Hornbeck

As one of our "last-hurrahs" of summer, we car-topped our hornbeck boats and drove into the wilderness. On the way, we couldn't help but stop at the Port Henry Diner for lunch before driving to Tahawus, where we had just gotten off the trail two days prior.

Henderson Lake

We packed gear into backpacks and threw boats over our shoulders for the short carry into the Henderson Lake dam. As we were paddling out we noticed a horde of kayakers heading for the launch, it looks like we would have the lake to ourselves. We also noted a fawn standing in the water at the edge of a cliff...odd.

While searching for the lean-to at the northern end of the lake, we admired Wallface Mountain with its imposing cliffs in the distance. Once we found the site, we slopped through the muck to get out of the boats and set up camp. We didn't stay long since we didn't have any food, we needed to paddle back to the car to get some grub.

On the way back, we noticed the fawn's head just sticking out of the water now. He was stuck and it appeared that he had given up, not seeing a way out of his situation. Tom approached slowly and eased him away from the cliff with his paddle, the fawn went back to his precarious spot but it appeared that he could swim. On the second attempt to get him away from the cliff, we chased him with the boats and when he was at the launch, Lisa hopped out of the boat and chased him into the woods!

At the car we cooked up some chili and packed the rest of our gear for the night. We paddled back to the lean-to, had a camp fire and fell asleep as soon as it was dark.

The next morning, we awoke to fog on the lake and chilly temperatures. It was tough to pull ourselves out of warm sleeping bags but nature called (in more ways than one). The lake was mirroring the surrounding mountains and we could see young loons getting a flying lesson in the distance. We packed and explored the southern arms of the lake before packing out.

Mirror on Henderson Lake

Wallface Mountain

Mountain Man, On his Way!

On our way out, we stopped to admire the impressive blast furnace that sits next to the road near Upper Works. The mining operation was massive and only ran for two years before being destroyed by flood. The furnace has not been fired since 1857 but still stands as an impressive reminder of the Adirondack's industrial past.

Our next stop was in the village of Long Lake, where we finally completed the ice-cream trifecta. This is a self-invented event which consisted of a stop at Hoss's for cones, Custard's Last Stand for a banana split (which we split), and malts at Stewart's. It was delicious and sickening at the same time!

Nelson Lake

After fighting our way through construction, we eventually arrived in Old Forge where we reserved a campsite at Nick's Lake State Campground. We would save a paddle on Nick's Lake for our next visit though, we were toting fifteen pound boats and wanted to explore the backwater!

We packed a picnic and headed for the South Branch of the Moose River where we would launch. We followed the current and took a sharp left into a weedy mire. After "paddle-whacking" as we named it, we arrived at Nelson Lake. It was a beautifully secluded lake with no development but it was close enough to civilization that you could hear the occasional truck rumbling along on the highway.

Eying a shelving rock on the northern end of the lake, we cooked up some pasta with salmon and vegetables while enjoying the orange pale of the sun dipping near the horizon. Of course, that reminded us that we needed to navigate back through the weeds before dark and we packed our boats to get back to our campground at dusk.

The next morning, we took showers and headed for the Thendara train station where we met Steve, Linda, Elaine and the other Steve. As we boarded, we each grabbed window seats and soon enjoyed the gentle sway of the locomotive. We found ourselves wandering back towards the cattle car for some open air and great views.

After a delicious brunch in Big Moose, we boarded again and headed back to Thendara. Tom and I spent much of the trip playing some dixieland classics in the cattle car with melodica and pocket trumpet. Before we deboarded, I noticed a poster in the back of the train with a familiar looking picture. As I looked closer, I saw that the credits were given to my blog! I guess that someone is reading it...or at least taking pictures from it...

Cheney Pond

We bid adieu to the rest of the family and Lisa, Tom and I headed north. Naturally, we grabbed more ice cream at Hoss's and with the map on the picnic table, we planned our next venture with the Hornbeck Boats. We headed to Cheney Pond, which despite a trail marking on the map turned out that we could drive to the launch.

We paddled around the shoreline with a suspicious loon eying us as we chatted. We lounged at the far end of the pond, where we found a lean-to and a long sand beach! It was a great place to while away the afternoon while Lisa cleaned the mud off of our boats.

When we finally forced ourselves off of the beach, we followed the outlet as far as we could before turning back to the launch. It was a gorgeous pond which seems little visited. We may be back soon with camping gear.

For this particular afternoon, we were heading to Gene's Michigan Stand in Port Henry for dinner where we reminisced on the amazing three days that we had exploring new parts of the Adirondack Park. The light pack boats seem to have opened a new world of waterways just off the beaten path to us and we have just scratched the surface.