2006 Troop 56 Sabattis Canoe Trek Log

July 3-July 7, 2006:

A select group of highly skilled Boy Scouts from Troop 56, Long Hill Twsp, NJ, embarked on a High Adventure Trek through the Saranac Lake Region in the Adirondacks. This is the summary of that daring journey.
Scout Participants: Aaron A., Ben B., Zach F., Casey K., Evan M., Chris R., James R. (SPL), Mark S.
Adult Leader Participants: Andrew Adams (Voyager), Jim Ricci (SM), Gary Stapperfenne, Scott Olesen

Pre-Planning

Place Trek deposit with council and attend the Summer Camp Troop Leaders Meeting
Choose Trek type and preliminary route, recruit Scouts for the journey
Make gear list that matches Trek type, choose dinner selections from Backpackers Pantry
Take a swim test before arriving at Camp
Make final payment to Council and collect everyone’s Medical forms

Sunday, July 2

Met the Voyager in camp at 9:00 AM. We played a name game so Andrew could get to know us.
With Andrew, we went over our Trek route and did a gear check.
At the Trek center, we were given our paddles, PFD’s, food, and Troop gear. We should have used Troop 56 gear, SAC stuff was not in good shape. We also discussed basic canoeing strokes and wilderness camping. Our guys proved they know their stuff!!!

Monday, July 3

Met the Voyager in camp at 6:30 AM. We ate breakfast together, got some fresh items at the commissary, and headed with all our gear to the Trek center.
Anyone with space in their dry bag filled it with food and Troop gear. Then we loaded the canoes and gear on a trailer and were headed to Hoel Pond by 8:30 AM.
The access to Hoel Pond is on a road that goes between two fairways of a local golf course. We felt like we were riding on a golf cart!!!
After unloading, Ranger Rick took a group photo and then drove off. It was a great feeling to know we were about to begin our adventure.
We paddled across Hoel Pond and went through a tunnel under railroad tracks to Turtle Pond. Our first wipe out. There was a 10” drop coming through the tunnel that our SPL decided to run. Good thing all the gear was in waterproof bags. The rest of us walked the canoes through.
We paddled across Turtle Pond, then through a small river into Slang Pond.
At the end of Slang Pond came our first portage to Long Pond. We tried to take a river but the beavers made that impossible. A short carry, 500 feet, but we struggled on our first one. It was the first time we had to get out of the canoe and take all the gear out while it was still in the water. Then we pulled the canoes out without dragging them on the bank. We were happy for the lightweight Kevlar canoes. We all made two trips, one for the gear, and then one for the canoes.
When we were all back in our canoes in Long Pond, we paddled to our first campsite at the base of the Long Pond Mountain trail. We set up camp and then ate lunch.
After lunch we took the trail to Mountain Pond, then up Long Pond Mountain. It was a nice hike up a trail that is only accessible by paddlers. We saw only two other people. Good view of the area we just paddled and Lower Saranac Lake.
Dinner this night was Mac-n-cheese. We made too much and since we had to pack out anything we could not eat, we ate it. Casey and Scott took one for the team and ate to extreme.
Scott organized the food for the next day, a bear bag was hung, and we made a small fire. Then we talked for a while, had our first Thorn and Rose’s session, and then went to sleep before ten to the sounds of loons and some distant fireworks.

Tuesday July 4

We all woke up before 7 AM, except our Voyager, and started to break camp. We ate what became a standard breakfast of granola bars and beef jerky. We filtered some lake water to fill our Nalgenes and hit the Pond by 8:30.
We paddled Long Pond to the portage trail to Floodwood Pond. From the map, it appeared to be a long carry of over ¾ miles. After getting all our stuff to the next body of water, and after Aaron removed a sizeable leech from his leg, we got back in our canoes and started to paddle. It was a beautiful lake with many coves and beaver lodges… It only took us an hour to realize that this was not Floodwood Pond, but a marsh that was turned into a lake by the beavers and heavy rains!
After finding the rest of the portage trail and finishing the carry to Floodwood, we had lunch. There was a trading post\canoe rental there, it had road access.
We paddled across Floodwood to a river that led to Little Square Pond
We went through Little Square Pond to Fish Creek
Although we have seen and heard many Loons, today we saw one with a brood of chicks.
We had to pull over for 1 ½ hours on Fish Creek to wait out some thunder. It is BSA policy to wait a half an hour after the last thunder clap before entering the water.
The portage trail to Follensby Clear Pond was interesting. It was through a bog that was like walking on a sponge. Our SPL missed the proper trail and walked through waist deep muck. Luckily only a couple of Scouts followed. The portages were getting easier with a couple days of practice.
It was a short paddle on Follensby where we set up camp on an Island with only two camp sites! Very Cool. It rained for a half hour after everyone was done setting up camp.
Everyone hit the water. Swimming, fishing or Canoeing merit badge work. It was a great chance to take a lake bath.
Dinner was very salty Beef and Potatoes, our guide mixed some soup in with the main dish…we still ate it. Trail hunger is an amazing thing.
After dinner, we had a small fire while Scott organized the food. This organization is a daily thing on any High Adventure trip.
After dark, Mr. Ricci, Mr. Stapperfenne, Mark, Ben, Chris, and Andrew paddled out into the lake for some stargazing. Very clear night, we saw a satellite and had a Thorn and Rose’s session.

Wednesday July 5

Camp was struck, we had an oatmeal breakfast, and we were on the water by 8:30.
We paddled across Follensby Clear Pond to a tunnel under a road, and then took a small river that took us to Fish Creek Ponds.
On Fish Creek Ponds, we started to see motor boats. The next section we paddled was named Fish Creek Bay
Fish Creek Bay led us to Lower Saranac Lake. The wind was steady but not strong, there were no white caps on the water so we paddled on the big lake.
After a hard paddle through a section called The Narrows, we took a break. Everyone ate something and hydrated.
After a couple of hours of paddling, the portage trail to Middle Saranac Lake, The Bartlett Carry, was a welcome sight. Although the portage is long and uphill for some of the way, the ¾ mile trail is on crushed gravel.
Once on the water, we met a group of girls taking the same trip as us in the opposite direction. The older scouts wanted to do their Good Turn for the day and help them with the portage!!!
We paddled on Middle Saranac Lake to one of our campsites, #79. It was a great site on a point, looking right at Ampersand. Evan, Chris, Mark, Ben, Scott, and Andrew set up their tents and a kitchen area there. The rest of us paddled to another site, #82. The NY DEC only always 6 people to sleep on a campsite in this area.
We regrouped on #79 and ate lunch. Then everyone hit the water. A lot of fish were caught and some more canoeing merit badge work was done.
Dinner this night was Turkey and Potatoes, with some added chicken, it was excellent.
With the Ampersand hike the next day, we all went to sleep early

Thursday July 6

We set a goal of being on the Ampersand trail by 9:00 AM. Everyone on #82 was up at 6:15 and paddled over to #79 by 7:00. That group was ready. Everyone was up, the Bear bag was down, and lunch and breakfast were sorted out.
After breakfast, we all paddled across Middle Saranac to where we thought the Ampersand access trail should be…nothing. We asked some people camping in the area where the trail was and they told us it was a mile further west of us! We started to paddle in that direction but none of it matched the map. We decided to back track and do some scouting. The trail was where we originally landed! Lesson learned “Always trust Scott’s map reading ability”.
We got on the trail by 10:00, still ahead of most of the hikers. It is a deceiving hike. It starts out with a gradual ascent on hard pack dirt, and then goes straight up with nothing but rocks and roots to climb on.
The view on top of Ampersand is amazing. Full circle view of the entire Adirondacks.
On the way down, we saw a lot of people unprepared. As part of our 50-Miler service project, we refilled a lot of their water bottles; the other part was picking up litter on the trail and cleaning up each campsite we stayed in.
The paddle back to camp was rough. We headed straight into a strong wind that was causing white caps and waves. It was like paddling in sand. Everyone did a great job, paddling in a straight line towards camp and making steady progress.
The rest of the afternoon was open time to rest, fish, swim, or work on Merit Badges.
Dinner was Pasta, a big hit with everyone. We also cooked fish that we caught and made popcorn.
That night we packed up everything we didn’t need for sleeping or in the morning. We had a closing Thorns and Roses and headed for bed before 8:30.

Friday, July 7

The group on site #82 was up by 4:00 AM. We quickly and quietly broke camp and paddled through the morning mist over to site #79. We scared some loons on the way.
The other camp was struck when we got there. Group gear and breakfast was handed out and we headed towards Saranac River before 5:00 AM.
The sunrise from our canoes was great. We saw a mature Bald Eagle flying over our heads and then land on a tall pine at the rivers mouth.
We entered a manually operated lock on Saranac River. It was a lot of fun listing to everyone give directions on how to operate it. The water drop was about 5’ before we opened up the lock again and headed to Lower Saranac Lake.
We entered the Lake by 7:00 AM. Our pick up time was not until 10:00 AM. We explored Bluff Island for a while before heading into First Pond.
We then paddled from First Pond into Second Pond and turned into our pick up spot right after we went under Route 3.
Everyone was tired as we put out. We emptied all the canoes, took off the duct tape names from their sides, and sorted out the gear. Some of the Scouts had to show some solo paddling skills to finish the Canoeing merit badge as the rest of us talked and waited for our ride.
We got back to camp by 11:30. After lunch we all showered and then went to watch the camp wide games.

After Thoughts

We traveled a total of 51.5 miles so everyone is eligible for a 50-Miler Award.
The skill level of our Troop shined on the Trek. Our Voyager struggled to keep up with us on the trails and water.
One of the best things about spending a lot of time with a small group in the woods is how well you get to know everyone. This scouting thing might just catch on.

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