Looking back - our (only) camping trip this summer

Ahhh, yes only one. We did have our very nice trip to Jim Thorpe, PA and Brigid and myslef did some hiking - but no camping. So as we did last summer -  Last Week's Adirondack Adventure  - we met up with our good buddy Laurie Hurley from Vermont and went to a different campsite, Putnam Pond, about 15 minutes south west of Ticonderoga NY and about 15 minutes east of last year's campground. We arrived Thursday August 15th and left Sunday, August 18th - so three nights of camping. Happily with little rain or mosquitoes.

We quickly unloaded all the important items -

No mosquitoes, no rain, but we did meet the local camp resident who visited us the whole time we were there. Encouraged by Brigid who started putting nuts out for him/her.

So Thursday we ate dinner in our campsite, had a good bit of some wine and continued expanding the legends-in-our-own-mind we have of ourselves. Then earlish on Friday Laurie and I drove around the extensive campsite, scoping out the many hiking trails running through the site. In fact we came across a mixed group of students entering Cornell in September. They were offered some bonding (!?) opportunities by Cornell before they were scheduled to arrive at the College and this group decided on a four day hike that ended at the Putnam Pond site. We had an nice brief conversation with them - I told them my brother Paul had been a cox on their crew teams for the four years he was at Cornell - they were very mildly impressed...

Late in the morning we buzzed off for a hike that was almost 3 miles - in and out, had to retrace our steps -

Uh oh. Should have photoshopped this....

In the late afternoon Laurie and I took off for another what we thought would be quick one mile walk, but the sign threw us off and it was twice that. Brigid stayed behind to read and feed the chipmunk.

We had a nice dinner (very nice) at a golf club that was open for dinner and with a nice, very nice view. Picture taken by the young waitress who was soon heading to college for a nursing degree.

Smoke from Canadian forest fires were effecting the atmosphere - the moon was red - in fact effected the entire sky.

So Saturday the 17th - a 5.4 mile and very scenic hike. From the campsite Laurie and I headed north (Brigid again passed - read her massive book, talked to the chipmunk and other Brigid things). the walk took us through rolling forest areas, not too many big hills and lots of ponds and lakes.

The path behind us over my shoulder went on beautifully for several hundred yards.

Here it is further along -

About to descend to a really gorgeous spot -

Yup, gorgeous. Laurie (math whizz) pointed out that the hills created an almost perfect sine curve!

If you look very carefully in the above picture you may barely make out an orange spot across the lake to the right of the large outcrop.

About 300 yards away; it's a tent. We saw surprisingly few people on this hike. As we walked up from the lake we spoke with three older hikers - maybe even older than myself, and they said very few people hike this trail, which is surprising.

Saturday evening we went to Mass in Schroon Lake and then found a really nice bar/restaurant in Schroon. Actually had a twenty minute discussion with a couple of people from NJ at the next table - they heard us talking about cocktails! Kindred souls. They suggested a cocktail called a Rhode Island Red - if you google it a rooster comes up - but the link will take you to the recipe. We haven't tried it yet but we will.

Next and last day we packed up and drove about thirty minutes to Hague, NY and the Swede Mountain Trail to a retired fire tower. Again just Laurie and myself with Brigid staying behind and reading. It's about a two mile round trip and while some websites rate the trail as "Easy" it was a bit more in the moderate area. But worth it to climb the tower.

These were all along the trail. Brought handfuls back for Brigid.

 

Swede Mountain tops out at 1904' and the tower is another 50'. But it was cloudy! Too bad.

We met a nice fellow at the top, in his 40's. Had recently come back to the area and was trying to get back to his roots. Wish I'd gotten his picture - so you're stuck with the two of us.

Got back down, Brigid got her blackberries and we hung out for awhile by the trailhead. Then it was adieu and Laurie headed back to Vermont and we went south. What a great holiday! Thinking of maybe doing two trips next year, one to Pennsylvania and again upstate to the Adirondacks. We will see if that can work out. Or some other plan - maybe New England...

Comments

[Laurie]

They lit up the tower a couple of nights ago:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/T2auFq7UqGTxRtdC/

[Laurie]

From the article above: If you see an unusual light in the sky off Graphite Mountain Road, aka Route 8, in Hague on Sunday night, it could be the Swede Mountain Firetower!
The tower will be part of the annual "Light up the Night" event at firetowers across New York state. Warren County's firetower will be one of 37 that will be lit up between 9 and 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 1. (Date was switched because of rain forecast Saturday).

This 11th annual event is to to honor the men and women who worked in these historic fire towers, protecting homes, businesses, communities and surrounding forests from wildfires. Learn more about the event here: http://nysffla.org/light.html
Also, if you want to hike the trail to the tower in the coming days, note that it closes for hunting season as of Tuesday, September 10. It will reopen after big game season ends in December for some great winter hiking and snowshoeing!

[Regina Montana]

Great photos of you nature lovers and campers. Looks like you might be ready for the Camino in Spain. Let me know if you're organizing a trip there.

[tom faranda]

Regina you should talk to Brigid about that!