With a car full of winter gear we caught an early ferry intending to spend a weekend at Adirondack Loj. Upon arrival, we convened a committee of all the friends and family in attendance and decided to snowshoe to Marcy Dam. The path had been well tramped and going was easy, even though it seemed that snowshoe bindings and rivets were failing miserably. The walk through the woods was pleasant and upon arrival at the Dam, we happened to see a moose running at the edge of the woods. With a bit of patience, we were greeted with a second moose that came in from the direction of the Van Hovenberg trail.
It was a magical sight in the light snowy air and upon arrival back at the loj, we were told that "no one EVER sees a moose at Marcy Dam..."
For the afternoon, we strapped skis on and blindly followed some of the cross-country ski trails around Adirondack Loj. With just enough snow cover to glide over most of the rocks and logs, we followed the Rimrock trail to Easy Street, followed by a short jaunt around the campground. We noticed some nice views of Mount Jo and Wright Peak that we had never noticed in the summer.
We spent the evening bookending the delicious meal with an impromptu tuba Christmas with music supplied by maestro Jeff. With flute, piano, cornet and tuba we made our way through some nice Christmas sing-a-longs. We even pulled out the fiddle and guitar later in the evening for an old-time jam.
After breakfast the next morning, we strapped on the skis yet again to follow another nice loop on the Mr. Van trail to Easy Street. It was a chilly morning, but the powdery snow made for glorious skiing!
We spent the rest of the day furiously working to make an Adirondack pack basket in the workshop sponsored by the Adirondack Mountain Club. Our instructor was infinitely patient with each of us and we walked away with raw fingers and a brand new basket at the end of the day. It was a fantastic winter weekend!
With residually full bellies the day after Thanksgiving Tom, Chris and Lisa headed to Newcomb for a night. According to NOAA weather, they had a foot of snow on the ground and we packed the car full of skis, snowshoes and warm clothes in anticipation.
Upon arrival, the wood stove needed a bit of convincing to light, so we spent the afternoon and evening in the cabin stoking (and poking) the stove into an acceptable temperature. We passed the time with multiple games of scrabble.
The next morning, we went to the SUNY-ESF property on the border of Rich Lake armed with our winter gear. Upon arrival, it was apparent that the wet weather overnight would render it all obsolete and we strapped on boots to go for a woods walk. We admired the scenery along the peninsula that juts into the middle of Rich Lake. We saw an eagle, beaver and either a weasel or mink (them varmints move real quick like...). We also inspected all of the canoe access points for warm weather exploration!
After lunch at the cabin, we wanted one more walk before heading home so we drove to the Mt. Adams trailhead on the Tahawus road. We only went as far as Lake Jimmy since the ground was getting particularly muddy. We admired the scenery as the sun was getting low in the sky, waiting for the clouds to offer a view of the fire tower.
We sloshed our way back to the car, happy with our first taste of winter and glad that we were able to take our gear for a ride!
After our hike on Jay Mountain, we wanted to get another view of the peak Adirondack foliage. We headed south on route 9N toward the town of Putnam where we parked the car in the world's most awkward lot to hike Record Hill, also known as Anthony's Nose on the shore of Lake George.
The hike was short, steep and sweet. We had many viewpoints on the ascent but the sandy soil made for some tricky footing. On the top, we could see from Sabbath Day Point to Rogers Rock. We meandered on the summit, soaking in the colors before heading back down the trail. While eating our dinner that night around the campfire, we reminisced about the beautiful autumn views that we had seen.
Looking for a good hike for my birthday, we decided on Jay Mountain - a mountain range that we had admired for years from the Champlain Valley but never climbed. Fall foliage was abundant and the temperature was mild, the conditions were perfect for an October climb.
We met our friend Elizabeth in Wadhams and she packed up Sam (her son) to start the hike with us. We were dressed in layers, starting from the trailhead. We quickly started losing them as Sam helped guide us by pointing out each DEC marker while munching on a waffle. When we parted ways, we were worried that we might lose the trail without his careful guiding.
Managing to stick to the trail, we found ourselves on the summit of Jay Mountain where we had lunch. The fall colors were brilliant and we could see many of the high peaks to the southwest and Lake Champlain to the east. We gawked at the view for quite a spell before following the ridge trail along the spine of the summit.
The best part of this hike was the rocky ridge trail, which provided views almost the entire time. Following the trail meant mostly staying on rock slabs, guided by rock cairns. It was rugged and beautiful. We made it roughly halfway along the ridge before turning around and making our way back. The return trip gave us views of the high peaks until we finally ducked into the woods. It was a perfect fall hike, and we will be back to continue the ridge!
TR weekend (as it is affectionately known in Newcomb) is a big deal for the small central Adirondack community. It celebrates the now famous ride that Teddy Roosevelt took through the north country after finding out about William Mckinley's assassination. The town of Newcomb holds a festival each year in mid-September and this year we decided to attend.
Our first order of business was the pancake breakfast at the school - a feast served by the fire department with huge pancakes, real maple syrup and sausage. After stuffing our faces with flapjacks, we spied a short hike from behind the soccer field to Woodruff Pond. We took the trail which led to a beautiful pond that will have to be a Hornbeck destination at some point. We admired the pristine water and headed back to the car for our day's bigger hike.
We drove to Minerva and found the trailhead for Moxham Mountain. The trail was not steep and offered many scenic vistas along the way. Despite an ominous looking summit, the trail just meandered up the ridge and we were offered spectacular views toward Indian Lake. We could easily see Snowy Mountain and Pillsbury Mountain in the distance.
We couldn't tarry long though because the ice cream social in Newcomb only lasted from 2:00-2:30 and free sweets are a high priority for us. We made it back just in time to snag some chocolate with all the toppings!
The evening was spent cooking stew and chili over the campfire - one could argue that we had two dinners that night. We would imagine that Teddy would have done the same...
The next morning, we headed to the Santanoni preserve to ride on the horse wagon into the camp where we were greeted by Teddy Roosevelt himself. We spent the ride telling stories to our nephew Ben...mostly to distract him from eating all the cookies stored with us. When we arrived at the camp, we ate some lunch and paddled a canoe on Newcomb lake before taking part in an interpretive tour of the camp. As the horses were hitching up, we decided to walk the road out to stretch our legs before the long car ride home.
After spending a morning on some light agriculture at the orchard, we decided that an afternoon paddle would be a delight. We strapped our kayaks on the car and headed to the nearby Port Henry boat launch. There was a slight breeze from the south with overcast skies, but we packed some sandwiches and started following the shoreline north.
The signs of Port Henry's industrial past were evident and we admired many natural rock formations as well. North of Cheever, we felt the wind picking up behind us and some light rain. We decided to turn around before we blew up to Rouses Point!
The wind was steady from the south and the whitecaps were breaking over our bows. We each took water in our cockpits, but we kept paddling steadily. Often, we would check over our starboard sides to see if we were making progress against the shore. Little by little we did and found ourselves back at the boat launch with sore arms and soggy butts. A fun paddle for sure!
On a sticky September day, we ventured forth from Newcomb to hike Vanderwhacker Mountain in the town of Minerva. It was a slow and steady drive to the trailhead as we moved slowly over glacial erratics sticking out of the road. When we finally made it to the trailhead, we started past some wetlands on a fairly level path when we arrived at one of the most intact fire tower cabins that we have seen. There was even a refrigerator inside!
After leaving the cabin, the trail got steadily much steeper and our pace slowed. We made our way to the fire tower with the panoramic views of the high peaks. It was a spectacular vista, and must be one of the most stunning views in the park! We loitered on that peak for almost two hours.
We hiked down the steep trail and then made the slow drive out to 28N. After a quick dinner, we couldn't resist a sunset paddle. We car-topped the hornbeck boats and went to Rich Lake. Other than a small group of college students at the beach, we had the lake to ourselves as we watched the sun and moon set. We even brought some apple cobbler to enjoy on the water.
The next morning was spent on a bushwhack to the Hudson River from our cabin in Newcomb. We were able to find some small beaches and ended up walking through the river (with our pants on) to find a scenic oxbow. We mysteriously found many golf balls scattered in the woods on the return trip...
While the last days of summer wane in late August we looked for a paddle/hike combination. We found it by launching our kayaks on Putnam Pond. We made our way westward across the pond looking for trail signs, beached our boats and traded the water shoes for hiking boots.
We started up the trail to Treadway Mountain which starts in the woods but soon follows a wetland. Within a short climb from the wetland, the trail opens up to three rocky false summits. The sudden change in landscapes was certainly unusual in the Adirondacks, especially for a peak so low in elevation.
When we arrived at the summit, we enjoyed views of Pharaoh Lake and Mountain as well as the high peaks to our north. We followed the well marked trail back to our boats and enjoyed the evening on Putnam Pond.
At the end of the driest summer that we had ever experienced, we couldn't help but wonder how far we could walk across the old rail bed that heads across Bulwagga Bay. Normally, the rocks that were the foundation of the railway are underwater, but we had seen them quite exposed this year.
We started our journey from Fort Crown Point. Armed with GPS, we started following the birding trails on the western side of the peninsula for an access point to the beach. Once we found it, we started following shoreline which went from sand to rocks. We slowly meandered on our path because the footing was tenuous and because we were looking for fossils (of which there were many). I even found a wrought iron rail spike dating from 1869.
Once we looked up from our feet, we noticed that we were halfway into the bay! It was the furthest that we had walked into the middle of a lake! We could see up the lake to the north and into the belly of Bulwagga Bay. After more fossil hunting, we made it back to the fort, satisfied with our small adventure of the day.
As one of our "last hurrahs of summer," we strapped our cedar strip guide boat to the car and watched heads turn our way on the highway as we headed to the lower dam on the Bog River. It was a long drive from home, but an area that we have been waiting to explore for years. When we arrived at the parking area, we met our friends Jeff and Lisa Cornell who were already packed and ready to go.
We assembled the floor of the boat and set our oars resting on the gunnels before ungracefully boarding the vessel. This was our first time using this particular boat for an overnight and we would be learning as we went along. We shoved off and began rowing before finding some rocks under the surface about one hundred feet upriver...we shrugged off the scratches and enjoyed the meandering river.
The river widened considerably when we got to Hitchins Pond and we kept following the channel. We started to get glimpses of Lows Ridge - a series of cliffs that overlook the Upper Dam. There is a trail to tan overlook here that we will save for another day.
Jeff helped carry our boat over the carry to the upper dam with only one break. We repacked our gear and continued rowing upstream as the river began to straighten. We found ourselves stuck behind one of Lows Lake's famous floating bogs. We were able to float and carry around the sides while Jeff considered inventing a new sport: bog running.
We made it to our campsite after 7.5 miles of rowing to set up on our promontory and make dinner. We chatted away the evening until the mosquitos drove us into the tent.
Up early the next morning, we were itching to explore the lake. We ate a hearty breakfast, packed our lunch and continued rowing westward, where the lake finally opened up. The folks camping on site 18 didn't seem to mind that we had to carry our boats over their beach at one point.
We followed the shoreline past Boone's Landing and into Grass Pond where we stopped at a beach for snacks admiring the craggy cliffs to our east. When we shoved off - I played some trumpet at the cliffs and interacted with my echo. Much applause was received from the friendly site 18'ers that we met earlier.
We then headed south to Virgin Timber Landing where we cooled off in the lake. It was amazing that a lake this "busy" with paddlers offered such a feeling of solitude.
The rowing led us into a pickle with the larger floating bog. Jeff and Lisa decided to ford through the small opening, we rowed back around to meet them on the other side.
Snaking around islands, we made it back to our site for another evening of chatting and excellent food. We were tired but contented with the amazing solitude and unique scenery that Lows Lake had to offer. Many of the people we talked to that day were on return trips and we could understand the draw of this place.
The next morning, we followed the river west to pack out. Our rowing had improved considerably and we were able to navigate through the bends of the river much more effectively. It was a successful trip and a wonderful first camping trip with the guide boat. We had some of the best scenery a paddler (or rower) could hope for and great company.
On the drive to the village of Schroon Lake, we eyed a sign for a short hike up Severance Mountain. We returned the next day with Tom, Mike and Ben (who would provide the on trail hilarity). We made our way up the trail with Ben stopping to plant acorns along the way. He also seemed concerned about the rocks sticking out of the trail...
When we arrived on top, the adults admired the view while Ben immediately grabbed a sippy cup of juice and started looking for legitimate dragon holes. He found a few!
The descent was easy, and we enjoyed making echoey sounds in the tunnel under the northway. It was a perfect hike for a four year old!
Looking at the map one day, it occurred to me that we should attempt a through hike from Tahawus to Adirondack Loj. We could have followed Indian or Avalanche pass, but we wanted some great views along the way so we plotted a course over Skylight (one of our favorite mountains of all time) and Mount Marcy.
Dropping the car at the Adirondack Loj the previous night seemed like an an exercise in the absurd. It took an hour and twenty minutes to drive to the starting point, connecting the area that we would WALK the following day. Nervously laughing about it, we went to bed in Newcomb to awaken before sunrise and scarf some oatmeal we had made the day before while driving to Upper Works trailhead in Tahawus.
Heading on the trail, we noticed quite a discrepancy between mileage on the signs...sadly for us, it turned out that the longer distance was the correct one. The trail to Flowed Lands made a good warm-up with its slow but steady incline. We stopped at Calamity Pond to see the monument to David Henderson - who accidentally discharged a gun into his leg in 1845. We marveled at the size of the monument so far in the woods, wondering how it actually got there...
Flowed Lands offered great beauty as always and we took a quick break at the Calamity lean-to before heading to the Lake Colden Dam. It was there we had a real meal and took off our boots while admiring Mount Colden's reflection in the water. It is one of my favorite places on the planet, but we eventually had to tear ourselves away to start making the ascent.
We stopped for many views into the Opalescent River Gorge along the way before finding ourselves at Lake Tear of the Clouds. Considering how dry the summer season has been, it doesn't appear to be lacking for water. We ate a snack and continued to Four Corners.
There we climbed Skylight first for one of the greatest panoramic views. After hiking the forty-six, we vowed to return to this mountain. We shared our lunch with a pair of wayward travelers whose lunch had been consumed by a bear the previous night....or do they tell that story to everyone just for free cookies?
After hiking down Skylight, we started the ascent up Marcy. This was untrodden territory for us and we quite enjoyed the Schofield Cobble and trek above tree line. This side of the mountain seemed more open and more rugged than the other. Arriving at the summit, we met two other hikers who snapped our picture and a summit steward. They all made their descent and we had the summit to ourselves - truly a rarity on this peak!
Being a bit behind the clock, we didn't dally and started descending to Adirondack Loj. It was exactly what we remembered from our first hike up Mount Marcy - a long and steady decline for seven miles. Other than a quick stop at Marcy Dam for sunset pictures, we made it in one shot. We arrived at our spotted car just after sunset and celebrated our hike at the Noonmark diner before collapsing into our bunks in Newcomb with sweet dreams of panoramic mountain views.
Since we needed to pick up our car at Upper Works, we decided to spend the next day paddling on Henderson Lake. We always enjoy the stunning mountain views from this lake and had a great day except for one mass deer-fly attack. After our obligatory view of Wallface Mountain, we car topped the boats and headed out of the high peaks wilderness. This adventure was one that we will remember for many years and will act as a yardstick to compare other days in the woods.
With a stiff south wind we looked at Lake Champlain and decided to embark on an adventure that we had been gabbing about for years: a paddle from Fort Ticonderoga to Fort Crown Point. We car-topped the kayaks and launched them on the LaChute River, just below the kissing bridge in Ticonderoga. The river was pleasant as we meandered under bridges towards the mouth. When we were about to leave the mouth of the river we put on spray skirts in anticipation of the rollers that we would see on the lake.
When we entered the lake we looked up to see many cannons pointed our way. Fort Ticonderoga was prominently situated above us with an American(?) flag flying proudly overhead. We started surfing the waves, at times struggling to keep our boats pointed straight with the tailwind.
After crossing the path of the Ticonderoga-Shoreham ferry, we ducked into a bay for some lunch. It gave our steering muscles time to recover!
The path north led us past the International Paper Mill which dominated the scenery for the next two miles. The scenery improved as we found ourselves surfing towards Crown Point. As we approached the orchard - our floppy, throbbing arms dictated that we should pull the kayaks out there rather than proceeding to the Crown Point Fort. It was a wonderful day and great paddle....time to buy a rudder for my boat.
