Schroon

After a brief respite at home, we car topped the kayaks and were bound for Schroon Lake with Tom. We would be meeting our friend Bill Killon, a photographer for Adirondack Life. We arrived too early to set up camp so we parked at the Eagle Point beach (where swimming is not permitted) and geared up for a paddle on the northern part of Schroon Lake.

The smell of cheeseburgers caused us to stop at the Schroon Town Beach for lunch. We ate quickly, desiring to get back on the water. The burgers were adequate but the fries were terrible…

Continuing north, we found the mouth of the Schroon River which leads north to Paradox Lake, we followed it until it became too shallow to dip a paddle. We also found a beaver lodge containing a ladder, dock board and set of stairs!

When we returned to the sandbar at the mouth of the river, Bill snapped pictures and we enjoyed a break from sitting. We waded in the warm water, which was pleasant on the sandy shoal.

On the return trip, we found a wedding party stranded in a motor boat. We couldn’t tow them or give up our paddles but we let them use our cell phone. Unfortunately the cell phone generation doesn’t actually know phone numbers, so they were not able to contact anyone who could help. We continued on and eventually saw a party barge towing them to shore.

The next day, we took the kayaks to Goose Pond in the Pharoah Lakes Wilderness. It was a sparkling, secluded lake with a loon swimming. The kayak carry was strenuous, but worth it to get on the water. It was intended to be a morning trip, but we spent the whole day!

On our third day, we paddled the southern part of the lake and into the Schroon River. It didn’t take long, since we had already done so much paddling. We headed for Scaroon Manor, the newest campground in New York for another night of camping. Amy, Mike, Ben and Jean met us and we picnicked. In the afternoon everyone went swimming (including Ben) and Lisa tried to teach me how to roll a kayak. The 180 was easy but I have yet to master the 360 and I swallowed quite a bit of Schroon Lake trying.

In the evening we headed for Pitkin’s Restaurant for a chicken barbeque. It was a kitchy joint with lots of pie! Afterwards, we headed for the town beach for a quick jam.

The next day was a quiet family day at the campground with threatening skies. On our last morning at Schroon we paddled to the Adirondack general store and found a delicious breakfast.

We’re off to Paradox Lake for a night…sounds like something to contemplate.