When an invitation for a wilderness camping trip began with "You are cordially invited to join..." I was tempted to ignore it and resign myself to being chained to my work desk and "get things done". Especially when the invite list included 30 people! Holy moly, if everyone decided to go, what kind of wilderness trip would that be? We'd all be scattered helter skelter across at least 4 sites!
But I hadn't even finished the first sentence in the invitation email before reading the words "in the Adirondacks", and suddenly work wasn't a priority.
And that is how I found myself near Worcester to pick up José and her Old Town Otter to share a ride to the Adirondacks on May 7th. José is a retired math teacher who has been on a mission it seems, to maximize her adventures. She has been on several Canadian canoe trips, including a recent trip above the tree line, as well as a couple cross-country bicycle trips. She had just returned to the US just several days before from South Korea after solo bike-touring all over the country over six weeks and 1200 mile. It was great to hear of her latest adventures on the way.
We arrived at the access at the Whitney Wilderness Headquarters right around 2:00. Thanks to the wonders of Google Maps the rest of the group was not far behind us. We all went down to the beach to contemplate the sea of whitecaps coming around the point from the direction we wished to paddle.
The original list of 30 invitees had self-adjusted to half a dozen for this first night, including me, José, trip-coordinator and instigator Aaron, his dad David, a friend Amanda from Providence, and Seth from Foster, RI...the town next door to mine. I was paddling my Hemlock SRT, José her OT Otter, Aaron and his dad tandeming a Wenona Minnesota II, Amanda in a Wenona Canak, and Seth the sole kayaker in the group with an indeterminable Wilderness Systems river touring kayak.
Once we were all loaded up, we paddled out of the cove and around the point, and immediately began battling the usual Little Tupper Headwind. And Immediately Aaron, who brought way too much gear and discovered he was near the limits of stability, decided that he and his dad had to return to the access to lighten the load. The rest of us decided to continue to the next "quiet" cove to await his return.
And return he did, with his dad, to retrieve his car keys which were in a bag that Amanda had taken on in her boat, lol! Fortunately we had chosen a cove near a boat hose with a dock, so Aaron took Amanda's Canak (actually his Canak; Amanda borrowed it) and left her to wait with his dad while he returned to the cars again so he could lock up the gear he left behind.
Amanda and Dave wait for Aaron; the rest of us hung out in the relatively calm cove nearby.
Finally, Aaron returned, Amanda got her Canak back, and we were off to find a campsite. The original plan was to paddle the 4.5 miles to Site 12, but now with the delay we decided to seek a closer campsite. We first checked out Site 3 on an island in a large cove, but it was occupied. Site 5 was free, but not a very nice site for six folks to spread out. Site 6 was occupied, but just past that we ended up at Site 7. This site was the former location of "Camp Bliss", a miniature "Great Camp" used by the W.C. Whitney family back in the day. The site has a couple impressive stone chimneys, foundations, and some water infrastructure. And a lot of room to spread out, especially since three of the group were using hammock tents.
Looking up at camp from the ledges:
It was a nice camp, although the upper portions were subject to wind most of the night. The loon and owl activity was epic.
Aaron had promised to meet two more of our eventual group of 8, Jessica from NH and Jake from Saranac NY, back at the access point in the early afternoon. And the wind had not really let up. So we decided to stay at Site 7 for another night. So it was a lazy day of hanging around camp, exploring the ruins, seeking out wildflowers, supplementing the wood supply, reading and snacking. Around 1:00, Aaron and Amanda manned the Minn 2 and paddled off to meet Jess and Jake. They returned around 4:00, Jake paddling a Blackhawk Zephyr and Jess in a Perception Carolina, another boat borrowed from Aaron.
After set up and supper, the group traded canoeing tales of terror. Except Jess, who was on her first ever kayak adventure. She offered a nightmare story of a close call involving whiteouts and crevasses on Mount Adams (she is a mountaineer). It was perfect campfire fodder. We ended the night down on one of the ledges, viewing an epic night sky of stars and satellites.
The next morning, we broke camp fairly quickly, and continued down the lake, first aiming for Site 12, which we arrived at around 10:30 or so. Here the group split. Most of the group elected to stay at site 12 to set up camp, and then day-paddle up to Rock Pond. José and I decided we wanted to camp at least one night on Rock Pond, so we continued on.
José headed to Rock Pond:
Approaching Rock Pond Outlet:
We were hoping to find a site out of the wind, but it turned out that when we got to the pond, pretty much all of the sites were exposed, e xcept maybe Site 27 way on the other side. So we decided to simply head for Site 28 on the Island and hope for the best.
The Island:
Fair warning if you decide to camp on this island, there is not a flat tent site anywhere, except some flattish spots on bedrock. And a rough tent pad someone constructed on some sketchy logs and a pile of needles. And the teensy spot I managed to find for my solo tent. Fortunately José was one of the folks using a hammock tent. Both of our spots were out of the wind, so there was that.
Other than the lack of great tent sites, the site had a lot going for it. Convenient logs for camp seats, plenty of firewood, a lack of bears, plenty of good viewing points. The others in our group stopped by to have some lunch and hang while we set up camp, and we managed a group picture, sans Dave who had stayed behind at Site12.
L-R: José, me, Jess, Aaron, Seth, Jake and Amanda.
José and I spent the rest of the afternoon chatting and snacking, lighting a nice campfire at suppertime. We called it an early night when clouds came in and sprinkles threatened.
Overnight and the next morning we had some passing showers, the only real rain of the trip. So we packed up some wet gear for the paddle back to the car.
I was pretty negligent in getting decent photos for a lot of this trip. But I managed some nice ones on the way out:
Calm seas at the start:
The lower end of the portage around an old logging road on the outlet river:
José paddling past the bog/marsh shores:
Leatherleaf in bloom and a young larch:
Almost back to Little Tupper Lake:
As we got to the lake, we could see the rest of the group packing up their boats. José and I headed straight northeast back to the access. The wind was at our back, and increased the entire time we paddled. By the time we got to the point protecting the access beach, the wind had turned the lake to whitecaps, and we each caught some impressive surfs. Anyone who has paddled an SRT knows how fin a following, quartering sea is in that boat. It was a mild struggle. But we managed to paddle into the cove unscathed. The rest of the group paddled in only about 10-15 minutes after us! José was the only Mother with us, so she spent Mothers Day doing one of her favorite activities: paddling! We all packed up in warm sunshine, and then headed to the Adirondack Hotel in Long Lake for lunch.
I'm glad I didn't delete Aaron's invitation!
-rs
But I hadn't even finished the first sentence in the invitation email before reading the words "in the Adirondacks", and suddenly work wasn't a priority.
And that is how I found myself near Worcester to pick up José and her Old Town Otter to share a ride to the Adirondacks on May 7th. José is a retired math teacher who has been on a mission it seems, to maximize her adventures. She has been on several Canadian canoe trips, including a recent trip above the tree line, as well as a couple cross-country bicycle trips. She had just returned to the US just several days before from South Korea after solo bike-touring all over the country over six weeks and 1200 mile. It was great to hear of her latest adventures on the way.
We arrived at the access at the Whitney Wilderness Headquarters right around 2:00. Thanks to the wonders of Google Maps the rest of the group was not far behind us. We all went down to the beach to contemplate the sea of whitecaps coming around the point from the direction we wished to paddle.
The original list of 30 invitees had self-adjusted to half a dozen for this first night, including me, José, trip-coordinator and instigator Aaron, his dad David, a friend Amanda from Providence, and Seth from Foster, RI...the town next door to mine. I was paddling my Hemlock SRT, José her OT Otter, Aaron and his dad tandeming a Wenona Minnesota II, Amanda in a Wenona Canak, and Seth the sole kayaker in the group with an indeterminable Wilderness Systems river touring kayak.
Once we were all loaded up, we paddled out of the cove and around the point, and immediately began battling the usual Little Tupper Headwind. And Immediately Aaron, who brought way too much gear and discovered he was near the limits of stability, decided that he and his dad had to return to the access to lighten the load. The rest of us decided to continue to the next "quiet" cove to await his return.
And return he did, with his dad, to retrieve his car keys which were in a bag that Amanda had taken on in her boat, lol! Fortunately we had chosen a cove near a boat hose with a dock, so Aaron took Amanda's Canak (actually his Canak; Amanda borrowed it) and left her to wait with his dad while he returned to the cars again so he could lock up the gear he left behind.
Amanda and Dave wait for Aaron; the rest of us hung out in the relatively calm cove nearby.
Finally, Aaron returned, Amanda got her Canak back, and we were off to find a campsite. The original plan was to paddle the 4.5 miles to Site 12, but now with the delay we decided to seek a closer campsite. We first checked out Site 3 on an island in a large cove, but it was occupied. Site 5 was free, but not a very nice site for six folks to spread out. Site 6 was occupied, but just past that we ended up at Site 7. This site was the former location of "Camp Bliss", a miniature "Great Camp" used by the W.C. Whitney family back in the day. The site has a couple impressive stone chimneys, foundations, and some water infrastructure. And a lot of room to spread out, especially since three of the group were using hammock tents.
Looking up at camp from the ledges:
It was a nice camp, although the upper portions were subject to wind most of the night. The loon and owl activity was epic.
Aaron had promised to meet two more of our eventual group of 8, Jessica from NH and Jake from Saranac NY, back at the access point in the early afternoon. And the wind had not really let up. So we decided to stay at Site 7 for another night. So it was a lazy day of hanging around camp, exploring the ruins, seeking out wildflowers, supplementing the wood supply, reading and snacking. Around 1:00, Aaron and Amanda manned the Minn 2 and paddled off to meet Jess and Jake. They returned around 4:00, Jake paddling a Blackhawk Zephyr and Jess in a Perception Carolina, another boat borrowed from Aaron.
After set up and supper, the group traded canoeing tales of terror. Except Jess, who was on her first ever kayak adventure. She offered a nightmare story of a close call involving whiteouts and crevasses on Mount Adams (she is a mountaineer). It was perfect campfire fodder. We ended the night down on one of the ledges, viewing an epic night sky of stars and satellites.
The next morning, we broke camp fairly quickly, and continued down the lake, first aiming for Site 12, which we arrived at around 10:30 or so. Here the group split. Most of the group elected to stay at site 12 to set up camp, and then day-paddle up to Rock Pond. José and I decided we wanted to camp at least one night on Rock Pond, so we continued on.
José headed to Rock Pond:
Approaching Rock Pond Outlet:
We were hoping to find a site out of the wind, but it turned out that when we got to the pond, pretty much all of the sites were exposed, e xcept maybe Site 27 way on the other side. So we decided to simply head for Site 28 on the Island and hope for the best.
The Island:
Fair warning if you decide to camp on this island, there is not a flat tent site anywhere, except some flattish spots on bedrock. And a rough tent pad someone constructed on some sketchy logs and a pile of needles. And the teensy spot I managed to find for my solo tent. Fortunately José was one of the folks using a hammock tent. Both of our spots were out of the wind, so there was that.
Other than the lack of great tent sites, the site had a lot going for it. Convenient logs for camp seats, plenty of firewood, a lack of bears, plenty of good viewing points. The others in our group stopped by to have some lunch and hang while we set up camp, and we managed a group picture, sans Dave who had stayed behind at Site12.
L-R: José, me, Jess, Aaron, Seth, Jake and Amanda.
José and I spent the rest of the afternoon chatting and snacking, lighting a nice campfire at suppertime. We called it an early night when clouds came in and sprinkles threatened.
Overnight and the next morning we had some passing showers, the only real rain of the trip. So we packed up some wet gear for the paddle back to the car.
I was pretty negligent in getting decent photos for a lot of this trip. But I managed some nice ones on the way out:
Calm seas at the start:
The lower end of the portage around an old logging road on the outlet river:
José paddling past the bog/marsh shores:
Leatherleaf in bloom and a young larch:
Almost back to Little Tupper Lake:
As we got to the lake, we could see the rest of the group packing up their boats. José and I headed straight northeast back to the access. The wind was at our back, and increased the entire time we paddled. By the time we got to the point protecting the access beach, the wind had turned the lake to whitecaps, and we each caught some impressive surfs. Anyone who has paddled an SRT knows how fin a following, quartering sea is in that boat. It was a mild struggle. But we managed to paddle into the cove unscathed. The rest of the group paddled in only about 10-15 minutes after us! José was the only Mother with us, so she spent Mothers Day doing one of her favorite activities: paddling! We all packed up in warm sunshine, and then headed to the Adirondack Hotel in Long Lake for lunch.
I'm glad I didn't delete Aaron's invitation!
-rs
