Inman Pond – Backpacking Trip & Fireworks

Hiking Date: July 3-4th 2009: My friend Holly and I debated hard and long on where our first backpacking trip should be this summer. Originally we were thinking about High Falls near Cranberry Lake but after doing some research we discovered that an outfitter was going to bring a group of hikers to the same place we were attending that same night. So we decided to go to Inman Pond and then catch the fireworks on Saturday night atop of Shelving Rock.

Inman Pond
Elevation:  Roughly 1,340 ft.
Distance: 1 Mile (one way)
Difficulty: Easy

Shelving Rock
Elevation: Roughly 1,120 ft.
Distance: 1.7 Miles (one way)
Difficulty: Easy (steady uphill but not to steep)

The Hike: We arrived at the trail head around 11:30am on Friday July 3rd, 2009 and began the one mile hike in. The trail was a bit muddy in the beggining which was most likely due to the amount of rain we have be receiving for the last couple of weeks, as we trekked further into the mountains the trail dried up. Most of the first half of the trip is relatively flat until you get to the junction between Inman Pond, Pilot Knob and Buck Mountain (roughly .5 miles). After the junction the trail starts to climb uphill for the rest of the way  but it is not to steep, just a steady climb. Arriving at Inman Pond, we found the campsite that we wanted occupied so we headed to the second campsite. Inman Pond has two DEC marked campsites located on opposite sides of the pond which provide decent privacy from one another however both campsites sit directly along the trail.

Our shoulders thanking us, we reached our campsite and unloaded our heavy backpacks. Finding flat ground proved to be a little bit difficult but we managed to find one relatively close to the camp fire. Our tent is a two man tent and just fit on flat ground we found. After setting up camp we began the search for firewood. The area has been picked through farely well so we had to travel a little to find decent wood. Unfortunetly it was a lot of soft wood which caused most of the wood to be wet. On another note,  it made it real easy to breakup and into smaller pieces. The rest of the day we spent lounging around enjoying the pond and nature. I climbed the giant rock  at the end of the pond which provided a great overview of the pond.

Friday night, we built a nice fire and suprisingly our wood held out even though it was a bit wet. We cooked hot dogs on a stick for dinner and marshmellows for desert. I actually slepted pretty well that night which is something I normally have difficulty when I’m camping as I mostly sleep on my side. Maybe it was because the sound of the rain or maybe I was tired from carrying the heavy backpack.

Saturday we spent most of the day enjoying the area, relaxing and watching the other campers enjoy swimming in the water. I was suprised they were swimming as even though it was July, it was cold and the wind was blowing bringing in a cold front. For lunch I made a great turkey pot pie soup which I absolutely loved. About 4:30 or so we packed up and headed back to the car.

Arriving back at the trailhead we grabbed our day packs from the car and drove to Shelving Rock’s trailhead. It was such a relief to not have such a heavy back pack for the hike up Shelving. The hike was the same as it usually was. We buschwacked through the woods to our spot at the top rather than heading to the top and coming down the other side. I guess we actually didn’t buschwack to much as I see a trail is forming from other hikers. As we arrived at the top we saw an approaching rain storm which lasted about 20 minutes. It cleard up just prior to the fireworks. As the sun went down, the fireworks started across Lake George out in front of the Sagamore Hotel. The fireworks were fantastic as usual. Sense we were so far away we saw them before we heard them which makes for an interesting experience. The walk down Shelving went well as Holly has a very nice head lamp that would make Cyclops from the X-Men jealous. On our drive out we spotted a porcupine along the side of the road which we had to stop and take a look at as either of us have never seen one in the wild before.

Holly’s Fun Fact: Hemlock Trees (which surrounded our campsite) sacrifice its lower branches so that it can give water and energy to its higher branches that are in the Sun and have a better chance of survival. Thats why older Hemlocks usually have dead branches about 1/2 to 2/3rds way up.

Conclusion: This backpacking trip went really well. My legs felt great during the hike but I have some work to do on my shoulders as the one mile hike with the heavy back pack made my shoulders hurt. I’m using this and some future backpacking trips as training for a Fall trip doing the Cranberry 50. I learned a lot about how to pack my back pack and what kind of foods to bring that are light weight. I’m looking forward to my next trip. Inman Pond is a great camping spot if your looking for something easy and quick. The pond looks like it would be fun for swimming and fishing. I’ll no doubt do another trip there next year.

Pictures: (firework pictures have been altered quite a bit so they can be viewed better)