Stillwater

One of the places that has been on our list for many years was Stillwater Reservoir. We finally made the trip and are able to check it off....sort of.

With kayaks car-topped, we made the drive down Route 28, through multiple construction zones before turning towards Big Moose Lake in Eagle Bay. Tom followed us and gave us a friendly wave at each construction site. The pavement disappeared just after Big Moose and we followed the dirt road (which was beautifully maintained) until we found the boat launch at Stillwater Reservoir.

Linda (my mom) was waiting patiently as we arrived late, hungry and in need to pack our kayaks for camping. She had arrived from North Lake to join us for the first day of our journey. After scarfing down some sandwiches, we headed south into the large bay with a pirate flag proudly flying from the stern of Lisa's kayak.

The wind was steadily blowing from the northwest and at our first break, we noticed that the pirate flag had blown off! We scurried back towards the launch, retracing each paddle dip but the Jolly Roger had gone to Davy Jones' locker.

We meandered along the shoreline, exploring bays and admiring the large boulders that seemed to form much of the shoreline of this part of the lake. The return to the boat launch required some muscles since the wind had picked up considerably. STILL-water? Sheesh...

With hearts pumping, we arrived back at the launch and helped Linda car-top her kayak when I noticed an ice-cream sign on the marina wall. It was locked, but we wandered over to the only other commercial building in sight: The Stillwater Inn. It was obviously the only game in town since it took us forty-five minutes to get four ice cream cones. It was delicious though!

We bid farewell to Linda and launched our kayaks to push eastward on the lake. We had picked a campsite midway down the lake and wanted to watch the sunset. The wind was now at our backs and we made it with plenty of time to set up tents, start a campfire, and eat dinner before we ran out of light.

The next day we passed around pop-tarts for breakfast (Tom broke a decades long streak of not eating a pop-tart) and packed our camping gear into our holds. With the beautiful beach and pleasant weather, we were not in a hurry to leave. We shoved off around ten o'clock and started to paddle eastward with a great part of the lake yet to explore.

Following the shoreline, we found the inlet to a secluded bay known as Loon Lake. We floated in the quiet backwater, eying the lone campsite as a possibility for our next visit.

Continuing eastward, we navigated through islands and found the train tracks that cut across the eastern bay of Stillwater but we couldn't find a way through. We were not too disappointed since we found another beautiful beach with a lone pine for shade. I dragged a log for a seat so that we could have a quintessential Adirondack experience.

After lunch, we continued down the Beaver River towards Nehasane Lake. The wind was beginning to pick-up again and we had the full length of the lake to paddle so we turned around and muscled-up for the long paddle ahead.

Lucky for us, Stillwater Reservoir is chock-full of beautiful sand beaches and we took snack and water breaks on many of them on the way back. We spent time climbing on the imposing driftwood stumps and logs that littered the beaches throughout the lake.

After packing the cars, we headed for McKeever, where we set up on a free primitive campsite in the dark. Lisa and I slept in our tent while Tom opted for his van. Other than waking up to the sound of deer hooves in the leaves, we slept very well and managed to stay dry despite a chance of rain in the forecast.

The next morning, we brought our boats to Wolf Lake Landing on Woodhull Lake where we carried our boats to the launch under cloudy skies. We paddled to the lean-to (a double-wide!) where we cooked some oatmeal with apples. Any day that you eat breakfast in a lean-to is a good one, right?

We got back into our boats and shoved off. We explored the shoreline, most of which is owned by the Adirondack League Club, an organization that takes private land ownership quite seriously. We didn't dare to step out of the boats. The next bathroom break would have to wait until we landed...

As we were admiring the earthen dam responsible for the lake's existence it began to sprinkle. We donned our raincoats and put on our spray skirts in case of heavier rain. It began to pour and the deluge of rain wouldn't let up for hours... We continued to explore the shoreline to the very end of the lake. When we finally arrived back at the lean-to for a much needed bathroom break, we were soaked to the core. We didn't even bother taking off our shoes or rolling up our pants to step into the lake...it just didn't matter.

We didn't feel uncomfortable until we had to carry the kayaks back to the cars. We each had a set of dry clothes packed and got to change before heading to Old Forge. We grabbed some food at Walt's Diner before parting ways with Tom. He was heading to Vermont whereas we were heading to North Lake.

We spent the next few days relaxing and visiting with family while our clothes dried on the line. Saturday was the annual Atwell Fish and Game Club Picnic where we ate, played music, ate and ate.

Although we spent a few days exploring new areas, we will have to return to each. Stillwater Reservoir still has two large areas of the lake that we didn't have time to explore. And of course we would like to see Woodhull lake without a downpour.

Big Slide

On a cool and cloudy July morning, Lisa and I awoke early in Wadhams after playing at the Old Dock House in Essex on the previous night. We packed our gear, filled our new camel-backs and headed to "The Garden" in Keene Valley. It turned out to be a much smaller parking lot than we had envisioned and we snagged the last spot.

We signed in and took a right where we immediately began climbing in elevation. However, the trail over "The Brothers" started to reward us with panoramic views seemingly immediately. We stopped on the rocky outcropping known as the first brother (in a series of three) and had a snack while gawking at a view that ranged from Hurricane Mountain through the Great Range.

As if the immediate view was not enough of a reward, wild blueberries were plentiful and ripe. We snacked as we hiked, enjoying the fruits of our labor!

The trail led from rocky outcroppings with amazing views into more wooded areas where we suddenly came upon a trail intersection. We headed up, to the summit of Big Slide which offered some of the most precarious scrambles of the day. We stopped at an overlook to admire the slide which gave the mountain its name.

At the top, we ate our lunches while enjoying the most panoramic of the views of the day. Wandering to the other side of the peak, we were able to see Lake Placid through the trees. On our way back to the summit, we stumbled upon one of the original survey markers from the Colvin survey of the mountains.

Wolfjaws to Gothics

Gothics to Marcy

Cool! The original Adirondack Survey

Our descent took us on a different trail which headed north towards Johns Brook. We followed the road back to our car, making a big loop for the day. It was a 9.75 mile hike for the day and one of the best hikes that we had ever taken.

Wolfjaws

Lisa and I awoke at sunrise in Wadhams while our friends Kevin and Elizabeth slept. We fried bacon and eggs and then I played reveille on the trumpet to signal breakfast. After stuffing our faces, we packed the car and headed for the Ausable Club in Keene Valley. Our destination would be two mountains in the Great Range: Upper and Lower Wolfjaws!

The temperature was perfect as we headed on the West River Trail, climbing slowly as we followed the Ausable River. After finding the sign for "Wolfjaws" we began to climb steadily as the trail became rocky and eroded. We ascended steadily with occasional views of Noonmark Mountain through the trees.

At the trail intersection, we decided to head to Lower Wolfjaw first, where Elizabeth (of course) found friends on the summit. It was pushing noon, so we decided to scarf down our sandwiches while talking to a pair of hikers and playing with their dogs. We snapped some pictures of the view and continued down the trail.

The hike from Lower to Upper Wolfjaw disoriented Lisa and I. Kevin and Elizabeth were out of sight when we found ourselves descending after a long ascent. Did we miss it? We stopped and checked the map and as it didn't seem possible, we carried on. Catching back up to Kevin and Elizabeth at the summit revealed the view with an extra hump between the two peaks that Kevin had nicknamed "the molar."

We made our goal for the day, but decided that we would continue up the range and get one more view for the day. After some scrambles up bare rock, we were on the peak of Armstrong mountain for the best view of the day with Mount Marcy looming in the distance.

The descent was difficult for the first mile and got much easier once we felt sod beneath our boots. We enjoyed the view of Beaver Meadow Falls on the way out and found ourselves quite footsore as we walked out on the road.

On the way home we grabbed malts at the Elizabethtown Stewart's to celebrate and Kevin made a fantastic chicken dinner. We watched the final stage of the Tour de France and made our last ascent for the day...up the stairs and into bed!

Nectar of the Gods

From the air...

We awoke the next day, sore but hungry for another adventure. We headed to the orchard in Crown Point to pick up Tom and three boats. After tying the boats onto the car, we ate a picnic and headed into the Hammond Pond Wild Forest where we would carry boats into Hammond Pond.


This was the first test hiking with our Hornbeck boats (made in Olmsteadville!); they are ultralight boats that are designed to be carried over a shoulder. Getting into the pond seemed incredibly easy after our previous experiences of dragging heavy boats on dollies.

The pond was full of lily pads and weeds but we didn't mind as it added to the wild feel of the area. With mountains rising around us and no one in sight, it proved our adage that in the Adirondacks you don't have to go far to find solitude. We paddled as far as we could to each arm of the pond before packing out.

We headed back to the orchard where we watched the lake in the evening before heading home for the night. It was yet another successful Adirondack exploration!

Crown Point

After talking about it for years and never quite finding the right combination of wind and weather, Lisa, Tom and I finally decided to paddle from our home of Charlotte, Vermont to our orchard in Crown Point, New York. We left from the boat launch in Converse Bay on a sweltering afternoon and headed south, around Thomspon's Point. I kept dipping my straw hat in the water and splashing myself to keep cool. The sunburn that I would later find on my neck was a reminder that ultraviolet rays do reflect upwards off of water....oops.

We stopped at Kingsland Bay State Park for a quick tuna sandwich on the shade of the porch. We watched children jumping off of the already submerged cement dock. I couldn't help jumping into the water myself!

Shoving off, we followed the Vermont shore past the mouth of Otter Creek and paddled steadily with the wind at our backs until we arrived at Button Bay State Park. We were able to get a campsite overlooking the lake. After jumping in the pool, we wandered the paths with Amy, who had brought her baby Ben to the park for the evening. Once the mosquitoes began to viciously swarm, we hid in our tents and snoozed.

By the time I had fully awoken the next morning, my sleeping pad, air mattress and bag had all been packed and I was laying on the floor of the tent! We munched on oatmeal and bananas and packed the boats, successfully shoving off before eight. We needed an early start to beat the heat and potential storms.

We paddled steadily through calm water with short breaks before arriving at Chimney Point, a stop that Jefferson and Madison had made while touring the lake. Sitting on the dock, we ate an early lunch and admired the new Champlain Bridge sitting above us. It seemed exponentially safer than the rusty girders that we were used to seeing.

We meandered to the orchard and after some acrobatics required to get the kayaks and all of our gear up the cliff, we poured water over our heads. Jumping into our car (that we left there two days prior), we headed to Port Henry for dinner at Gene's Michigan Stand, one of our favorite eateries in the Adirondacks! The muggy weather led us to walk through Mac's Market, just to enjoy the air conditioning. Before leaving, we made a stop in the Sherman Free Library where we saw Peggy Porter - local historian and resident friendly person!

The rest of the day was spent in the shade, looking out on the lake at the orchard. We spent the night sleeping in the bug tent (a necessity because of the aforementioned mosquitoes) before leaving the next morning. The trip was a highlight indeed and we got to see many of the most beautiful parts of the lake on one voyage!

Our total trip mileage was 24.5. We covered 11.3 miles on our first day (from Converse Bay to Button Bay) and 13.2 on our second day (from Button Bay to Crown Point).

Whiteface

Our next venture into the Adirondack Park started with a trip to Elizabethtown for the "Taste of Local Food Festival." The Wadhams Waddlers were performing and we tried to try as many vittles as we could before the downbeat. It mostly went well except for one dog biscuit that was labeled poorly and partially consumed before it was decided that it was not for human consumption.

We headed back to Wadhams(!) for the night and walked the new cycle-cross trail on the Bouchard-Hall property. It is a perfectly manicured trail that winds through fields and forest.

 The next morning, we awoke early for a hike up Whiteface mountain. This wouldn't be your average hike though, we would be taking the road less traveled. We met Tom at the Lake Placid boat launch and packed our hiking gear into the kayaks for a paddle to Whiteface Landing at the end of the lake.

Once there, we ditched the kayaks in the woods and strapped on our hiking gear for a trek up the "backside" of the mountain (the backside, since most hikers approach the mountain from Wilmington, not Lake Placid). We followed Whiteface brook for an easy approach until we reached the lean-to. From there, the trail was steep and rocky.

About a mile further, we started getting spectacular views of Lake Placid and the high peaks in the distance. We scrambled up the rocks with many gawking breaks where we met a few interesting and talkative folks.

Arriving at the summit, we found a crowd! Whiteface is a different high peak experience than most others since there is a road and an elevator that leads to the summit. After climbing a trail with few hikers, we were not able to sit and relax at the summit because of the throngs of tourists walking around (we're tourists too, we know..). Instead we wandered around and snapped pictures of the scenery. There were great views of the Champlain Valley, the northern Adirondacks, Lake Clear and St. Regis Mountain as well as the Saranac Lakes.

'
We begrudgingly started down the trail, slowly. With steep grades and loose rocks, it was a slow and steady descent. Luckily we had our fantastic view of Lake Placid and the high peaks until we got below the treeline, so no one was annoyed at the slow pace.

Once we got back to the Whiteface Brook lean-to, it was an easy walk back to the kayaks. We boarded the boats just as the sun was setting and watched the orange light on the mountain that we had just climbed as we paddled towards the boat launch.

It was dinner at the Cascade Inn followed by malts at Stewart's on the way home. A delicious end to an epic day!

Woodhull

We left the kayaks at home for our next venture into the Adirondacks but we replaced them with our bikes loaded into the back of the car. Our destination was Arrowhead Park in Inlet where we would pick up the TOBIE Trail and ride to Thendara. It was a perfect summer day and we started by following the road before the trail went away from civilization and into the woods.

The trail was challenging at times due to loose rocks and sandy sections but we got to enjoy views of Rondaxe Lake and other smaller ponds along the way. We made it to Old Forge just in time for our bellies to start rumbling which led us to Main Street Station for hot sandwiches. With our "gas tanks" full, we got back on the bikes and pedaled the long and dusty road back to Inlet.

When we arrived we found "Fritz's Polka Band" playing in the park. It was quite a treat, especially since last time we saw them in Syracuse we witnessed their bass player yawn while performing!

It was getting dark and we didn't have a place to stay. We drove by RV parks and motels with no vacancy. We were worried that we may not find a suitable backwoods site for the evening. We turned at McKeever to access the Black River Wild Forest land and easily found many empty designated campsites! We picked one and set up camp.

In the morning we got back on the bikes with big plans for the area! Our first destination was Woodhull Lake, which was only five miles away down an easy gravel road. We admired the lake from the double-wide lean-to and talked about how easy it would be to get our kayaks in!

We doubled back on the road and found the trail to Woodhull Mountain. We biked as far as we could before ditching the bikes in the woods and carrying on by foot. The mountaintop was forested but had the tallest fire tower that we have seen. We gawked at the views of surrounding mountains and lakes - especially the view of Bald Mountain which we had climbed earlier this summer.

On the return trip, we stopped at Remsen Falls (on the Moose River) for a snack break. With a lean-to on the river and rocks all around us, it made a picturesque swimming hole. Too bad we didn't have our trunks...

We packed up our campsite and headed to North Lake for a night of good food and revelry! It was good to see family on Labor Day before heading home.

Gothics

On our next venture into the Adirondacks, we crashed the Bouchard-Hall family "man-trip" hike into the high peaks. The first night was spent in New Russia at a classic camp that dated to 1905. We ate drank and were merry before retiring early to prepare for an early hike the next day.

I blew reveille to wake up the crowd in the morning and after a hearty breakfast we headed to the Ausable Club parking area for a hike up Gothics. Our group stopped to admire waterfalls along the way but made steady progress towards the top.

When we arrived, we ate our lunch and took in the fantastic scenery. In fact, from that vantage point, we could see every high peak that we had climbed so far this summer!

The group decided to descend over Pyramid Peak, which gave us a fantastic look back at the sheer stone walls for which Gothics is named (for its resemblance to Gothic architecture).

The descent took us to a look through the valley into Lower Ausable Lake. We admired the view, and continued to a swimming hole to plunge our tired feet. A few miles later, we arrived at the car and went for dinner at the Deer's Head Inn in Elizabethtown.

We spent the next day playing music at the mountain house in New Russia before heading back to Vermont. Other than a quick trip to Split Rock Falls (a fantastic swimming hole), we lounged for the entire day!