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This was my first trip to Pharaoh Lake. Valerie was the trip leader, so we followed her original plan to head in via the 'scenic' route. And scenic it was!
This was a last minute hike (well, for us 3 days in advance is last minute). I had an extra day off so I could actually spend a night in the woods and the weather forecast was good.
From Putnam Pond we left civilization behind for about a day. I've been on the first stretch heading into Clear Pond before, so it was familiar enough. But in the fall everything changes, and the views are more open. Once past the intersection for Clear Pond, the forest opened to more hard woods. This also meant more fallen leaves, which added a minor element of uncertainty following the trail from time to time. There was also a lot of blow down in the Grizzle Ocean to Pharaoh Lake stretch. This was one of my favorite spots as you descend to a marshland with some unique qualities. I didn't take a lot of photos because it just too vast/open to fit in a tiny 640x480 image. There was some beaver activity that made for a little wet going, but overall the trail was dry.
Once past Wolf Pond you do some minor ups and downs. Then you suddenly arrive at Pharaoh. I wasn't sure what to expect as it's such a highly praised spot in the park. I was neither over or underwhelmed. There is certainly lots to explore as I was immediately aware of how vast this body of water was. We continued to the lean-to Val had selected, with more fallen trees as hurtles. She thought the northeastern lean-to was more likely to have firewood and privacy.
We made camp on a relatively warm and breezy evening. I built a pretty big fire thanks to Val's expert fire gathering instincts, finding a fallen maple 2 minutes from camp (after I had just walked by it!
). Absent were the cries of loon and crickets. I missed the sounds of nature, but as the moon rose that night we were treated to sunrise at 8PM. Moonlight drenched everything and pierced through the trees. The winds suddenly calmed for the night. Again, no camera could capture this.
We slept well and woke later than expected. After slowly breaking camp we headed out, stopping for a side hike on Wintergreen Point. This gave us a good view of Pharaoh Mountain. We had originally hoped to climb Pharaoh on day #1, but we didn't have enough time left once we finally reached the lean-to. It's still a summit on my to-do list.
While it had cooled off on day #2 with a frontal passage, the skies were also clear and bright all the way out. I snapped photos and got lost (for a few minutes) as Val watched me wander up a hill aimlessly, walking over the trail I was looking for. lol
The hike out became a little tough for me. I'm not used to carrying a full pack for 5+ miles. Fortunately most of my food was gone, and we had taken Val's tent as a backup (which is 2 pounds lighter than mine). My spirits were high as the day was bright and beautiful.
Here's a quiz for our plant experts. What the hell is this (piece of) plant I found on the shore of Pharaoh Lake? It was 4 or 5 inches long. It looks like something I've seen on Discovery Channel, but in the ocean. It appears to be a broken off segment of a much larger plant.
Sunset
This was my first trip to Pharaoh Lake. Valerie was the trip leader, so we followed her original plan to head in via the 'scenic' route. And scenic it was!
This was a last minute hike (well, for us 3 days in advance is last minute). I had an extra day off so I could actually spend a night in the woods and the weather forecast was good.From Putnam Pond we left civilization behind for about a day. I've been on the first stretch heading into Clear Pond before, so it was familiar enough. But in the fall everything changes, and the views are more open. Once past the intersection for Clear Pond, the forest opened to more hard woods. This also meant more fallen leaves, which added a minor element of uncertainty following the trail from time to time. There was also a lot of blow down in the Grizzle Ocean to Pharaoh Lake stretch. This was one of my favorite spots as you descend to a marshland with some unique qualities. I didn't take a lot of photos because it just too vast/open to fit in a tiny 640x480 image. There was some beaver activity that made for a little wet going, but overall the trail was dry.
Once past Wolf Pond you do some minor ups and downs. Then you suddenly arrive at Pharaoh. I wasn't sure what to expect as it's such a highly praised spot in the park. I was neither over or underwhelmed. There is certainly lots to explore as I was immediately aware of how vast this body of water was. We continued to the lean-to Val had selected, with more fallen trees as hurtles. She thought the northeastern lean-to was more likely to have firewood and privacy.
We made camp on a relatively warm and breezy evening. I built a pretty big fire thanks to Val's expert fire gathering instincts, finding a fallen maple 2 minutes from camp (after I had just walked by it!
). Absent were the cries of loon and crickets. I missed the sounds of nature, but as the moon rose that night we were treated to sunrise at 8PM. Moonlight drenched everything and pierced through the trees. The winds suddenly calmed for the night. Again, no camera could capture this.We slept well and woke later than expected. After slowly breaking camp we headed out, stopping for a side hike on Wintergreen Point. This gave us a good view of Pharaoh Mountain. We had originally hoped to climb Pharaoh on day #1, but we didn't have enough time left once we finally reached the lean-to. It's still a summit on my to-do list.
While it had cooled off on day #2 with a frontal passage, the skies were also clear and bright all the way out. I snapped photos and got lost (for a few minutes) as Val watched me wander up a hill aimlessly, walking over the trail I was looking for. lol
The hike out became a little tough for me. I'm not used to carrying a full pack for 5+ miles. Fortunately most of my food was gone, and we had taken Val's tent as a backup (which is 2 pounds lighter than mine). My spirits were high as the day was bright and beautiful.
Here's a quiz for our plant experts. What the hell is this (piece of) plant I found on the shore of Pharaoh Lake? It was 4 or 5 inches long. It looks like something I've seen on Discovery Channel, but in the ocean. It appears to be a broken off segment of a much larger plant.
Sunset
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