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I finally found the beaver pond that ate my whole day on the Cranberry Lake loop
Two weeks ago I hiked the Cranberry Lake loop in the Adirondacks and lost 5 hours to a section that wasn't on my map. The trail crosses a beaver dam around mile 14 and after a storm the water was up past my knees. I walked around the flooded part three times looking for a dry line before giving up and just wading through in my boots, and the reroute added about 2 miles of bushwhacking. My GPS track shows I went back and forth over the same quarter mile stretch for over an hour because the markers were underwater. If you're doing this loop, pack for wet feet and pull the latest trail report from the ranger station in Wanakena before you go. Does anyone know if that dam section gets flagged on the newer maps or am I just working off old info here?
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stella3076d ago
Mile 14 on that loop is right where the trail books it over the outlet of Burntbridge Pond, and that whole stretch of dam is in a low spot that water just sits in after rain. The newer DEC maps do show the dam but they don't flag it as a wet crossing, so it reads like a normal trail when it's really a wade. If you want a heads up before you go, the ranger in Wanakena will tell you straight but the trail crews usually post updates on the Adirondack trail conditions page too. I'd guess your map is fine and it's the map itself that's the problem.
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