And the parcel information comes from respective county clerks, which is an even better resource still (albeit one only available for those who pay for the app).

You're correct, but I'd also comfortably argue that the typical CalTopo user is likely just sticking to the base map, which is OpenStreetMap based.

In any case, the public lands layer isn't always that accurate, either... It's missing a lot of state lands (which can be the distinctive majority of public lands in some areas). Furthermore, for the National Forest I checked (Green Mountain), it shows all lands within the proclamation line as public (including the private parcels), which can lead to the same confusion that the OP was experiencing here.

/u/Giveaway_guy , I think this is it, that you were on private land within the National Forest. National Forests are weird. They aren't necessarily one congruent single parcel of public land, but rather are a patchwork of public and private lands.

The general boundary for a National Forest is known as the "proclamation line," and it defines the area where lands can be acquired for inclusion in the National Forest. Frustratingly, some digital maps show all of the land within the proclamation line as publicly owned, even though this isn't true. I know Google maps was guilty of this for a long time, but they've gotten better about clearly showing public vs. private lands in National Forests in recent years.

I agree with other posters that CalTopo is usually a good resource, with a caveat- CalTopo bases much of their info on OpenStreetMap, which is basically the Wikipedia of maps... In other words, anyone can edit it. So sometimes even CalTopo can be wrong (whether through honest mistakes or willful malicious intent on the part of the map editors).

You can also typically purchase a visitor map for any National Forest, which generally accurately shows which lands within the Proclamation Line are actually publicly owned.

Definitely bring a tent, even if just as a backup. Don't expect space in a shelter every night... It's a popular trail, and shelter space is first-come, first-serve.

Having a tent also gives you a lot more flexibility in your itinerary- you don't have to stop at a shelter each night. Keep in mind too that if you're playing to hike the full trail, you're almost certainly not going to be able to adhere to a set itinerary you put together in advance. It's good to research the trail to be sure (and I'd strongly suggest carrying a physical map and not just relying on hiking apps alone). But over 200+ miles, flexibility in your itinerary is going to be key.

Some of the shelters have designated tenting areas that you're supposed to use if the shelter is full or you prefer to tent. It's not always the space immediately surrounding the shelter but it's usually close by. In a couple of cases, though, the designated tenting area might be a short hike away (half mile or so).

Somewhat counterintuitively, Gill Brook (as well as the rest of the former Dix Mountain Wilderness) is in the Western Zone of the High Peaks Wilderness. Fires are allowed, and bear canisters are not required (yet anyways, there's plans for that to change).

I have a trip report from my thru-hike three years ago that you might find useful: https://www.adkforum.com/forum/outdoors-related-discussion/other-places/460366-quehanna-trail-moshannon-state-forest-pa-5-5-5-12-21

In general, a lot of the campsites were on the smaller side but if you're solo this isn't as much of an issue. I will add that a willingness to dry camp on the plateau does really open up your camping options along some sections of the QT, so carrying an extra water container or two to facilitate this isn't a bad idea.

That's a pretty ambitious itinerary- some combination of carrying an extra day of food, caching food along the trail, and/or familiarizing yourself with shortcuts to lessen the distance isn't a bad idea, just in case.

I would be prepared for potentially challenging stream crossings if there's lots of rain in the forecast.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

I'd recommend investing in this map. Not only will it help you to find hiking trails nearby, it will also prove useful in navigation while on those trails: https://www.natgeomaps.com/amp/ti-743-lake-george-great-sacandaga-adirondack-park

If you want even more options, there's a 5 map pack that covers the entire Adirondacks: https://www.natgeomaps.com/ti-adirondack-park-map-pack-bundle

I'd also suggest looking into the ADK fire tower challenge and the Lake George 12sters for more hike ideas.

/r/Adirondacks/ is also a good resource.

I don't disagree that the situation is nuanced, but I also have doubts about the ability of casual hikers (the majority of the High Peaks crowd) to understand that nuance and act upon it in an educated manner. It's not hard to come up with reasonable exceptions to any rule or guideline but once you try incorporating those exceptions into the guidelines themselves, you just end up with a mess that becomes much more difficult for the lay person to understand- and far easier to ignore entirely.

Do you really think that the majority of the High Peaks crowd would be willing to understand and respect ethical guidelines that differ on a per trail basis? It's difficult enough to get folks to understand how things work regarding "East vs. West" in the High Peaks as it is.

The Village of Saranac Lake seriously considered ending the Saranac Sixers challenge due to the issues that have arisen as a direct result of the promotion of those peaks- including the physical impacts. There's portions of the McKenzie Mountain trail where the worn tread is (no exaggeration) ~50 feet wide. That wasn't the case before the challenge existed.

As it is, the village has chosen to continue honoring the challenge but has also ceased nearly all advertising of the challenge. Although with the closure of the Scarface Mountain Trail, who knows what the future holds for the Sixers program.

Ah, yeah if you already know of sites that you can legally drive onto then you should be fine with a camper trailer on those sites. There's no additional regulations that pertain to campers/trailers specifically.

Yeah, I wasn't calling anyone out specifically. More so just stating that enough hikers don't know that to ruin it for everyone else.

One of the challenges of recreation management is that you're often managing these backcountry areas for the "least common denominator."

Agreed- it was a blip of dryness followed by what seemed like endless rains.

I had my fingers crossed for a "normal" season in the ADKs this year, but who knows. Black flies came out early, and I even saw mosquitoes out yesterday. I can't recall ever having seen them out in mid-May before.

June was actually an atypically dry month, and the advisory was removed. It even got dry enough that wildfires were starting to pop up left and right across the park... then July hit and it started raining and just never stopped. The mud season advisory was reinstated then.

To be fair, last year was a very atypically wet year, and the trails absolutely were in "mud season condition" for much of the summer. This is what a lot of the High Peaks trails looked like in mid-August: https://www.reddit.com/r/Adirondacks/comments/15uktk7/current_high_peaks_trail_conditions/ 

A big part of the problem is that a lot of hikers don't know to "stick to the center of the trails" when those trails are muddy. Those photos pretty clearly show the impacts of hikers spreading out in a vain attempt to keep their feet dry, which only exacerbates the issue.

I think you're reading a bit to much into the labeling. A lot of the backcountry sites (no road to them at all) are listed as "Primitive Campsites." What it probably comes down to is whether the DEC employee who entered the info into the computer habitually used the descriptor "tent site" or "campsite."

It's shown as a roadside site, you probably will be OK to park your vehicle/trailer on the site itself. But be aware that there's a number of "roadside campsites that you have to walk into." For example, the roadside sites at Boreas Ponds will all be tent sites only, located a few hundred feet off the road and in the woods.

Corey's Road is already open but honestly a lot of those sites aren't particularly nice, IMO.

Regarding where you can park a trailer to camp- we have what is called the "150 foot rule." Basically, within 150 feet of any road, trail, or water body, you can only camp at designated sites. For trailer camping, a consequence of this that you need to be aware of is that you can't camp in trailhead parking lots, and you can't just find any old pull off alongside the road and camp there.

To be blunt... DECInfo isn't that great of a resource for some areas of the ADKs. It's missing a lot of designated sites, and a lot of the sites that are shown aren't shown in the right spot. There's also sites shown that have either been closed or become overgrown through disuse years ago. I also agree that it would be really nice to know for roadside sites if it is a site you could park a trailer on or not, but that information unfortunately isn't included.

For the largest park in the contiguous US, DECInfo could be (and should be) a lot better. It's a good place to start with but for a lot of the ADKs, there's no substitute for boots on the ground first-hand knowledge. It would be nice if there was a single good source of information on this, but also for obvious reasons, members of the camping community are hesitant to share information about choice roadside sites publicly (lessens the chance of those sites getting trashed/abused and potentially shut down in response).

It's honestly not a bad idea to plan a trip with the focus of just driving around for a day or two without the trailer, checking out roadside tent site locations, and making a list of spots that appeal to you for future use.

A lot of what has been recommend so far (Echo Lake, Giant's Ledge) are very popular destinations. You're not going to avoid crowds at these spots outside of maybe the dead of winter.

Generally speaking, if you want to avoid crowds in the Catskills, avoid any 3,500 foot peaks and look for options in the western Catskills. Beyond that, I agree with /u/PMmeplumprumps... any specific destination that gets recommended online as being "crowd free" won't likely stay that way for long. Invest in the NYNJTC's Catskills Map set and look for destinations in the Western Catskills on your own using that excellent resource.

Hiking solo does increase the risk, but with some careful preparation regarding your itinerary and good decision making in the field, much (but not all) of that added risk can be mitigated. A good way to think of it is this- the act of hiking solo isn't in itself really going to increase the chance that you get hurt/injured, but it is going to complicate the situation if you do get hurt/injured.

If nothing else, leaving a fairly detailed plan with a trusted person who will summon aid in the event that you don't return is a must. And once you're on said trip- do your best to avoid any major deviations from that plan (as assistance will be delayed, since rescuers are first going to look for you along your planned itinerary).

Be aware of "watch out" situations. These are things like hiking in unfamiliar terrain, hiking while fatigued, hiking while in inclement weather, etc. You can't ever mitigate all of these circumstances, but it's a good idea to try to minimize the impacts of these situations as much as possible. When hiking solo, if something feels off: stop, take a few minutes to figure it out, and address the situation before moving on.

Having a good sense of your physical ability level and planning solo trips to not really push those boundaries is also generally a good idea. If you're not sure what those boundaries are, start easy and steadily increase the physical difficulty with each subsequent hike.

You can also pick itineraries in popular areas where there will be no shortage of other hikers in the vicinity who can assist you in the event that something does go wrong.

A PLB or satellite messenger isn't a bad idea, either. Do some research on this as there's multiple options available and what works for someone else might not work for you. In a nut shell:

• PLBs: Have on function only- a "panic switch" that summons assistance to your GPS coordinates. No additional information is transmitted other than that you need help. These have a higher up front cost but are relatively maintenance free and have no subscription fee to operate.

• Satellite Messenger: Newer models have all kinds of functionality, including 2-way texting. These are cheaper to purchase but they do require a monthly/annual subscription fee to use.

The High Peaks Information Center (located at Heart Lake, the trailhead for Phelps) or the Cascade Information Center (located right down the road from the Cascade trailhead) are both run by the ADK and both spots should have it for sale.

Dittoing this. /u/Echo_Romeo571, the ADK's High Peaks map won't cover Fish Creek (where you're camping) but it's a must have for any hikes in the High Peaks region. Definitely a superior map to the Nat Geo one: https://adk.org/product/high-peaks-adirondack-trail-map/

The Saddleback cliffs are on the side of Saddleback facing Basin. If you do the Great Range in the "uphill" direction overall (i.e., end with Mt. Marcy) you end up descending the cliffs. This is probably one of the trickiest sections of on trail hiking in the High Peaks, and accordingly some hikers find it a lot easier to ascend the cliffs rather than descend them. This is why you see some folks recommend hiking the Great Range in the opposite direction (the "downhill" direction overall).

I think if nothing else, the base camp suggestion is worth heeding for Fri/Sat nights (assuming this trip coincides with a weekend). Saturday nights can be very busy in the High Peaks. If you get a halfway decent campsite for Friday night, then yeah- it's absolutely worth leaving camp set up in that same location for Saturday night too. Will most likely save you a huge headache from competing with everyone and their mother for available camping space on Saturday afternoon/evening.

Yeah, that comment was for the benefit of others reading this thread more so than meant for anyone in particular.

(FWIW, though- you also can't cut down standing dead trees, either.)

A few general comments:

• Keep in mind that all food/trash/toiletries must fit inside the bear canister... for an itinerary like this, this is going to be a considerable challenge in its own right. Remember too that BearVault brand canisters should be avoided, as they have failed repeatedly in the High Peaks.
  
• This is a popular area, and some of your chosen campsites have zero options nearby for overflow in the event that they are already taken/full. It would be worth the effort to try to get an early start each day to also finish early- which should maximize your chances of getting space. Make sure you're aware of the 150 foot rule (as well as the prohibition against dispersed camping above 3,500 feet) and how to implement it in the event that you need to find your own spot off trail and away from water.
  
• This is a pretty ambitious itinerary. I'd generally be aware of bailout options as well as ways to shorten the loop if necessary. You can also easily skip peaks that are side trips off of the main route if need be.
  
• Be aware also that there's "fit" and there's "High Peaks fit." The two aren't the same thing. Even if you have lots of hiking experience elsewhere, it's good to temper your expectations for the High Peaks if you're not yet used to hiking the area. Our trails are pretty consistently in rough shape, and that can slow down even experienced hikers who aren't used to the terrain.
• Weather is also going to make or break your ability to undertake this itinerary. Some of the sections of your route are lengthy ridgeline traverses that will leave you exposed to foul weather if it's around.
  
• The parking lot at the Garden can and does fill to capacity, and overflow parking is several miles back down the road in Keene. It's usually a good idea to plan to get there super early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
  

Regarding your specific itinerary:

Day 1:

• The Southside Trail is officially abandoned as a hiking route and is no longer maintained for hiking traffic. It's also the ATV access for private camps in the Johns Brook valley. Accordingly, it's a rutted and muddy mess. You'd be better off just sticking to the northside trail all the way into the Ranger Station/JBL vicinity. There's a suspension bridge adjacent to the ranger station that will get you across the brook and to the trail up to the Wolfjaws notch.
  
• The Wedge Brook tent site is alright, but if there's available space in the Wolfjaws Lean-to or one of the nearby designated sites, I'd probably just stay there for night #1. It's not that much added elevation gain the next day if you did this.
  

Day #2:

• This is a big day even though it's not a particularly long one, distance-wise. I'd have a serious self-check in at the junction with the upper end of the Orebed Brook Trail and at least make a go/no-go decision about continuing on there.
  
• Descending the Saddleback Cliffs with an overnight pack can be tricky. I think this direction is still more fun to hike the Great Range overall (you end with the biggest/best peaks) but be aware that even with an ultralight setup, this stretch may be kind of slow/tricky.
  
• The Snobird tent sites kind of suck (always muddy), and there's admittedly not a whole lot of space there for the demand, but I think I'd still rather camp there than lose the extra elevation to Slant Rock. It's not a whole lot of added distance to at least check Snobird to see if there's space before dropping to Slant Rock. Also, the Shorey Short-cut Trail sucks (uphill both ways).
  

Day #3:

• Again, Shorey Short-cut sucks. If you do end up camping at Slant Rock after Day #2, you'd probably be better off going up the Phelps Trail to get to Haystack rather than Shoreys.
  
• This is also a potentially big day. Be aware that you can skip Skylight and/or Grey if need be to save time/energy. (Grey is also kind of "eh" after a lot of the other peaks you'll have done already up to this point.)
• Feldspar can be popular. My experience is that Uphill usually sees less use. If you arrive at Feldspar and find the lean-to and tent sites all full, it might be worth the added mile to check Uphill for space there.
  

Day #4:

• This is also a big day. The trail up the south side of Algonquin is one of the steepest, most consitently washed out trails in the High Peaks. This trail will be slow going even with a light pack.
  
• Be aware also that you can skip Boundary and/or Wright easily if need be to save time/energy.
  
• Marcy Dam can also be very popular. There's additional sites located north of Marcy Dam, along the Truck Trail and the high water trail around Phelps Brook that are good to be aware of.
  

Day #5:

• This is kind of a convoluted way to do Mt. Colden, although granted it also gets you through Avalanche Pass which is worth seeing. Be aware that the trail along the shoreline of Avalanche Lake will be slow going. The south side of Mt. Colden is also a pretty consistently steep trail. If you need to save time/energy here, you can just do Colden as an out and back from the north.
  
• The cross over trail between Lake Arnold and Indian Falls is in pretty rough shape- it hasn't been super well maintained in recent years. It's generally still relatively easy to follow even though it's brushy (aside form a sharp turn halfway through that can be easy to miss) but parts of it are going to be pretty wet/muddy/washed out.
  
• The Hopkins Trail also gets relatively less use than many other High Peaks trails. It's not hard to follow, though (from what I remember) and the intact soils beneath your feet will probably even be a relief after the tread you've traversed thus far.
  
• Bushnell Falls can also be popular for camping and there's not really a lot of campsites here. There's additional campsites located up near JBL that are good to be aware of in case everything at Bushnell Falls is occupied.
  

Day #6:

• This is a fairly straightforward day... make sure you get Stewart's ice cream in Keene after you get out!
  

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Hope this is helpful. Good luck!

Yeah, as much as it sucks from a recreational standpoint, the fire ban is probably one of the single best moves the state has made with regards to protecting backcountry resources in the ADKs.

Fires are prohibited in the Eastern Zone of the High Peaks Wilderness. Somewhat counter-intuitively, the Eastern Zone is roughly the central portion of both the High Peaks region and the High Peaks Wilderness. It is the portion of the High Peaks Wilderness Area only that is bounded by the Street/Nye/Lost Pond Peak/MacNaughton ridgeline to the west, and the AMR property to the east. It also includes Marcy Dam, Lake Colden/Flowed Lands, and Johns Brook- so if you're camped at or near any of those spots, you're probably in the Eastern High Peaks.

All of those other destinations you mention- Giant Mt., Sentinel Range, Jay Mt., Hurricane Mt.- are not part of the Eastern High Peaks. Fires are permitted in those areas, but do note that the campfire ban for the Eastern High Peaks was implemented because campers would not stop cutting down trees for firewood. The ban could conceivably be expanded to other areas in the future if illegal tree cutting proves problematic elsewhere- so please make sure that you're burning only dead and downed wood.

The Adirondack Mountain Club's High Peaks map is an all-around better map than the Nat Geo map, IMO. It does a pretty good job of showing the boundary.

Note that bear canisters are also required if you're camped in the Eastern High Peaks.

It's been a good long while since I did Big Slide that way- my last ascent of Big Slide a couple of summers ago was via the loop from JBL. But the Brothers is not really a stretch of trail that is on people's radar for exposure generally, so I think you'll probably be OK.