I took this photo of Big Brook early Friday evening while driving between Tupper Lake and Long Lake on Route 30. If you’ve driven that highway, you’ve probably admired this scene. And if you’re a canoeist, you’ve probably wondered if the brook can be paddled. It certainly looks inviting.
Several years ago, I succumbed to curiosity. At the time, I was researching my guidebook Adirondack Paddling: 60 Great Flatwater Adventures. I thought Big Brook might make the cut. It turned out to be a dumb idea.
Phil Brown is the former Editor of Adirondack Explorer, the regional bimonthly with a focus on outdoor recreation and environmental issues, the same topics he writes about here at Adirondack Almanack. Phil is also an energetic outdoorsman whose job and personal interests often find him hiking, canoeing, rock climbing, trail running, and backcountry skiing. He is the author of Adirondack Paddling: 60 Great Flatwater Adventures, which he co-published with the Adirondack Mountain Club, and the editor of Bob Marshall in the Adirondacks, an anthology of Marshall’s writings.Visit Lost Pond Press for more information.
If it were legal, you could do a loop: Big Brook to Long Lake, Long Lake down the Raquette to Tupper Lake, up the Bog River to Round Lake Outlet, carry up the outlet to Round Lake, paddle to Little Tupper Lake, carry to Stony Pond, cross Stony Pond and carry (?) to Slim Pond/Big Brook.
Great article and damn glad I caught it, cuz I’ve contemplated putting in and heading for Long Lake many times. At nearly 70 I have to curtail my adventurous spirit in recognition of my aging body.
You TEASE.
(And if you only had some guts, you’d have gone north to Little Tupper.)
If it were legal, you could do a loop: Big Brook to Long Lake, Long Lake down the Raquette to Tupper Lake, up the Bog River to Round Lake Outlet, carry up the outlet to Round Lake, paddle to Little Tupper Lake, carry to Stony Pond, cross Stony Pond and carry (?) to Slim Pond/Big Brook.
Did Nessmuk take all or part of the Slim Pond route on his return trip to Thendara from Paul Smiths?
Phil:
Great article and damn glad I caught it, cuz I’ve contemplated putting in and heading for Long Lake many times. At nearly 70 I have to curtail my adventurous spirit in recognition of my aging body.
I will now wisely avoid that little trip!
Tim-Brunswick