Cedar Lakes Trail WCW?

[Ramblin'J]

In my research I have been finding that there is a sketchy bridge crossing between French Louie trail and Cedar Lakes lean tos on Cedar lake trail, does anyone know if this has been fixed? Also, what are the chances of getting one of the lean tos this coming weekend? Hoping to be there by Saturday afternoon at some point.

Joe

[DuctTape]

The "funhouse bridge" over Grassy Brook is scheduled for repair this summer. It will be a big project and the DEC person in charge is not sure if it will be completed by the end of the summer.

[Ramblin'J]

Thanks DuctTape. Any idea if it is currently passable?

[DuctTape]

Thanks DuctTape. Any idea if it is currently passable?

It is passable. Not easy especially after (or during) a rain as the one section is completely collapsed. A friend of mine went through last year and made a video. I will find a link to it and post it.

[DuctTape]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l164WDTH6J4&t=1155s

[Justin]

You can always follow that stream to the south for a short bit, where it makes the sharp bend and goes from Stony Brook to Grassy Brook (same steam) to the site of an old camp. I have not found any remains of the old camp but it is a fun detour exploration non the less, with many options for crossing safely other than using the fun house bridge debacle. You can still see & follow the remnants of the old road/trail to the old camp if you look for it shown on the map below.

[Ramblin'J]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l164WDTH6J4&t=1155s

Thanks DuctTape, I appreciate the help. Think I'm going to follow Justin's advice and travel around the bridge. I'll probably decide when I see how bad it is in person.

[Ramblin'J]

[QUOTE=Justin;290325]You can always follow that stream to the south for a short bit, where it makes the sharp bend and goes from Stony Brook to Grassy Brook (same steam) to the site of an old camp. I have not found any remains of the old camp but it is a fun detour exploration non the less, with many options for crossing safely other than using the fun house bridge debacle. You can still see & follow the remnants of the old road/trail to the old camp if you look for it shown on the map below.

Thanks Justin, I think my plan will be to go around the bridge as you suggested. I appreciate the advice and I'll let you know how things work out.

[Justin]

So how did you make out?

[Ramblin'J]

So how did you make out?

Hey Justin, I was hoping to put up a trip report and post some photos but I can't seem to login in to the forum on my phone so no photos for now.

After arriving on Saturday morning of 4th of July weekend and checking the trail register / talking with other hikers in the parking lot we decided to call an audible. It looked and sounded like Cedar Lakes was going to be a popular destination for the weekend so we took an educated gamble that Pillsbury Lake lean-to would be open and we were correct. We had a group of 4 and 2 were on their first backpacking trip so the shorter hike was likely a better option anyway.

We had the lean-to and lake to ourselves for three days and did some side hikes during the day. A pair of loons provided the music for the weekend which was awesome and we had great weather. The only downside of Pillsbury is the shallow muck lined shore that kept us from swimming but a hike over to Sampson took care of that issue; that lake had a beautiful site and a great setup for swimming.

All in all things worked out well and I think all four of us plan on going back to explore more of the loop. Thanks again for the info

Cheers!
Joe

[Ramblin'J]

A few photos from the weekend...

[ILikeRocks]

Those photos are absolutely fantastic, nice job!

[St.Regis]

X2 on the great photos...If those pics are from your phone, it just reinforces why I need to get a new one

[Ramblin'J]

Thanks guys!

St.Regis, I wish I could say that I took these with an I phone, but my dumb ass likes to carry as much weight as possible, I've never weighed everything but I'm guessing the camera bag alone weighs 20lb-30lb.

[Justin]

Very nice!