courtesy RHanel
Andrew fords shallow river
Following our topo map (and Ken's waypoints) brought us off the main logging road, onto some very overgrown old tracks, and finally to a very overgrown and unbikeable track, so faint and overgrown that it was almost gone. We hid the bikes in the woods at this point (although there wasn't a soul around, so I don't think there was much to worry about from thieves!).
The Bushwhacking begins...
The very faint track led off in the right direction. It was pretty easy hiking at this point - we had something to follow and it was relatively open.
This didn't last long, however - maybe half a kilometre. Our desired route followed along the shores of Woods and Scarecrow Lakes, and our faint path started to veer away from the direction in which we needed to head. So, after a bit of a deep breath, we plunged into bushwhacking territory, headed for the shore of Woods Lake and (we hoped) some easier shoreline walking.
courtesy RHanel
courtesy RHanel
A slightly more open spot
The bushwhack over to Woods lake wasn't too bad - partly because the undergrowth wasn't too thick, and partly because we hadn't yet gotten fed up with bushwhacking yet. When we arrived at the shore of Woods Lake, our fears were confirmed - the level of the Lake was right up against the foliage, and there was no way we were going to be able to walk along the shore. This meant we were likely going to be relegated to bushwhacking for the remaining length of Woods Lake and the entire length of Scarecrow Lake. Such is life!
It was about three to three and a half kilometres of bushwhacking to the end of Scarecrow Lake, where we would pick up a trail that led from Scarecrow Lake's shore to the summit of Ishpatina Ridge. While it was by no means as tough as a typically horrid Adirondack bushwhack, it was still tiring simply from the length of bushwhacking involved. We tried the shore a few times just in case and managed to find a few tiny spots where we could walk along the shore, but for the vast majority of the time we followed the shoreline of the lakes, but about five to thirty metres inland.
By the time we reached the far end of Scarecrow Lake, we were tired, sweaty, full of bits of branches, and sick and tired of the annoying biting insects. Oh, and we didn't relish the though of bushwhacking back through all of it on the way back!
courtesy RHanel
Brief shoreline excursion
courtesy RHanel
courtesy RHanel
courtesy RHanel
Despite the tiring annoyance of the bushwhack, things were going well. It was still midmorning and we'd covered three quarters of the distance. The weather was good - sunny, a little breezy, and relatively cool.
We had a snack at the remnants of an old landing on Scarecrow Lake, then made our way up the fairly obvious (looked like someone had napalmed the section near the shore) trail. I marvelled at how much easier foot travel is with a simple trail!
