Buckhorn Lake from Piseco

[adkventurer]

Snowshoed from Piseco to Buckhorn Lake on the NP Trail.
New to snowshoeing. I'm addicted.
Awesome day. Snow is deep, but somebody had gone in three
days ago, so not bad.
Went off trail to walk around the lake.
Deep, and hard work, but lots of fun.

Three of us, all new to this, looking to go next weekend, somewhere
about 5-7 miles total. Any suggestions.

[southernadkhiker]

Yea keep walking! Beyond Buckhorn lake is the Hamilton Lake Steam leanto and then beyond that is whitehouse where there are some old chimney's, a suspension bridge, and an awesome view of the West Branch of the Sac. River. I wish I knew the mileage routes off hand. I would guess there and back, deoending on where you go could be anywhere from 7-11 miles total. A little more than you want but, nonetheless, a trip

[redhawk]

About 7 1/2 miles from Piseco to Whitehouse and back.

[Bill I.]

Three of us, all new to this, looking to go next weekend, somewhere
about 5-7 miles total. Any suggestions.

T Lake, also near Piseco, is a heckuva hike. Just about the right length, with some elevation change to make things interesting.

[adkventurer]

thanks

thanks for all the advice.
Looks like Hamilton Lake Steam leanto this weekend,
and T lake for the next.

[redhawk]

thanks for all the advice.
Looks like Hamilton Lake Steam leanto this weekend,
and T lake for the next.

If there's a lot of melting and runoff, you may have a problem at Priests Vly. If conditions are good, you can bushwhack the SW bank of the creek and the trail will come back to and cross it. Take dry socks and pants.

Hawk

[eanad2]

let me know if you need someone to joinyou guys....

[joemama]

T Lake, also near Piseco, is a heckuva hike. Just about the right length, with some elevation change to make things interesting.

Is T Lake Falls still an option? I remember doing it from Piseco Rd. about 20 years ago, before they closed the trail. Is the trail completely wiped out these days or can you follow it, and is it legal?

[Bill I.]

Is T Lake Falls still an option? I remember doing it from Piseco Rd. about 20 years ago, before they closed the trail. Is the trail completely wiped out these days or can you follow it, and is it legal?

The trail is no longer maintained, but it is still there. Blowdown is a minor issue in some spots. It is legal to go there, but DEC decided to stop maintaining the trail after several people died at the falls. To my knowledge, there have been 5 fatalities, most recently in 1993. The top of the falls are deceptively gentle and tempt people out for a better look. The problem is that you quickly reach a point where the slope is too steep to go either up or down. The entire mountainside is like that, so going through the woods on either side is only marginally better.

[Wldrns]

Is T Lake Falls still an option? I remember doing it from Piseco Rd. about 20 years ago, before they closed the trail. Is the trail completely wiped out these days or can you follow it, and is it legal?

You can also get there from the Mountain Home trailhead, a bit west of Piseco. The trail follows (more or less) the South Branch of the West Canada. It becomes an old skidder road, much grown over, but trail markers are usually visible. When they disappear you shouldn't get lost because if you are paying attention the terrain leads you in the right direction. Eventually you will reach the base of the falls (following the occasional red trail marker). There is a nice pool and view upward at the falls. From there you can see how dangerous the exposed route down is. If you choose to go up, head a ways off to the side to find your way with good earth footing and tree assist, please avoid the overused and dangerous developing herd path near the falls. Then look at the memorial poster on top.

[colden46]

Then look at the memorial poster on top.

All the posters in that area kind of annoy me. It's one thing to leave a nice memorial plaque (like the one at Pa's/Winding Falls on the Bog River for example) or a wooden sign or something, but nailing a bunch of laminated sheets of paper to a tree? It just looks like litter to me, and really detracts from the scene.

I know your point was "look at them as a reminder of what could happen" not "look at them for their aesthetic beauty", but it just made me think of it.

[Bill I.]

...please avoid the overused and dangerous developing herd path near the falls. Then look at the memorial poster on top.

I asked a DEC forester a while back if DEC planned to address the deteriorating condition of this herd path beside the falls. (For anyone not familiar with T Lake Falls, the bare rock that forms the cascade is only thinly covered with soil in the woods on either side, and this is starting to wear away as people scramble up and down the steep slope.) He said that DEC wasn't inclined to do anything, because the state would prefer there to be no trail at all.

I agree, the memorials at the top of the falls were poorly designed... although they were probably more effective than DEC's "Hazardous Area Ahead" sign, while they lasted. The last I was there, the old laminated signs were badly deteriorating. For a while, the lean-to at T Lake had become a virtual shrine to one of the victims.

I was at the base of the falls one day in April 2001. The ice was breaking up that weekend and coming down from the top in small avalanches. It was cool to watch... from a distance.

[JClimbs]

Good Luck Cliffs would be a good 5ish mile RT snowshoe hike. Snowy Mtn., if the brook crossings are possible, is a good 7ish mile one.
Anyone know anything about T-L Falls having been ice climbed? I realize it is too late this season, but...