SOLO Backpacking ADIRONDACKS in November | Overnight Adventure in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness

This was an easy, solo but wonderful overnight backpacking trip I did in The Siamese Ponds Wilderness in the Adirondacks of upstate New York. The Siamese Ponds Wilderness is larger than any National Forest on the East Coast, and the same goes for many other wilderness areas that make up The Adirondack Preserve. The Adirondacks are absolutely massive, and a truly wild and beautiful area. Hiking and backpacking here is truly wonderful. 13th Lake has many different campsites along its western shore, but I continued a bit further up and over to Hour Pond, which was gorgeous. I sat by the fire in the Lean-To for hours, completely alone and surrounded by wilderness-it doesn't get any better!
Music by Epidemic Sound

[@ervinslens]

Absolutely gorgeous scenery and atmosphere my friend.

[@mikewanders]

Thank you so much! Appreciate you!

[@mk1604]

Love your music choices in your videos!

[@mikewanders]

Thank you! That’s important to me lol

[@2DayShinesCoz_UR_init]

Thanks for sharing your trip. Beautiful landscape. ❤

[@mikewanders]

Thank you for watching!

[@briancyers6790]

Thank you Mike. Another great adventure and video!

[@mikewanders]

Thanks for watching! And to answer your other question about ticks….I actually don’t run into them too much in New England. At least not so much when I’m hiking. I know there’s areas that are really bad tho…so bad that it really pushed out the moose population in New Hampshire.

[@twotonadk]

Nice to see you enjoying the beautiful Adirondacks. My stomping grounds.😁

[@mikewanders]

I’m in love with the Adirondacks

[@colmfarrell6687]

Thanks Mike for another great video. I really appreciate the lack of shakey camera shots! I appreciate that they take longer to do so just wanted to say that I appreciate your efforts!

[@mikewanders]

Thank you for watching! I appreciate you! Yeah I hate watching shaky camera shots as well

[@thomasbartlett3409]

Great footage. Keep in mind, November is prime big game rifle season for bear and Deer.. You should be wearing some orange for your own safety safety.

[@mikewanders]

That’s a great point

[@MegaSusanc]

Looked fun but a little scary, with it being so dark and you being by yourself. I would have spooked myself to where I was scared stiff lol I know because I done it to myself. Thank you for sharing your awesome adventures. God Bless you Keep adventuring

[@MegaSusanc]

Oops 😬 🤭 I almost forgot to subscribe I would have been upset because I'm starting to really like your channel. I watched three of your videos so far and I like them all. I'm looking forward to watching more of your adventures.

[@mikewanders]

Thank you so much for that! And yeah I did get a little spooked out up there in the Adirondacks. But the time before when I was in the pharaoh lakes wilderness, was way creepier. Thanks again!

[@fivehorizons5295]

Just found your channel! Enjoying your content. New subscriber here 👍

[@frankrn]

what a nice hike, november no bugs, not many people around. you can see quite a ways with the leaves down. i would love to do a trip there sometime!

[@mikewanders]

@@frankrn yes I love backpacking late fall-no bugs ever! And you should try it! Thanks for watching

[@MEGGEM707]

Thank you for sharing your adventures! I frequent the Adirondack Park year round. Been going there since birth, lol. I camp, hike, fish, look for Sasquatch and visit friends. During the summer I take my PWC and have epic adventures. Love your videos! ❤️🏕️ 👣🌲❤️

[@mikewanders]

I love the Adirondacks! And I feel like I’m just getting to know them. Where do you look for Sasquatch in the Adirondacks? And thanks I appreciate that!

[@MEGGEM707]

@@mikewanders Around the Lake George area. I spend a lot of time in the summer investigating remote areas around Lake Erie, Ontario, Finger Lakes etc on my PWC and Kayak. I love to camp remotely and by water. I have friends that live on the Hudson River and we hike right out in the woods from his house. The trails I take are not marked and we hike for hours. I’d like to find the place that you hiked and camped in the future. This summer I want to hike and camp on the Finger Lake Trail. I need to do more research on that trail and what it entails. Being a RN and a owner of a Piano Restoration business, I can plan extended trips. I’m currently working on summer/fall camping trips. I absolutely love your channel and so glad that it showed up in my recommended videos. I’m so glad that your wife enjoys your love for the outdoors. She is a good sport….lol. When my feet and back are torn up……I need a long break…..like 24 hours and Motrin. Keep up your amazing adventures! Thank you! 😊❤️👣🏕️🐠❤️😊

[@LayneComfort]

Looks like a good time man. Lucky to have that sweet setup all to yourself. I haven't got to explore the Northeast much but would like to check that area out one day

[@mikewanders]

Thanks Layne. I grew up in the northeast, and I’m constantly jealous of western scenery. However, there are still some legitimate wilderness areas here. The Adirondacks are huge. There’s at least 4 or 5 wilderness areas that make up the park, all of which are larger than any national forest on the east coast. The white mountains of New Hampshire are probably the most dramatic scenery, and my favorite. Maine also is a vast and really remote wilderness. You gotta give the northeast a shot some day!

[@jo-qf3rv]

Awesome video

[@mikewanders]

Thank you!

[@sammcalilly107]

thank you, i just moved to VT and trying to find some lakes to sit nearby this summer.

[@mikewanders]

I’m jealous! Vermont is the ideal place to sit by a lake and relax

[@TabethaAurochs]

I decided I would backpack solo in the ADKs by the year I hit 40. It took me 2+ yrs of hiking later & later at night before I stopped freaking out over every single twig snap, every sound I heard that I wasn't responsible for, etc. etc. etc. After I got my imagination under control 😅, I was able to focus on honing my awareness of the legit dangers, actual real Things I needed to understand and ultimately embrace, with an emphasis on the particular challenges and risks of being alone in the backcountry. Acquiring knowledge, learning skills, and ensuring I was proficient at knowing both how and when to use them was an immeasurably satisfying challenge for me, and it continues to be. I turned 40 in February '18, went solo for the 1st time in April (Feb. would've been a stupid choice). Now, I 100% prefer going solo. Over the years, I've slowly built up my knowledge, skill sets, and most importantly, learned to listen to my body, intuition, respect my emotions, and to. trust myself to know when it's okay to push my comfort level and when I should be grateful for recognizing my own limitations because doing so keeps me safe and makes me stronger. I now enjoy going out solo year round-obviously not anywhere in any weather, but learning if, where, and why I can go out solo in mid-January is a challenging skill that's extraordinarily satisfying to learn and continue learning. Keep it up-the only thing I'd have done differently would be to have started when I was younger! 💜

[@mikewanders]

Happy belated bday! Yeah there’s definitely a mental obstacle to doing it alone. But I agree, the more you do it, the more you prefer it. Happy hiking!

[@kathleenfreeman1306]

Just subscribed ❤

[@mikewanders]

Thank you Kathleen!

[@LostInTheWildCanada]

Beautiful !!! I am from Canada, andwant to hike in the Adirondack mountains. Could you give me some pointers where to start? How to book campsites? Permits? Thank you! Atis

[@mikewanders]

And I want to hike more in Canada! Ha, but yes you should-it’s great. If you’re looking for mountains, it would be the High Peaks area. The area does get a good amount of foot traffic tho, and I believe you can’t have fires, which is tough for me to swallow. I instead love some of the other wilderness areas bc of the solitude and they allow fires. Love the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness. Siamese Ponds was great, and I’ve heard great things about West Canada Lake wilderness as well. Huge wilderness areas in the Adirondacks. And thanks for watching!

[@parkerbreitenbach2767]

Not in this wilderness but in another one I’ve heard lots of weird sounds and lots of gun shots in the dead of night not even during hunting season and we were about 6 miles in and this gun shots were even deeper in and we wernt on the edge of the wilderness with public land it took a lot of effort to get to the location I was at but even more where we heard the gun shots and they only started when I turned my head lamp on to grab water for my friend and would stop when I turned it off but would resume when I turned it on

[@briancyers6790]

Do you run across many ticks in the NE?