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Grizzle Ocean, PLWA, 17 Sep, 2019

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  • Grizzle Ocean, PLWA, 17 Sep, 2019

    Today was a long overdue revisit to Grizzle Ocean in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area.

    Way back in the spring of 2012, this was the first hike that Tredhed and I did when we first started hiking together again after a 25 year gap.

    Back then, we thought the trails were so rocky and the hills so steep, we vowed to never return.

    Seven years of ADK hiking have taught us that this hike isn't as bad as we remembered.

    Arriving at the Putnam Pond Campground, we cheerfully paid the $6 day use fee and parked at the boat launch site. After quick gear check, we were off.



    The yellow disked trail brought us down the east shore of Putnam Pond.



    After a mile or so, we came to the spur trail to Putnam Pond. The view from the landing was especially spectacular on this late summer morning.



    As we walked the half mile up the Grizzle Ocean outlet stream, we passed a couple that was hiking out of Pharaoh Lake with their two dogs.

    Nice folks and beautiful dogs!

    A few minutes after encountering the only people we saw all day. we arrived at the loop trail around the lake.

    We decided to go counter clockwise around the pond. Since we went clockwise in 2012, it only made sense to go the other direction this time.

    In a few minutes we came to the bridge over the outlet swamp.



    The views of Thunderbolt Mountain were nice from the bridge.



    Just after crossing the bridge, we turned left on the sparsely marked red trail that looped around the pond.



    We stopped at a rocky point on the west shore of the pond to soak up some scenery.





    Feeling a little peckish, we continued on the red loop trail until we came to the lean-to.

    Here, we dropped our packs and had a little gnosh.



    After feasting on our meager rations, we picked up a few small pieces of litter and explored some.

    The views from the east shore were pretty nice.



    After a while, all that was left to do was say good-bye to the well kept lean-to...



    ...and head back down the trail to the Putnam Pond parking area.



    While driving back down I-87, we made a vow not to wait another seven years until we returned to Grizzle Ocean.

    It's too nice of a destination not to visit on a regular basis. So, notch up another great hike in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness for Tick and Tred.
    Last edited by Tick Magnet; 09-17-2019, 06:06 PM.
    Tick Magnet

  • #2
    Nice, Thanks, I've never been there, that should change.

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    • #3
      Nice photos! Brings back some memories of my last visit. Thanks for sharing.
      "Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing."
      - Henry David Thoreau

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      • #4
        Nice photos TM, thanks for sharing.
        Hopefully Tabe did the right thing & came back for his undies...

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Justin View Post
          Nice photos TM, thanks for sharing.
          Hopefully Tabe did the right thing & came back for his undies...


          I thought Tabe was more of a 'granny panty" type of guy?
          Tick Magnet

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          • #6
            Crap!Thats where I left them.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Tabe View Post
              Crap!Thats where I left them.

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              • #8
                Someone must have hung their facemask there to dry and forgot it!
                Never Argue With An Idiot. They Will Drag You Down To Their Level And Beat You With Experience.

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                • #9
                  Nice photos. The "back stretch" of the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness (Rock and Clear Ponds, and Grizzle Ocean) tends to be a lot quieter than the western ponds- especially compared to Pharaoh and Crane. I think the day use fee (in season) to park at Putnam Pond keeps the usage levels low during the Summer, on top of the added driving distance from I-87 to get to Putnam Pond.

                  With that being said, it's always seemed like Grizzle Ocean was a more popular destination than either Rock or Clear Ponds. In terms of scenic beauty, they're all pretty equal (although I think Rock Pond just barely edges out the other two in this regard). I've always wondered if the unique name is part of the attraction- where else can you claim to have visited (or even camped on) an "ocean" without actually having visited one our planets more massively-sized bodies of water?

                  BTW, in your 4th image (the bridge over the outlet of Grizzle Ocean), you can see taller reeds emerging from the marsh. These are phragmites- which is typically considered to incredibly invasive within NY State. I reported this particular patch to the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) a couple of years ago. I'm not sure if they ever confirmed it, but they indicated that based on my photos, it may actually be a patch of native phragmites- which would be a somewhat notable find in itself.

                  Did you see the designated tent site on the east shore? It's a smaller site, set up and away from the water, but otherwise a pretty nice campsite.

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                  • #10
                    Phragmites are nasty!



                    I commented to Tredhed that I was surprised to see them here.

                    We missed the designated campsite! Bummer, now we'll have to go back
                    Tick Magnet

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                    • #11
                      Tick Magnet, thanks for posting, it looks like a beautiful place. Does anyone know the history of the name? Both halves seem rather odd, to be applied to fairly normal pond.
                      Zach

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Zach View Post
                        Tick Magnet, thanks for posting, it looks like a beautiful place. Does anyone know the history of the name? Both halves seem rather odd, to be applied to fairly normal pond.
                        Zach
                        According to McMartin and Ingersoll "Discover the Eastern ADKs", Grizzle Ocean is named after Tom Grizzle who discovered the pond and regaled his friends with stories of all the fish he caught. Hence the name: Tom Grizzle's Ocean.
                        Last edited by Tick Magnet; 10-14-2019, 07:45 AM.
                        Tick Magnet

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Tick Magnet View Post
                          According to McMartin and Ingersoll "Discover the Easter ADKs", Grizzle Ocean is named after Tom Grizzle who discovered the pond and regaled his friends with stories of all the fish he caught. Hence the name: Tom Grizzle's Ocean.
                          Is it now fishable or dead due to acid rain?

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                          • #14
                            Thanks, that's great to know. It's interesting that the 's got dropped from the name somewhere along the way, but I guess that sort of thing is fairly common with Adirondack place names.
                            Zach

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Woodly View Post
                              Is it now fishable or dead due to acid rain?
                              There are fish in the lake.
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                              "I don’t like being outdoors, Smithers. For one thing, there’s too many fat children." -- C. Montgomery Burns

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