Friday, April 20 - The trip begins. My dad and I left Charlotte around
12:30. Already about an
hour and half behind schedule. The
trip up was good. My goal was to reach a KOA in Harrisburg, PA. We reached that goal around
10:30pm. We did stop
several times for gas and to eat. I
just want to say now how ridiculous gas prices are. No one was at the KOA but they had a
late registration window. I
filled out the info, got our spot, went to the bathroom and then to bed. My dad wanted to sleep in the car instead
of the camper. I had
planned on sleeping in the back of the truck and had made space. Having a great mattress in the camper,
I chose to sleep in there. Weather
wasn’t too bad, I had to put the blanket on me, but other then that it was
good. My dad was fine
in the car.
Saturday, April 21 - Left the KOA around
8:00 am and had breakfast. We
then proceeded to the United States Military Academy at West Point. My dad has always wanted to watch a
baseball game there. We
were there several times when the NY Yankees would play the NY Mets but never
watched Army play. A friend
of the family plays shortstop for Army. It
is his first year at West Point. He
had a great game which contributed to the pitcher for Army having a no
hitter. The first no hitter
for Army since 1957. It was
a great time being at West Point again. What
a thrill and honor to be able to attend and play baseball at that
academy. We were also
treated to a great opening ceremony where all the seniors of the team were
introduced with their family. They
announced the names, position, statistics and where each cadet would be
assigned after graduation. It
was touching moment for all involved. We
then proceeded to my home town, Kingston, NY. We stopped at my Uncle Pete’s house to
get a key and then down to my Uncle John and Billy’s home. My aunt Geraldine and Steve picked us
up and we went to church. After
church we went to Dallas Hot Dogs in Saugerties, NY. They have the best hot dogs in the
world. I then spent some
time with everyone and then left for my Uncle Pete’s. They were not home when I got there so
I downloaded the pictures that I took at West Point. They got home about 15-20 minutes
later. I spent some time
with them and talked with my aunt Janie until around 1:00am.
Sunday, April 22 - I went to breakfast with my
dad, uncle Pete and uncle Vinnie. I
then spent some more time with John and Billy and then proceeded to the
Adirondacks. It took what
seemed forever to get there. When I arrived at Fish Creek Campground, I picked
a spot and set up camp. The
weather was a little chilly to most people but, I loved it. There was a family with children (in
tents), a husband and wife (in an RV) and a couple from NJ (in a tent) when I
arrived. I was pretty tired
when I arrived so after setting up camp, I relaxed until I fell asleep. Weather: H36 L30 - snow in the evening
1 or 2 inches - wind 10 mph
Monday, April 23
Well, the Adirondacks never disappoint me, I
woke to about an inch or two of snow on the ground. I got ready and headed to Lake
Placid. I went to High
Falls Gorge and several small hiking trails. I had lunch and picked up some
firewood and headed back to camp. Went
for a ride around the campground, I didn’t realize how big it is. I saw around 300 spaces and another
campground called Rollins Poind. I
saw interesting foot prints in the mud at one of the sites. When I returned back to my camp, I
noticed thousands of little black bugs in my screen room. It concerned me enough that I went and
asked the ranger what they could be. He
came and checked them out and said they were snow bugs. I never heard of them but took his
word for it. I then showed
him the pictures of the footprints that I took and he said they were coyote
tracks. I din’t realize how
big coyotes are. I made
dinner and made a good fire. I
turned in around 10:00 pm. Weather: H46 L30 - snow/rain/sleet no
accumulation - wind 12 mph - 20 mph.
Tuesday, April 24
I didn’t wake up until around 9:00 am. I had a great sleep. Had a little rain overnight and then
some snow showers and a lot of wind. It
was amazing how quickly the weather changes, thus the saying “if you don’t like
the weather in the Adirondacks, wait five minutes and it will change”. The wind was terrible all day long and
prevented me from kayaking. I
did go for another bike ride and this time did the whole perimeter of Fish
Creek ponds. I was riding
and all of a sudden an intense snow shower came in and left. This happened throughout my entire
ride. It was crazy. At one point I had to slide into a
restroom to get out of the intense wind and snow/sleet. I made lunch and sat next to the lake
while I ate it. Another
snow shower came through but wasn’t that bad. I then went for another bike ride and
again, another intense snow shower. You
would almost think you were at the ocean the way the waves kicked up in the
lake. I did some cleaning
up around camp and then had a snack. Today
has been a kind of wasted day due to the weather. I do have a neighbor about 7 spaces
down from me in an RV. Due
to the wind, I did not have a campfire this evening. After not doing much all day I figured
I would treat myself to a good dinner at Pizza Hut in Saranac Lake. When I returned I watched a couple
movies and fell asleep. Weather: H44 L33 - snow/sleet - wind 13 mph - 30
mph, gusting to 37.
Wednesday, April 25
I woke up around 9:00 am again today. Looked outside from the camper and saw
that the sun was out. I
hurried and got my kayaking stuff on and went out and unhooked the kayak. I locked the bike and kayak at night
as the campground in open to the general public just to drive through. As I started out on my journey, the
sky started turning gray. The
wind started picking up and low and behold I am in the middle of a snow/sleet
storm. I cannot believe how
fast the weather changes in the Adirondacks. I pushed on and was trying to get to
the next pond when I ran across a downed tree that stretched across the
river. If it was warmer and
I had someone with me, I would have pushed the issue and got out or around it
somehow, but it was not a good decision to do it this time so I turned around
and went back. I saw the
most beautiful blue sky and white puffy clouds, I must admit that I had tears
in my eyes on the sheer beauty that was unfolding in front of me. No one would believe it. I kayaked further and was approaching
the turn to head back to the campground when I noticed it was almost dark when
I made the turn. The wind
was unbelievable and I was across the lake from my campsite. The waves were starting to come over
the boat (yes, the water was extremely cold). I did not want to risk going any
further so I pulled to the side and got out. It snowed very hard for at least 30
minutes and the wind was relentless. I
took cover under a large tree and kept my back to the wind, but peaked every
few minutes to see the snow falling over the lake. When the snow shower passed, I got
back in the kayak and proceeded to my campsite. I made myself lunch and then back out
to kayak. I kayaked to the
Fish Creek beach and Fish Creek Pond #2. I then took the kayak to Rollins Pond
and then portaged to Whey Pond. While
kayaking both ponds, I had numerous snow/sleet showers (some pretty intense)
and more wind. When I
arrived back to the campsite I started packing for my departure on Thursday
morning. It was a bitter
sweet moment as I would have liked to stayed longer at Fish Creek but wanted to
go to Old Forge. There is
just so much to do in the Adirondacks that I would need a year or more to do
everything that I would like. I got everything cleaned up and packed except for
the screen room. I went to
fix dinner and the generator ran out of gas. I’m still not comfortable hooking up
the propane for the camper stove so decided to pass on dinner. I watched another movie and went to
bed. Weather: H43 L32 -
snow/sleet - wind 7 mph - 18 mph, gusting to 26.
Thursday, April 26
Woke up around 8:30 am today. The sun was out and there was a nice
dew over part of the lake. I
knew I had to get ready to head to Old Forge so I didn’t waste any time to get
the screen room down and complete the packing for a two hour trip to my
favorite town in the Adirondacks. On
the way to Old Forge I stopped and had lunch at the Tap Room in Raquete
Lake. I love that little
restaurant. Then it was off
the Christy’s Motel (the place to stay in Old Forge). The first thing that I wanted to do
was take a long awaited shower. However,
I figured I better take advantage of daylight and I went mountain biking
instead. I talked with
Steve (owner of Christy’s) about all that has been going on in Old Forge and
about the lack of snow for the winter and how disappointed I was for not being
able to come up snowmobiling. Then I headed out on one of my favorite
snowmobile trails (now mountain biking trail) to Lock and Dam. I have hiked, snowmobile and now
mountain biked that trail. Then
it was shower time. Boy did
it feel good to have a shower...it was the first since Sunday morning. Due to the cold weather the campground
showers were closed. After
the shower I went to Tony Harpers Pizza in Old Forge. After dinner I came back to the room,
caught up on some phone calls and checked email. I knew I would be getting up early the
next morning as to search for Moose. Weather:
H55 L28 - rain showers - wind 6 mph to 18 mph, gusting 23.
Friday, April 27
I woke up at 6:00 am and much to my surprise
there was about an inch or so of snow on the ground. I got in the truck and headed to Moose
River Plains. I was very disappointed that when I got there the gate was
locked. I was going to
drive to Helldiver Pond and
see if I would be lucky enough to see a Moose there as they have been spotted
frequently in the area. I
headed back to Christy’s and decided to go kayaking. It was 27 degrees and still
snowing. I told Steve what
I wanted to do and he told me the best place to put the kayak in at. I was a little concerned that the
kayak would be frozen to to the rack. It
wasn’t but the front rope was frozen and I couldn’t undo the knot. I was able to slip the other end of
the rope over the handle of the kayak and was able to free the kayak from the
roof rack. There were
icicles hanging off the kayak when I put it into the water. I went up stream for a while and
didn’t realize how fast the current was moving...it tired me out. I made it to the golf course and then
headed back to the put in. The
trip back took about half the time. I
then got directions from Steve to a snowmobile trail that I wanted to mountain
bike on and get some pictures of a steel bridge. He refreshed my memory and I
left. It was still snowing
and the temp rose slightly. I
made it to the trial. I
went to get the bike off the rack and the lock was frozen. I blew some hot air into it and was
able to unlock it. Made it
to the bridge and back. The
low air light went on in my truck so I went to a garage to have them check it
out. I figured it might be
because of the weather that the light went on since it does that sometimes in
the NC mountains in the winter. I
wanted to make sure as I had to head to Kingston that afternoon. I was running late to meet my uncles
and my dad for dinner in Kingston so I took a quick shower, said good-bye to
Steve, hooked up the camper and headed to Kingston. It was still snowing when I left Old
Forge. Made it to Kingston
an hour late but had dinner with my dad and uncles. Went to my uncle Pete’s and talked
with him and Janie for a while then went to bed. Weather: H30 L25 - snow - wind 16 mph
- 21 mph, gusting 30 mph (Old Forge).
Saturday, April 28
The saddest day of the trip - having to come
back to Charlotte. Had
breakfast with my uncle Pete, uncle Vinnie and my dad. Went and said so long to my uncle
Billy and John. Headed
back...drove straight through and returned around 12:30 am. It was a great trip.
Mileage:
2400
Fuel
Cost: $500
Hours of
Driving:
33
Camping
Fees: $138
A week in the Adirondacks: Priceless
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