Boreas/Atwell/Saranac

 On our latest venture into the Adirondack park, we started by meeting our friends Andy and Carrie at Boreas Ponds. They had never been and we enjoyed some fresh made corn bread while we floated our armada of Hornbeck boats beneath the amazing view of the Great Range. The skies were overcast and the air was crisp which was a welcome change after the sweltering summer that we've had thus far.

We bid adieu to our friends and made our way to Newcomb for the night before the next leg of our journey to downtown Atwell, New York. The tiny hamlet would be hosting its annual picnic and we joined to strap on the feedbag! I regaled Annabel with stories of Atwell Martin (the hermit that lived in the area in the 1800's and she decided that we should bring him some food from the picnic. In midafternoon, we hiked the trail to his hermitage site with some food for him (which is still oddly treeless...) and I'm sure that his ghost appreciated it.

We whiled away the rest of the weekend playing in the water and the neighbors were nice enough to pump up their floating trampoline for Annabel to jump on!

The car headed back to Newcomb for another evening for the next stage of our trip - a camping trip on Middle Saranac Lake. We had reserved the site on Norway Island for two evenings. We packed the car despite smoggy skies and headed north. We found lunch in Tupper Lake where we wolfed down calzones at Guido's Pizzeria...yum.

Because of the smoky skies, we decided to spend most of the first day at the Wild Center where we could duck inside. Annabel particularly enjoyed the spider web, watching the otters and fish and playing with fans on the engineering table.

By late afternoon, we packed our boats and paddled to Norway Island's rocky shore. We set up camp for the next couple nights where we would listen to loon calls and relax.

We didn't venture far the next day - after spending most of the morning on "breakfast rock" as Annabel named it, we took a short trip to Middle Saranac Lake's beach for a swim. After returning to our island, we spent the rest of the afternoon reading Roald Dahl and watching pine needles smolder in the campfire. 

On our final day - it was time to pack out. We filled our kayak holds and packed the car while Annabel helped launch stranger's boats onto the river. It was time for another calzone at Guido's before we headed home. This marked Annabel's first island camping experience!

Lake Lila

 Summer was gettin’ on and we needed some time in the mountains to recharge. We packed the car with camping gear, hiking gear and boats and headed to Newcomb. It would make a good central location since we didn’t have any specific plans.

We met Tom at his cabin and ate michigans on the porch while planning our next day. It seemed that we all wanted to hike and paddle - so we planned on doing both. Our first stop was at Rich Lake, a beautiful waterway surrounded by wilderness. Paddling west, Annabel renamed all of the protruding rocks as petrified sea creatures. The wind picked up on our return to the beach where we played in the surf before packing our boats.

In the afternoon, we made our way to the Upper Works trailhead where we intended to hike the Indian Pass trail for views of Wallface. When we arrived, we found signage indicating that the trail was impassable due to a broken bridge. Not feeling deterred, we hiked to the broken bridge with a stop for a picnic at the lean-to along the way. Annabel regaled us with songs and stories along the way while we slopped through muddy patches and enjoyed a lovely wander through the woods.

The next day, we pared down our gear into drybags and headed west on the long and bumpy “road” to Lake Lila. We scouted for a campsite and although Annabel had her heart set on camping on an island, we found an excellent mainland site (3) where we set up camp and had our supper. Annabel named one of the shelving rocks “breakfast rock” so we moved our chairs there before bed.

It was an unbelievably quiet night with only occasional loon song. We awoke and ate breakfast from our unperturbed bear cans before paddling to the western shore of the lake to hike Frederica Mountain. This was an easy hike to one of the best wilderness views in the Adirondacks. We were again regaled with songs and stories about Anna and Elsa while we made our way to the top.

We needed a resupply from the car, so we made our way back to the eastern shore to get fresh water and supper on the beach while Annabel splashed in the waves. Cold beef stew somehow tastes delicious in the backwoods.…

Our night was quiet except for a low-flying helicopter at 11PM that scared the bejeezus out of us.…

Low on food and facing a scorching and windy day, we packed up our gear and surfed back to the beach. Annabel had just had her first backcountry camping trip as a five-year-old and did great. We were all filled with the balsam scented recharge that can only be provided by the solitude of a place like Lake Lila.