I've done a couple of trips before to Pharaoh Wilderness, but never in peak fall season, so this recent trip with my friends JimmyB and Lisa was definitely the best yet. The colors were absolutely fantastic, the weather was cool and dry and there were no bugs... a stark contrast to our trip two years ago in August where we were feasted upon by voracious biting flies and melted in the sweltering heat!
This year, we parked at the southeast trail head on New Hague Rd and hiked in on the Springhill Pond Trail and camped on the southwest shore of Pharaoh Lake at a beautifully situated designated campsite that would be perfect for swimming in the hot summer months... if you can tolerate the aforementioned carnivorous insects! Jim and Lisa are tenters and I was hammocking, which is no problem anywhere I have ever been in Pharaoh. Our little campsite probably could have accommodated a couple more hammocks.
Next day, we followed Pharaoh Lake Trail along the south shore of the lake and then up toward Glidden Marsh, and then hooked a left turn and climbed up Pharaoh Mountain Trail, approaching the peak from the north side. We each got a couple of liters of water at the stream that empties out of Glidden Marsh, so we were set for dinner, breakfast and trail water the next morning. It is a decent climb of about 1200 feet to the summit of Pharaoh Mtn, but Wow is it worth it—there were fantastic views in every direction! And to top it off, there is a wonderful officially-designated campsite up there and it is a beaut, perfectly shielded from the prevailing winds, and several good trees for stringing up hammocks. We spent the late afternoon enjoying the fantastic views and watching the sun go down, then dinner and quickly to sleep. Next morning we were up in time to catch the sunrise, and it was just as sublime as the sunset. We took our cook kits and prepared our coffee and breakfasts on the rocks while watching the fog in the valleys and lakes below.
The hike down the south side of Pharaoh Mtn was pretty steep and we had to pick our way very slowly and carefully. It would be a very bad time and place to get hurt, and it reminded me of my first trip to Pharaoh when I went down that trail at night, with my dog! We took Pharaoh Lake Trail to Grizzle Ocean Trail toward Putnam Pond. Our intent was to camp the last night at Berrymill Pond, but the distance was a bit more than we had calculated so we decided to do a dispersed "stealth" camp (which is permitted... 150' from water/trail) about 3/4 mile from the Putnam Pond campground. After setting up camp, I once again had my special treat, a Milky Way Mocha, which I make with 8 oz water, 3 Milky Way "fun" size bars and one Starbucks Via.
The following morning we broke camp a little earlier than usual (last day, no breath-taking vistas lol!) and were on the trail a bit after 8 am, and made the 6.2 mile hike back to New Hague Road in about 2hr 45min.
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