Today, I had the opportunity for a solo hike to Long Pond in the Ferris Lake Wild Forest in NW Fulton County. I planned to do a loop hike from Hall Rd. up the Dexter Lake trail and hit Long and Knapps Long on my way to Dexter for lunch. I'm glad I was flexible in my itinerary today, as I didn't quite complete the planned loop.
Parking early at the end of Hall Rd., I took a couple picts of the old Potter Homestead (photo 1) and a cool sign the land owners posted (photo 2). Thanks for granting us humble hikers access through your property Unfortunately, some people can't read and there was evidence of vehicle traffic on the first part of the trail (photo 3).
The first mile and a half of the trail was a little muddy in spots. That's pretty typical with the snowmobile trails in this area. However, the trail was in much better shape the closer I got to North Creek and was quite delightful to walk (photo 4). At 1.5 miles, I took the short detour upstream to the North Creek waterfalls (photo 5). Still pretty nice, even in the low water.
Past the waterfalls and the several vlys, I began my bushwhack to Long Pond. I had wanted to do this before the leaves came out but didn't have any problems with the compass or terrain orientation. In a short time, I was at the heavily wooded, steep eastern shore.
This is where I decided to change plans. The eastern shore was pretty rugged and thick with spruce. I didn't feel like bushwhacking through that this morning so I found a nice shoreline rock ( photo 6) that was in the breeze. The pretty pink rock not only provided a good place for lunch, but had a great view down the pond (photo 7) and of the 50' cliffs directly behind me (photo 8).
After lunch and poking around a little, I headed back to the Dexter Lake trail. I took a short break at McKinney Vly and heard some running water downstream. A little rock hopping brought me to the top of a small gorge (photo 9). The gorge dropped about 20' as it approached the next vly in the chain. There were some neat rock formations on the south side of the creek (photo 10).
So, a change of plans and a shorter walk paid off as I got back to the truck, the thermometer indicated a sultry 81°. That's a little warm for a long bushwhack in unknown territory through thick spruce and swampy woods. I'll save Knapps Long Lake for the next time. Driving home, I was pretty happy with my decision after walking a little over six miles and enjoying a "new" lake.
Parking early at the end of Hall Rd., I took a couple picts of the old Potter Homestead (photo 1) and a cool sign the land owners posted (photo 2). Thanks for granting us humble hikers access through your property Unfortunately, some people can't read and there was evidence of vehicle traffic on the first part of the trail (photo 3).
The first mile and a half of the trail was a little muddy in spots. That's pretty typical with the snowmobile trails in this area. However, the trail was in much better shape the closer I got to North Creek and was quite delightful to walk (photo 4). At 1.5 miles, I took the short detour upstream to the North Creek waterfalls (photo 5). Still pretty nice, even in the low water.
Past the waterfalls and the several vlys, I began my bushwhack to Long Pond. I had wanted to do this before the leaves came out but didn't have any problems with the compass or terrain orientation. In a short time, I was at the heavily wooded, steep eastern shore.
This is where I decided to change plans. The eastern shore was pretty rugged and thick with spruce. I didn't feel like bushwhacking through that this morning so I found a nice shoreline rock ( photo 6) that was in the breeze. The pretty pink rock not only provided a good place for lunch, but had a great view down the pond (photo 7) and of the 50' cliffs directly behind me (photo 8).
After lunch and poking around a little, I headed back to the Dexter Lake trail. I took a short break at McKinney Vly and heard some running water downstream. A little rock hopping brought me to the top of a small gorge (photo 9). The gorge dropped about 20' as it approached the next vly in the chain. There were some neat rock formations on the south side of the creek (photo 10).
So, a change of plans and a shorter walk paid off as I got back to the truck, the thermometer indicated a sultry 81°. That's a little warm for a long bushwhack in unknown territory through thick spruce and swampy woods. I'll save Knapps Long Lake for the next time. Driving home, I was pretty happy with my decision after walking a little over six miles and enjoying a "new" lake.
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