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Home » Adventures » Adirondacks » St. Regis Canoe Wilderness: To Hoel Pond

July 27 — Portaging and Climbing

Route I paddled and hiked this day

Route I paddled and hiked this day

I started the morning with a few short warm up portages before my longest of the trip — 1.3 miles from Nellie to Long Pond. This portage had large, damp, mossy, and slippery rocks for the first quarter mile. After that it reverted to “just” a long and never ending walk. I had rigged up a system with my PFD to provide some padding while carrying my boat, which made the labor a little more bearable. I took it one step at a time, resting when I needed while not trying to set any speed records. This method was slow, but worked. A beaver pond was about 200m from Long Lake, which required paddling across, but at least it broke up the portage.

Portaging a canoe across railroad tracks

Not having spent enough time on land, upon reaching Long Pond I set course for Long Mountain trail. I parked my boat at the trailhead, assembled a minimal hiking setup, and started for the top. The trail had a few switchbacks, but otherwise attacked the mountain head on. I worked up a sweat, but enjoyed the climb. The top had great views, and I could see many of the lakes of St. Regis Canoe Wilderness and Fish Creek.

I hoped back down and paddled to Hoel Pond and engineered a return to civilization the next day, since I need to talk with insurance companies about my car. I portaged across railroad tracks for the first time crossing to Hoel Pond and afterwards found a campsite on a nice rock outcropping. I had an interesting soup dinner, despite forgetting my utensils in my car.