The Siamese Ponds Wilderness Blog

The Botheration Pond Trail

Posted on by Harvey

Since I first started skiing at Garnet Hill in the 1980s, Botheration Pond has captivated my imagination. I’d see it on the map, so close, yet tucked away. It symbolized all the remote spots in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness that were out of my reach.

bridge over the East Branch of the Sacandaga

Together The Vly and Botheration Pond form the headwaters of the East Branch of the Sacandaga. When I studied the map, it seemed that the waterway would offer a long stretch of easy, beautiful and remote marsh skiing. With an intriguing name and no trail accessing it from state land, I was very curious about that pond.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Backcountry, Hiking, Siamese Ponds Wilderness12 Comments

Thirteenth Lake Hike, NY

Posted on by Harvey

I spent the morning stacking wood and getting ready for next ski season. By the early afternoon I was ready for a break and decided to check out the “new” trail that allows you to hike around Thirteenth Lake without bushwacking. It connects Peaked Mountain trail to the Hour Pond trail on the western side of the lake.

View of Thirteenth Lake from NY state campsite

I’ve been thinking a lot about Thirteenth Lake lately — it just seemed appropriate to hike the newest trail in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness and complete a loop around the lake.

There has been so much rain that the trail was being drenched by “streams” that have sprung from the steep slopes of the lake’s western shore. Peaked Brook was raging. I followed the red trail up to the bridge that now crosses the brook and made my way along the new trail.

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Tagged: Hiking, Siamese Ponds Wilderness6 Comments

Editorial: Motors on Thirteenth Lake

Posted on by NYSkiBlog

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has proposed a ban on gasoline powered motorboats on Thirteenth Lake in northern Warren County, New York.

Gasoline Motor Ban on Thirteenth Lake.
Thirteenth Lake

The 2005 Siamese Ponds Unit Management Plan indicates that the DEC has received “numerous letters and phone calls” on the issue. The complaints address the noise, air and water pollution, and impact on nesting loons and paddlers caused by motorboats.

Under the new regulation, electric motors would still be allowed on the lake. This would allow fishermen to troll and the mobility impaired to continue to access the lake and the Siamese Ponds Wilderness.

We’ve spent a great deal of time on 13th Lake, and it’s beautiful. There are very few lakes in the Adirondacks, accessible by car, that are as unspoiled. The lake is fairly well sheltered from wind, and it’s hard to imagine a reasonable use of the lake that isn’t possible with a quiet, smoke-free electric motor.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Siamese Ponds Wilderness17 Comments