn't be too hard to do. When I camped there a few years ago, I remember seeing a group set up on the north side of the pond, set back from the water a fair distance.

It's not directly on your route but Middle Settlement Lake is also worth checking out. I remember seeing one designated tent site here in addition to the lean-to.

The DECInfo site shows a designated tent site at Pine Lake in addition to the lean-to there, but I don't remember seeing it when I camped there (although that trip was nearly 10 years ago now, so my memory isn't the best).

There is a well-established site at East Pond (the old lean-to site) that I thought was meant to be a designated site- I want to say that maybe it was mentioned in the UMP? When I stayed in this site a few years ago there was no "Camp Here" disc. I've noticed that this site is not shown at all on the DECInfo site, not sure if this is an oversight (wouldn't be the first designated site they missed in the official inventory) or if the site is actually meant to be designated (and is thus an illegal site, since it's too close to the trail).

The tent site on Chub Lake is very nice and has a large flat rock. Doesn't seem to get much use. Here's sunrise and sunset photos from last fall.

[Zach]

Your pictures are beautiful. I haven't been to Chub in several years, but it was one of my favorite spots back before I made a canoe and began going to wetter places. The rock is nice for swimming, and the loons always seemed to be close by where I could hear them. I never camped there, but I'd like to someday.