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This was a 'get out into the woods' hike. We entered from the 11th mt trailhead on Friday, 8-5-05. Followed a majestic Sacandaga River, then headed up to the pond(s). Total of 6.3 miles to hike in. There are numerous camp sites along the larger of the Siamese Ponds, so we stayed at Val's favorite. The first night was after a cold front had passed earlier that day, so the humidity and temps dropped and the skies were pitch black. The bands of the Milky Way were very obvious and there were a few million viewable stars. Even saw some shooting stars, probably remnants from the recent meteor shower.
The following day (Saturday) we opted to hiked around the larger Siamese Pond and then bushwack over to the smaller pond, fishing along the way. In general the trout were not biting, but I did manage to hook a 15"+ rainbow, only to lose him a few feet from the shore to a poorly tied line
. Many nice views. The pair of loons on the pond are very active. At one point the male loon took off and circled the pond while making his defensive calls. Then later that same morning he was again circling and Valerie managed to capture him flying right over us with her digital camera (divx video). I had never heard a loon fly, and you can just barely make out the wings flapping in the video. You'll have to trust me when I say that, for a bird, their flapping is very loud. They're not the most graceful birds. 
Later we had an even closer encounter with the loon on the opposite side of the pond, snapping photos as it fished a few hundred feet off shore. We saw very little of the mother, we think she was tending to their baby.
It was a perfect day to be in the woods (warm but with low humidity). This area of the park (south-central) is one I'm becoming more acquainted with, and have found myself at home there.
Here's a photo of the sunset on the first night.
This was a 'get out into the woods' hike. We entered from the 11th mt trailhead on Friday, 8-5-05. Followed a majestic Sacandaga River, then headed up to the pond(s). Total of 6.3 miles to hike in. There are numerous camp sites along the larger of the Siamese Ponds, so we stayed at Val's favorite. The first night was after a cold front had passed earlier that day, so the humidity and temps dropped and the skies were pitch black. The bands of the Milky Way were very obvious and there were a few million viewable stars. Even saw some shooting stars, probably remnants from the recent meteor shower.
The following day (Saturday) we opted to hiked around the larger Siamese Pond and then bushwack over to the smaller pond, fishing along the way. In general the trout were not biting, but I did manage to hook a 15"+ rainbow, only to lose him a few feet from the shore to a poorly tied line
. Many nice views. The pair of loons on the pond are very active. At one point the male loon took off and circled the pond while making his defensive calls. Then later that same morning he was again circling and Valerie managed to capture him flying right over us with her digital camera (divx video). I had never heard a loon fly, and you can just barely make out the wings flapping in the video. You'll have to trust me when I say that, for a bird, their flapping is very loud. They're not the most graceful birds. Later we had an even closer encounter with the loon on the opposite side of the pond, snapping photos as it fished a few hundred feet off shore. We saw very little of the mother, we think she was tending to their baby.It was a perfect day to be in the woods (warm but with low humidity). This area of the park (south-central) is one I'm becoming more acquainted with, and have found myself at home there.
Here's a photo of the sunset on the first night.
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