Tabletop

On our most recent trek into the wilderness we got up at the crack of dawn and headed for the Charlotte-Essex ferry for their first crossing of the day. Our destination would be Tabletop Mountain, our first "trailless" high peak. We rolled into the parking lot at Adirondack Loj around 7:45 and were on the trail by 8:00.

We mostly followed the Mount Marcy trail for the first two hours and were relieved when we finally turned off. There were a group of boy scouts playing leap frog and sitting in the middle of the trail each time that we passed them. Slow and steady...

The herd path to Tabletop was surprisingly well worn but not difficult to climb. We arrived at the summit and realized that we may have gotten up a bit earlier than necessary since it was only 11:00. Since we had so much time, we stayed on the summit over an hour waiting for the clouds to blow off of Marcy.

We hiked out and headed to the Orchard for the evening to pack boats for our next adventure.

The next day, Tom joined us with three Hornbeck boats car-topped for a trip to the Essex Chain Lakes - a recent New York State land acquisition that has just been opened to the public. We followed the rough dirt road while scoffing at the "curve" warnings and deciding that they should warn of the straightaways instead!

The day was cool and slightly overcast as we carried into Deer Pond and then into Third Lake. We followed the shoreline with another short carry into First Lake and back. After a picnic on a peninsula, we followed the shoreline to Fifth Lake and back to the carries. We especially enjoyed the wild rasberries growing along the trail!

We hope to return to camp at a later date, but for now we headed back to the Orchard for a weekend of smoked salmon, smoked brisket, beanhole beans and pizzas in the brick oven! And of course, music!