Hannah the hiker

The Cranberry Lake 50 (technically 52) mile loop hike has been on my mind for about a year now. Now that the weather is warm again, I decided to give it a go.

I had a three day weekend so my plan was to start Saturday morning and hike until Monday afternoon (Memorial Day). That plan didn’t work out so well.

I made a thorough packing list and got my pack ready Friday night. On a spur of the moment decision Saturday morning I decided to go stoveless for the hike. So, I just brought a lot of snack food and some lentils to cold soak for dinner. Cold soaking is when you rehydrate food with cold water instead of bringing a stove to boil water and hydrate food. This was my first time backpacking without a stove! But in that spur of the moment decision I forgot my spork in my stove set and didn’t have any utensils to eat with for the little trip. That was frustrating to squeeze tuna fish, oatmeal, and the lentils out of their packages to eat.

I started the hike around 10:30 am, about 2 hours later than I wanted to start. I started in Wanakena and went clockwise. The first couple miles bring you over the Oswegatchie River through Wanakena and Cranberry Lake. If I had planned better I could have brought some money to buy Ice Cream when I walked through Cranberry Lake!

I saw a couple people in the towns who asked if I was just starting or finishing up the 50 mile hike. I said I was just starting out and they all wished me good luck. I was happy that people could recognize that I was hiking and not just wandering aimlessly through their town. One guy said “I hope you brought bug spray!” I just laughed. It had not dawned on me that there would be black flies or mosquitos out. Wishful thinking I guess. So that was mistake number 2. About 2 miles out of Cranberry Lake on the actual trail I realized how dumb of a decision it was to not plan for the bugs. But, I’m stubborn so I just kept walking. Nothing makes you walk faster than relentless clouds of bugs attacking you. Every time I stopped to filter water or take a picture I was swarmed by black flies all over my body, they especially loved attacking my face. Needless to say I did not stop much to eat or drink which made me pretty tired after a couple hours of walking.

Over the entire 52 mile hike you only gain about 4,000 feet in elevation. So, the trail is pretty easy-going and flat. This made it easy to go fast.

There are lots of ponds, beaver dams, and nice views of Cranberry Lake. The trail is in pretty good condition and there weren’t any terrible muddy patches. I have read a lot of reviews on the trail about people going up to their knees in mud, walking through a lot of water, and not being able to pass by beaver dams. That wasn’t the case for me. I think going in early spring would guarantee a crappy water-logged trail but as flooding goes away the trail is in nice shape. Except for the black flies from hell.

I didn’t drink as much water as I should have on this trail but that is only because of the bugs. There were lots of streams, lakes, and ponds to fill up on water. I’d suggest just bringing a CNOC or smart water bottle for dirty water and a Sawyer Squeeze to filter with. I brought water purifying tablets just in case my sawyer squeeze let me down.

I camped right on Cranberry Lake and got to my site around 6 pm. I hiked around 19 miles within 7 hours. It’s easy to go fast on this trail!

I hung out on the beach for all of 5 minutes before retreating to my tent. I am so glad I brought a tent. I was close to just cowboy camping it and ditching the tent in an attempt to be ultra light.

About 30 black flies followed me into my tent and I spent a little while killing them before getting in my sleeping bag. As I was getting into my sleeping bag a big black spider hopped out onto my lap. So, I had quite an eventful time in my tent getting ready for bed. I ate some cold soaked lentils which weren’t that bad, and treated myself to an MRE Almond Poppy Seed Pound Cake. This is by far my favorite MRE dessert, so if anyone has any lying around let me know-I can still remember the taste after 3 days.

I slept great that night and woke up to some loons floating by on the lake. I packed up and started hiking around 6 am. I was a little stiff but after an hour I was in good shape to keep a steady 3 mph pace. I had to eat my oatmeal on the go, pretty difficult without a spork and dodging bugs flying in my mouth.

I didn’t stop to take a break until 10:30 at a nice little bridge. I could stop there since there was a bridge and nice breeze, so the bugs gave me a break. At this point I had walked about 13 miles! I was stepping.

I kept going and walked around a boulder cave, Curtis Pond, Dog Pond, Olmstead Pond, Cat Mountain Pond, and Glasby Pond. I walked 25 miles by about 3 pm and decided that I didn’t want to stay another night out there. I was too miserable with all of the bug bites and my shorts were not comfortable to hike in. So I ditched the 50 trail and took the New Plains Trail then the Dead Creek Trail back to my parking spot in Wanakena. This was a great trail! It passed by more scenic views of the lake and some amazing campsites that I’m going to come back to. I decided I’d rather come back with my boyfriend to do the last 12 miles of trail and enjoy the hiking and hang out at some pretty spots on the lake (with bug protection) than suffer through the end.

The trail back to Wanakena was flat, mostly dry, and pretty much a straight shot. You could see the trail stretch ahead of you for at least a quarter of a mile. I got back to my car around 4 pm, I hiked 27 miles total on that day.

In all, it was a really fun trip. I made a couple of mistakes but that just provided me with a learning experience.

I was a little sad to cut the trip short because of the bug bites and all. I’m glad I did now though because these bites are itchy! They bit me all over!

I spent a lot of time just reflecting on my life and enjoying the nature while I was out there. It felt really great to just walk for miles without any real expectation for anything besides finding a place to camp, eat, drink water, and walk. I like how simple backpacking can be. The Cranberry Lake 50 is a great place for someone to start out backpacking or if anyone is looking for a bit of a reset.

Overall thoughts on the trail

Number 1 piece of advice is to check the bug situation out ahead of time and be prepared with a bug net, protective clothing, or bug repellant. This can make a hike so freaking miserable! You can’t stop to soak in a view without mosquitos soaking up you!

There are plenty of nice camping spots on the lake so bring some form of shelter and you’l be set. There are a couple of lean-tos as well but I didn’t stay in any because of the whole bug thing.

I wore my trail runners and my feet felt fine for the whole hike. I’d suggest a trail runner or another lightweight shoe. There isn’t any rigorous climbing so a heavy hiking boot might be a bit overkill. A pound on your feet is five on your back.

Bring some tasty food and try to take your time out there! Maybe go when the water warms up and take some time swimming in the lake.

Bear cans are not required and are only strongly encouraged. So, don’t be stupid. Bring something to protect you, your food, and the wildlife. I’d suggest doing the PCT Bear Hang. I didn’t see any bears while I was out there. I did, however, find that when I left my food bag on the ground to go use the privy some chipmunks were checking out the bag when I got back. I’d be more concerned with chipmunks getting into the food than a bear. Regardless, a fed bear is a dead bear.

Also! My boyfriend gave me a little water bottle holder that clips to the shoulder strap of my pack. When I was on the PCT I struggled to drink enough water since my bottles were shoved on the sides of my pack. This little gadget was super convenient and I had no excuse to not drink enough water (besides the obvious bugs). I’d suggest getting something similar to clip to your backpack since it makes drinking water super easy.

I only saw 4 other people on the actual trail which was surprising! There are several entry points to the 50 so it’s possible to not see that many people out there even if they are going the same way as you. Also, I had a fair amount of cell service out there. But, don’t depend on cell service if you are in trouble. Be smart. Tell people where you are going, when they can expect to hear from you, and when you will be back. Also, maybe bring something like the Garmin Inreach Mini that I carry. It was kind of convenient to mark different campsites on my garmin so I can go back in the future.

I’m excited that I still have 12 miles left to complete the trail. I’m looking forward to going in warmer weather, better prepared, and with good company.

What I brought:

• Osprey 50 L pack
• 32 oz Platypus bottle
• Sawyer squeeze
• 16 oz water bottle
• 32 oz dirty water bag
• Windbreaker
• Short sleeve shirt
• Running shorts
• 2 Pairs Darn Tough Hiking socks
• Altra Lone Peak 6s
• Altra Lone Peak Gaiters
• 1 Trekking Pole
• Garmin Inreach Mini2
• Paper map and compass
• Mini first aid kit
• Hygiene stuff
• Baseball cap
• Sunglasses
• Bandana
• Body Glide
• Notebook and pen
• Sleeping pad
• 20 degree Sleeping bag ( a little overkill for this warm weather but I don’t have any other sleeping bags)
• Long underwear
  • Food!
  • MIO caffeine and vitamin mix
  • Cliff bars
  • MRE Desserts
  • Lentils
  • Oatmeal
  • Peanut butter
  • Trail mix
  • Ramen (sat untouched at the bottom of my food bag, have not eaten ramen since the PCT)