Forked Lake - September 18, 2026

Me and Bill in the Spirit II

For our last RICKA Adirondacks trip, we decided to head off to Forked Lake.

Forked Lake is 1,248-acre lake located about 7-miles southwest of Long Lake. Shaped like a multi-pronged "Y" (hence the name), it is known for its rugged shoreline, pristine water, and remote paddle-in campsites. The New York State DEC operates the primitive Forked Lake Campground, which features 80 primitive campsites.

The beaver dam that did us in

There are two access points for Forked Lake – the Forked Lake Campground to the east, and the Forked Lake Boat Launch to the west. Since the road to the Forked Lake Campground was closed for bridge repairs, we would be launching from the boat launch.

We met at 9:30 for the trip out to the boat launch. It was a bright sunny day with blue sky and puffy clouds. We headed west with the intention of paddling up the Raquette River. Unfortunately, the water was low and a large beaver dam blocked our path. Instead, we decided to stay in the lake.

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My Pictures

A Day Off from Paddling – September 17, 2026

Rain was in the forecast, so Bill and I decided to take a day-off from paddling. We started off with breakfast at the Long Lake Dinner. Then we spent the morning at the Adirondack Museum, which tells the story of the rich history of the Adirondacks. In the afternoon, we visited the trolls at the Wild Center. After pizza for dinner at the Adirondack Hotel, we sat around the fire with the RICKA crew. 

Log chair at the Adirondacks Museum

Links:
My Pictures – Adirondack Museum
My Pictures – Wild Center
Adirondack Museum
The Wild Center

Boreous Ponds - September 16, 2026

Portage down to the put-in

My second trip with the RICKA group in the Adirondacks was to Boreas Ponds – perhaps the prettiest lake that I have ever paddled. Pictures don't do it justice.

The Boreas Ponds are an interconnected group of three ponds (First, Second and Third) with striking views of the High Peaks, including Mount Marcy, Mount Haystack, the Gothics and Saddleback Mountain. The lake gets its name from the Boreas River, which was named around 1829 after Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind and winter storms, reflecting the area's notoriously harsh winters.

Scott with the High Peaks in the distance

For over a century, the Boreas Ponds region was owned by paper company Finch, Pruyn & Co. The company built a timber dam at the outlet, which raised the water levels and created interconnected 320-acre lake that you see today.

In 2007, Finch, Pruyn put this historic timberland up for sale. The Nature Conservancy purchased the property to prevent it from being purchased by a private developer. Much of the land was eventually added to the High Peaks Wilderness Area.

Canoes at the lunch stop

We met at 9:00 for the drive out to Gulf Brook Road - a seasonal dirt road located off Blue Ridge Road. We continued up to the Four Corners Parking Area. From there it is a 1-mile portage down a gravel road to the put-in. We were accompanied on the way down by Scott who was heading to a near-by lean-to. He took a trail off to the left just before the put-in.

The view from the put-in gives you no sense of the beautiful views that await you on the lake. We paddled up a short inlet and turned north, and there it was - a spectacular view of the High Peaks. We saw Scott paddling out from the lean-to, so we hooked up and he gave us a great tour of the ponds. We stopped for lunch at the northern end before returning to the put-in.

Selfie with the mountains in the distance

On the way back to the cars we took a detour to check out the near-by lean-to. In 1996, Finch, Pruyn built a massive wooden lodge on this site for use by its corporate executives. With the transition to the wilderness area the lodge was demolished and replaced with a simple shelter with a million-dollar view. Not a bad place to spend the night.

After checking out the lean-to, we continued the portage back to the cars and returned to Eaton Lake.

One last view of the mountains as we head back to the put-in

Links:
My Pictures
Boreas Ponds Tract

High Peaks Wilderness Area

Henderson Lake - September 15, 2026

On the portage trail

My first trip with the RICKA group in the Adirondacks was at Henderson Lake. It was a new trip for me, and also for RICKA.

Henderson Lake is a two-mile-long lake sitting on the edge of the High Peaks Wilderness Area. Covering roughly 281-acres, it is the “official” birthplace of the Hudson River. The river begins its 306-mile journey at the lake's concrete outlet spillway near the put-in.

Launching near the source
of the Hudson River

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the area around the lake evolved from a mining village into an exclusive Gilded Age camp. Remnants of both can be seen on the drive to the parking lot and the portage down to the lake. The lake was opened to the public in 2003, and was formally added to the state wilderness area in 2008.

The group met at 9:30 for the drive to the Upper Works Trailhead Parking Lot. From there it is a half-mile portage down a rocky path to the lake – a high-wheeled cart is recommended. We launched and began a counterclockwise circumnavigation of the lake. It was a cloudy day, but there were still beautiful views of Wallface Mountain, Henderson Mountain, McNaughton, and the MacIntyre Range.

Enjoying the mountain views

As we approached the northern end of the lake we noticed smoke coming out of the trees. At first we thought it was a campsite, but soon realized that it was a small forest fire. Several members of the group extinguished the visible flames, but it was probably still smoldered underground. Once we got back in cell phone range we reported it to NYDEC with GPS coordinates.

We had a big group, so about half stopped for lunch at the lean-to on the north-west shoreline near a small waterfall. The rest of us found some room on a grouping of boulders nearby. We continued down to the southern end of the lake, exploring the many bays and coves before returning to the put-in.

Links:
My Pictures
Upper Works Trail Head Parking Lot
Henderson Lake

Camping on the Oswegatchie - September 11-14, 2026

The put-in at Inlet

I decided to start off my week-long trip to the Adirondacks with a 4-day/3 night camping trip on the Oswecatchie River with Aaron and Dan.

The Oswegatchie flows general north for 137-miles from the Adirondack Mountains to the Saint Lawrence River. We would be doing an up-and-back from Inlet to High Falls – about 22 miles round trip. This section is widely considered one of the premier wilderness trips in the Northeast, taking us deep into the Five Ponds Wilderness Area.

View from High Rock

We arrived at the put-in at Inlet at around 2:00, packed up our boats and headed upstream. The river meanders through a vast marsh lined with alder thickets. There is also a lot of beaver activity - we got very good at lifting and dragging our boats over beaver dams.

About 3-miles upstream is High Rock – a massive outcropping that rises sharply from the river bank. We took a break to check out the view, but because the site here was already taken, we continued upstream.

Home for the night - Buck Brook

We ended up stopping at the Buck Brook Campsite (#34) for the night. We gathered firewood, set up our tents, had dinner and then settled in around the campfire for the night. The stars overhead were amazing with a clear view of the Milky Way arching across the sky. I was in bed by 10:00 and slept like a log.

I woke up around 7:00 and crawled out of the tent at around 7:30. We knew it would be short trip up to High Falls, so there was no rush to get going. We eat breakfast, packed up our gear and got on our way.

One of many beaver dams

The river continued to be challenging with lots of beaver dams, blow-downs and shallow rapids. We arrived at High Falls at around 1:00 and set up camp on the east side of the falls at Lean-to #2. We gathered firewood, and then had the rest of the afternoon to rest and explore the area.

High Falls drops 20-feet over well-worn bedrock. Aaron and Dan went for a swim below the falls, but I decided to check out the portage trail and campsites on the west side of the falls. The west side is much more active than the east side with hikers passing through pretty regularly on the Cranberry Lake 50.

Checking out High Falls

After a relaxing afternoon, we had dinner and sat around the fire. Dan made Pineapple Flambe for dessert. It was cloudy, so it was not a good night for viewing the stars, but we still saw the space station race across the sky. I went to bed around 10:00.

I woke up at around midnight to a heavy rainstorm. I was glad that I set up an additional tarp over my tent. Once I confirmed that my tent was staying dry, I fell back asleep.

Above High Falls

I woke up at around 8:00, but stayed in the tent until around 8:30. This was our lay-over day, so there was no rush to get up. The forecast was for a chance of showers through-out the day. We decided to continue upstream above the falls. With empty boats, we thought it would be easier getting over the beaver dams.

We paddled over to the west side and took the portage trail to the put-in above the falls. The river continued to meander through alder thickets with lots of beaver dams. We checked out Camp Johnny (#11) that gets its name from Johnny Robinson, a legendary 19th-century Adirondack guide, woodsman, and trapper. We also checked some of the huge old growth pines near the site.

The "Boover Dam"

We continued up stream climbing over beaver dams until we hit a huge dam just below site #8. We joked it was the Hoover Dam of beaver dams – the "Boover Dam". We decided we had lifted over enough beaver dams for one day and began our run back downstream.

It was a lot easier running back down over the beaver dams than it was to lift over them. We took a break for lunch on some large boulder before continuing down to the falls. That evening we had another great night for viewing the stars - amazing compared to what I normally see in light-polluted Rhode Island.

Lunch on the rocks

We were up early the next morning to get ready for the trip back down to Inlet. It took us about 8-hours over two days to paddle up from Inlet to High Falls. It took about 4-hours to paddle back down. Many of the dams that we needed to lift over on the way up we were able to run on the way down. By mid-morning the clouds broke and the sun came out. Unfortunately, the battery in my camera died so I don’t have any pictures.

When we got back to Inlet I found that my car had a dead battery. Somehow, I had left my lights on. Fortunately, Aaron had a set of jumper cables. We stopped for a celebratory beer at Raquette River Brewing before heading on our ways – Aaron for home and Dan and I to Eaton Lake Campground for the RICKA Adirondacks trip.

Links:

My Pictures

Five Ponds Wilderness
Five Ponds Wilderness map
Five Ponds West Map (GeoPDF)
Five Ponds East Map (Geo PDF)

Planning for Fall Camping – the Adirondacks with RICKA

RICKA has been running its annual Adirondacks trip for as long as I can remember. Each year, 20 to 30 RICKA members and friends gather to enjoy a week of base-camping and paddling on the beautiful lakes and streams of the Adirondacks.

I've only done one trip to the Adirondacks, and it wasn't the RICKA trip. I did the section of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail from Long Lake to Saranac Village back in 2012. The Adirondacks are great, but with family obligations and limited vacation time, the RICKA trip never made it to the top of my list of things to do when I was working. Now that I'm now retired, I am excited to be able to join the RICKA trip this year. 

My trip will have two parts – 4-days (Friday to Monday) tripping on the Oswegatchie River with Aaron and Dan, and then 5-days (Monday to Saturday) base camping at Lake Eaton Campground and doing day trips with Bill and the RICKA crew.

Oswegatchie River

The Oswegatchie trip will be up-and-back from Inlet to High Falls – about 22 miles round trip. The river meanders through the Five Ponds Wilderness Area - a massive state forest that contains one of the largest stands of old-growth forest in the Northeast.

There are 34 primitive campsites and several lean-tos along this 11-mile stretch, so there should be plenty of campsites to choose from. Depending how things go, we will probably spend our first night at High Rock, and our second and third nights at High Falls.  

On our lay-over day we can either paddle up the river above High Falls, or hike over to Cat Mountain, which has great views of Cranberry Lake and the surrounding wilderness. The hiking route is 8.6-miles round trip on the Plains Trail to the Cowhorn Junction Trail to the Cat Mountain Trail.

On Monday, we will paddle back from High Falls to Inlet. Aaron will head home, and Dan and I will head to Lake Eaton Campground to meet the RICKA crew.

Day Trips from Lake Eaton

At Lake Eaton, I’ll be sharing a campsite and paddling with Bill. We'll be paddling my Spirit II. I haven’t done a lot of base-camping, so I needed to upgrade some of my gear. I got a new base-camping tent, a cot, a large and small folding camping table, and a 16’ x 12’ tarp. It is amazing how much this stuff can cost, so I tried to go with reasonably priced options.

In terms of trips, there are lots to choose from. Here are some of the trips that RICKA has done in the past:

• Raquette Lake
• Forked Lake
• Little Tupper Pond
• Bog River-Lowes Lake
• Rich Lake
• Upper Saranac Lake
• Middle Saranac Lake (Upper Locks and Hungry Bay-Weller Pond)
• Second Pond (Lower Locks-Oseetah-Kiwassa)
• Lower Saranac Lake
• Raquette River (Axton Landing to The Crusher, Axton Landing to Raquette Falls, Axton Landing to Stony Creek Pond, Crusher to Tupper Lake)
• Long Lake
• Round Lake
• Rollins Pond Loop
• Lewey Lake–Miami River

I did sections of Long Lake, the Raquette River, Stoney Creek and the Saranac Lakes on the NFCT trip, so I will probably skip those.  Bog River-Lowes Lake, Round Lake and Lewey Lake–Miami River are on the list.  

There are also three beautiful lakes the RICKA hasn't done yet:

• Lake Lila  
• Boreas Ponds
• Henderson Lake

All three have great views of the mountains, but involve portages and drives down dirt access roads. I'm up for a little adventure.  

Looks like we may get some rain in the middle of the week – hopefully the forecast will improve.

Links: 
Lake Eaton Campground
Five Ponds Wilderness
Five Ponds Wilderness map
Five Ponds West Map (GeoPDF)
Five Ponds East Map (Geo PDF)
Suggested trips from St Regis Canoe Outfitters

Pawcatuck - Bradford to Potter Hill - August 29, 2026

Portaging the Bradford Fish Weirs

For the past few years I have been leading a late summer trip on the Pawcatuck River from Bradford to Potter Hill - about 7.5 miles. It is a section of the river that holds its water well, so this is a good time of year to do it. Bill agreed to do the run with me tandem.  

The Pawcatuck River arises at Worden Pond in South Kingstown and flows southwest for 34-miles to Westerly where it flows into Little Narragansett Bay on Long Island Sound. Along with the Beaver, Queen - Usquepaug, Wood, Chipuxet, Shunock and Green Fall - Ashaway, the Pawcatuck received Wild and Scenic River status in 2019.

Below the Bradford Fish Weirs

Perhaps nowhere in Rhode Island has river restoration and dam removal been more active than on the Pawcatuck River. In 2010, the Lower Shannock Falls Dam was removed and replaced with a short rapid. In 2013, a fish weir was built below the Kenyon Dam. In 2016, the White Rock Dam was removed. In 2017, a fish weir was built below the Bradford Dam. Combined with fish ladders at Potter Hill and Upper Shannock Falls, the removal and modification of these dams has opened up the 34-miles of the Pawcatuck River to migratory fish, and improved paddling on the river considerably.

I scouted out the river on Thursday to check on water levels and access to the portage trail around the Bradford Fish Weirs. The water level was fine - 2-feet 90 cfs on the Wood River Juntion gage. We could have bumped our way down the Bradford Fish Weirs, but I decided to bring the Spirit II and portage. The portage trail was blocked with weeds and tall grass, so I used my paddled to chop open the path, and gave myself a good blister in the process.

Polly Coon Bridge

I met Bill at the commuter lot off Route 117 in Warwick at around 9:15. We arrived at the put-in at Bradford Landing at round 10:00 and the rest of the group was already there. We had 10 paddlers in 9 boats – 2 canoes and 7 kayaks. We ran the shuttle down to the take-out at Potter Hill. Parking is available at Post Office Landing – a DEM boat launch across the street from the take-out that is down a dirt road that looks like someone’s driveway. At least they have put a sign up now.

We got on the water at around 11:00. It is a short trip down to the portage at the fish weirs. We worked together to get everyone's boat down the portage trail and back on the water.  

Take-out at Potter Hill

After the Bradford Fish Weirs, the river twists and turns through conservation land owned by the Westerly Land Trust and Hopkinton Land Trust. We passed under the Polly Coon Footbridge and continued downstream to the beach off Narragansett Way where we stopped for lunch.

Below Route 3 there is more development as the river meanders through marshland formed by the deadwater of the Potter Hill Dam. The take out is on the Westerly side of the river just above the Potter Hill Road Bridge at the Whiteley Preserve - a Westerly Land Trust property. We loaded up our boats and Bob was nice enough to get Sharon, Bill and I back to Bradford to pick up out cars.

Me and Bill in the Spirit II

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My Pictures
Wood River Junction Gage