Sharp Bridge - East Mill Flow - Round Pond Trail 8/19/2018

East Mill Flow.

Kailee and I camped at Sharp Bridge this past Sunday. It's one of our favorite places in the world. Sharp Bridge is a sleepy little place located right next to the Schroon River.

This has been the fourth year in a row that we've gone there. Back in 2015, as we were driving there for the first time Kailee shouted, "We're gonna see monkeys!"

"No," I replied.

"But, it's a jungle," she countered.

"No, it's a forest," I said, "But we might see bears."

Sudden quiet & nervousness from the back seat.

"You have nothing to worry about," I assured her, "You have a Dad with you!"

Traditional "Late Night" Camping selfie.

It was during that initial stay that we discovered the campsite has a 5.2 mile long trail that leads to a number of ponds. That trail is where Kailee honed her skills as a hiker. Each year, we've progressed a little farther down it.

The furthest we've ever gotten was the East Mill Flow.

On Sunday, we wanted to walk four miles to Round Pond.

The weather was great & we were happy to be back at our stomping grounds.

Sharp Bridge - East Mill Flow - Round Pond Trail.

This hike was a nice change of pace from all of the mountain climbing that we've done lately. I was able to wear my small day pack & Kailee didn't need a backpack for this one... A welcomed reprieve for our lumbar muscles!

The first leg of the trail parallels the Schroon Brook for a mile before cutting to the left on an old forest road near some old bridge casings.

We startled some birds that were in the river and they swam quickly away from us leaving some decent sized wake behind them. Neither of us got a good look at them... Loons perhaps?

This wouldn't be the first time we startled some avian creatures that took off before we could get a good look at them...

An old man made rock wall along the trail.

There was quite a bit of blowdown across the trail this year. It didn't cause to much of an issue (although I whacked my knee pretty hard on a branch on the way back).

It's clearly mushroom season! Pretty fungus of different colors and varieties lined the trail.

Orange Ice Cream cone shaped Fungus.

We aroused some fat birds that flew away too quickly -and- again I was unable to identify them... I assume they may have been grouses.

At two points on the shoulder of Clap Mountain, I found bear scat. The first load was recent... And it looked like the critter had diarrhea -or- something going on with it's gastrointestinal system. The second turd was a little further up the trail and appeared to be left by a cub with a berry diet.

We arrived at the East Mill Flow after an hour and half of walking. The flow is a pretty swamp and brook surrounded by walls of glacial carved rock.

East Mill Flow.

We took some pictures at the bridge and continued on towards Round Pond. At the Northeast end of the Flow, we turned to the Southeast, crossed some puncheons, navigated over and around some more blowdown and soon arrived at Round Pond!

Round Pond.

The pond was beautiful! We sat on a footbridge and enjoyed the view of the sparkling water. Under us there were a number of large sunfish and bass swimming around... Note to self: Next time bring a fishing pole.

Round Pond's outlet.

We found a small paddle boat on the shore near the bridge. There was also a large wok that someone had used to contain campfires. Resting aside a tree was a pan attached to a stick. Clearly some fisherman uses this "secret" spot to cook up some fresh fish fry!

After a pleasant break and checking out some of the shoreline, we made our return to Sharp Bridge.
We saw six newts (red efts) on the trail over the course of the trek back!

Kailee with a newt!

It took us an hour and half to get back to the campground. Once there, I prepared a campfire steak for dinner! Delicious!

Kailee did some fishing in the river and we watched the sun set over the Dix Range.

We hit the hay with plans for a bigger hike the following day!

Sunset over the Dix Range from Sharp Bridge.