A Visit With a Friend

Dorcas here, filling in for the “vacationing” Myron…Today we woke to a beautiful clear day with promises of mild temperatures in the mid to upper sixties. We had made plans to visit with a good friend of mine, Margaret, from North Carolina who now lives in Maine. We were meeting for lunch in Belfast, about 40 miles down the coast from Ellsworth. Since it is Columbus Day weekend all the small towns were having celebrations. We checked out a Flea Market, several yard sales and some retail stores having sales. We also enjoyed the sights of a scarecrow competition (scary); the sounds of a German brass band (lovely); and the smells of sausages and onions being cooked for a Boy Scout fundraiser (yummy). We took several opportunities along the way to walk down to the waterfront and view the number of boats of all sizes moored in the bays.

At Bucksport we crossed a newly opened bridge with an observation tower The Penobscot Narrows Bridge. This is one of only three such Bridge Observatories in the world. We didn’t take the tour today since there were lots of tourists and decided to wait until a weekday.

In Belfast we parked a few blocks from our meeting place, the Belfast Coop Store, in order to walk around town. We arrived at our lunch spot just as Margaret arrived. I had not seen Margaret for about 8 or 10 years. Of course, neither of us has changed a bit in all the years and we both look great! It was wonderful to see her and be able to catch up on her travels, our travels and future plans. Margaret is thinking about adopting a small pup and we told her about Izaak and how much we miss him and how we have to pet other peoples’ dogs to get our “fix”. In fact, this morning I got to visit with our neighbors’ Siamese cat that looks very much like Yum Yum with a similar personality. She was great.

After a lovely lunch we said our goodbyes to Margaret with hugs and kisses. Before leaving town, Myron and I walked a nice footbridge across Penobscot Bay. Afterwards we headed back to camp with a stop by the LL Bean outlet just to make sure we hadn’t missed something when we were there yesterday.

Movin' on to Maine

This morning we left New Hampshire and drove about 200 miles east across Maine. It was an extremely pleasant drive, as the leaves are near peak in this part of the country. We resisted the temptation to visit Stephen King's house when we passed through Bangor. We also resisted the urge to visit the Old Town Canoe factory in Old Town (been there). We are camped at Hospitality Woods RV Park in Ellsworth, ME. We will stay here two nights and move a short distance to Acadia National Park on Sunday. This evening we did some grocery shopping and went to the L.L. Bean outlet store in town.

Summitting Mt. Washington

Today we hiked to the summit of Mt. Washington, the highest peak in the northeast. Mt. Washington has the distinction of having the worst weather on earth. That is not the experience we wanted to have, so we watched the summit forecast very closely for several days. There is a major weather observatory atop Mt. Washington and great weather data is available. This day looked like the best: clear, sunny, mid 50s, 30 mph winds. While watching the forecast this week one day was predicted to be "clear but undercast" for the summit. This was a new one for me, but I think it means the sky is clear, looking up from the summit, but there is cloud cover below the summit. The highest surface wind ever recorded on earth was 231 mph on Mt. Washington. I expect that that record is due more to the fact that they have all that fancy monitoring equipment, than having higher winds than other peaks. Shoot, Grandfather Mountain probably gets winds that high, but their Radio Shack weather station blows away when the wind exceeds 125 mph.

We chose to hike up on the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail and return on the Jewell Trial, forming a loop about ten miles long. The trialhead is at EL2560', near the parking lot for the Cog Railway. The summit is at EL6288'. If you do the math, the gain is 3728, a fairly respectable climb. The hike actually was much easier than I expected. The Ammonoosuc Trail connected with the Crawford Path about a half mile below the summit. The Crawford Path is the oldest mountain hiking trial in America. It was laid out in 1819 and ends at the summit. As far as I could tell, only one other person hiked up the Ammonoosuc Trail this day. However, when we reached the summit, we saw perhaps a hundred other hikers. I assume they all came up the east side from Pinkham Notch. There were also about a gazillion tourist who came up on the Cog or on the Mt. Washington Auto Road. It is always disheartening to crest a significant summit and then have a tourist in flip flops take your picture and ask if you actually walked all the way up here. We stayed at the summit almost two hours before heading down. About 1/4 way down Dorcas turned her ankle. It wasn't very serious, but it caused her some discomfort and slowed us down a bit on the descent. We took about 4 hours going up and four hours coming down. It was a very rewarding hike. As forecast, the weather was great and the views were fantastic.

Quote of the Day

"Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoe makers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but up in the Mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men."

Daniel Webster speaking of the Old Man of the Mountain.

Franconia Notch State Park

On our windshield tour yesterday the one place we saw that we really wanted to return to was Franconia Notch State Park. Franconia Notch State Park has a number of remarkable features, including the Flume Gorge, Old Man of the Mountain, Cannon Mountain aerial tram and ski area and a multi use recreation trail. Franconia Notch State Park is unusual in that an interstate highway, I-93 runs right up the middle of the park. When they were planning I-93 there was much debate and controversy about its route through the park. Finally, a compromise was reached that the highway would be built, but it would be more like a parkway than an interstate highway. Consequently, the section through the park necks down to two lanes and has a 45 mph speed limit. On/off ramps access the park features. It is actually rather nicely done.

First we toured the Flume Gorge, a 700' long 90' deep slot gorge of the Pemigewasset River through solid granite. It was a bit reminiscent of our earlier visit to Watkins Glen State Park. One can walk up the gorge on wooden walkways affixed to the walls of the gorge. Later we rode our bikes up the multi-use Recreational Trail which runs almost 9 miles from the south end to the north end of the park. The trail is paved, and, while there are a few steep sections, the grade is relatively mild. The trail passes by the viewpoint of the former Old Man of the Mountain. The Old Man of the Mountain was an iconic face profile consisting of five slabs of Conway red granite suspended in a cliff 1200' above Profile Lake. Unfortunately, on May 3, 2003, the Old Man fell, after his chin slab gave way. We also toured the New England Ski Museum, at the base of Cannon Mountain ski area. Much of the museum was dedicated to the 10th Mountain Division of the Fifth Army, which fought in the latter part of WWII. The idea of the 10th, a division of highly trained mountain soldiers, was proposed to the War Department by Charles M. (Minnie) Dole, the founder of the National Ski Patrol. The 10th waged a very successful campaign in the Italian Alps in 1944 and 1945. After the war many veterans from the 10th returned to the US and pioneered the development of recreational skiing and mountaineering in this country. We finished our ride in the near dark. Another full day, however, no moose sighting.

White Mountains Windshield Tour

Today we slept late and had a late brunch. Then we struck out to reconnoiter these parts of the White Mountain National Forest. We drove east on Route 302 and found ourselves at the base of Mt. Washington and the station for the Mt. Washington Cog Railway. The Cog first summited Mt. Washington in 1869. The average grade of its ascent is 25%, and it achieves 37% at its steepest point. Tickets are $59 each, so we elected to pass on a train ride. I rode the Cog in 1986, and Dorcas didn't feel strongly about it. We did hang around the station for a while and watched the trains depart. The engines are specially designed for this hill and the boilers are tilted forward about 30 degrees so that they are nearly level while pushing the car up the hill. They put out a lot of coal smoke. The folks back at DAQ would be appalled.

We continued on Route 302 and found ourselves in Bartlett, NH. There we found wi-fi at the public library at Josiah Bartlett Elementary School. In TV's "The West Wing" Martin Sheen played President Josiah Bartlet, from a small town in New Hampshire, who was a direct descendant of the real-life Josiah Bartlett, a New Hampshire signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Fact meets fiction in the shadow of the Presidential Range. After checking our e-mail and conducting other internet chores, we left Bartlett and cut over on the Bear Notch Road to Route 112, the "Kancamagus Highway". The "Kank" is a very scenic road that runs about 34 miles from Lincoln to Conway through a very undeveloped section in the heart of the White Mountain NF. We had been told that this was prime moose habitat, but we couldn't find Bullwinkle. Leaving the "Kank" we drove north through Franconia Notch State Park just as it was getting dark and closed the loop on our circuit drive through the White Mountains.

At many of the trailheads and other parking areas the National Forest charges a parking fee. This is not unique to the WMNF, but it is more prevalent here than I can recall in other NFs we have visited recently. On the up-side, the money appears to be wisely spent. The parking areas and overlooks were paved and had ample space. The NF also had a large number of very nice interpretive displays.

The fall foliage is splendid. It has probably peaked for this area, although with the warm temperatures and dry summer, it is not as colorful peak as other years.

A Mouse in the House

We have had an unfortunate wildlife encounter. No, we didn't run over a moose. One night about a week ago we heard a scratching sound from somewhere near the rear of the coach. Dorcas thought it was a mouse in the coach. I was in denial and disagreed. I thought the sound was coming from outside, perhaps branches or leaves brushing the side or top of the coach. Our fears were confirmed however when we found tangible signs of a mouse. Under the galley sink he had nibbled on some apples and potatoes and in a drawer he had shredded some dish towels and a pot holder. There were also some more disgusting signs. Dang. He was apparently settling in for the winter and building a nest. Having had mouse invasions in our previous coach and our travel trailer, I was prepared with mouse traps already on-board. I set up traps under the sink and in the towel drawer. Since we knew he liked apples, that was our bait of choice. It turns out this particular rodent was a worthy adversary. For several nights in a row, he took the bait in both traps, but never sprung either one. Then last night I heard the trap spring under the galley sink. Yes! When I looked, there he was. Unfortunately, he wasn't dead. He wasn't even injured. It seems that he had sprung the trap, but the wire snapper had missed him entirely. He was sitting on the trap munching on the bait looking at me. I looked at him, he looked at me. I blinked, he blinked. Before I could whack him, he scurried away. Dang. Now he was probably trap-wary, and we would never catch him. However, we were persistent and continued to set the traps. Sometime this evening Mr. Mouse's luck ran out. He got nailed in the towel drawer. I just hope his family is not on board. We are keeping the traps out, just in case.

Arrival in New Hampshire

This morning we broke camp and drove the Veteran's Memorial Highway to the summit of Whiteface Mountain. The summit offers excellent views of Lake Placid and the High Peaks. On a clear day one can see Montreal, Quebec. Unfortunately, today was not a clear day. There were no clouds, but there was a thick haze. Still a great view.

We have now left New York and the Adirondacks behind. It's nearly impossible to get from Wilmington NY to Vermont. That pesky Lake Champlain gets in the way. We could cross on one of several ferries, but they charge by the foot. With the coach and the Element, including about 4 feet of canoe sticking off the rear, we are about 60' stem to stern. The toll would have cost almost 80 bucks. Our other options were to 1) use the bridge 30 miles to the north at Champlain, or 2) use the bridge 30 miles to the south at Port Henry. The ferry would be the quickest route, but, hey, we're retired. We're in no hurry. We used the Port Henry bridge. We zipped across Vermont in no time. Tonight we are camped at Apple Hill Campground, a private campground in Bethlehem, NH, north and west of the White Mountain National Forest. For the first time in two weeks we have external electrical power and are doing some laundry and running the heat pumps, the microwave and the stereo. We will probably stay here 3-4 nights and hike in the WMNF, before heading to Maine.

Quote of the Week

"You're playing worse and worse every day and right now you're playing like it's next month."

"You know, Willie Wonka said it best: we are the makers of dreams, the dreamers of dreams. "

Herb Brooks, coach of the gold medal 1980 Men's Olympic hockey team.

Olympic Venues, Lake Placid

Today we returned to Lake Placid and toured some Olympic venues. Lake Placid hosted the third winter Olympic games in 1932 and the 13th winter Olympic games in 1980. The Olympic Sports Complex hosts the skating events and is near downtown. We toured the Olympic museum there, which had a number of very interesting exhibits. One exhibit had a continuous, uncut televised showing of the 1980 USA vs. USSR men's hockey match aka "The Miracle On Ice". We didn't watch the whole match. Later we toured the Olympic Jumping Complex. We rode the elevator to the top of the 120 meter jump, which had thrilling views of the countryside around Lake Placid. We also watched future Olympic hopefuls honing their skills at freestyle jumping. The skiers would slide down a plastic coated ramp, launch off the end, do flips and twists, and land in a swimming pool. It was very entertaining.

When we returned to our campground, the weekend crowd had departed and the place was nearly empty. There were only about eight sites occupied in the 54 site campground. That's one of the good things about camping during the week. It's slack time. Another good thing about being able to stay at the same place for a good while is that you get to know the people running the place. Mike here is a great guy, and climbs a mountain almost every day before work. One of his first duties each morning is to clean out the fire pits. He has been bringing us abandoned firewood from other sites. We don't even have to pilfer it ourselves! We have had a fire every night that we wanted one, and will leave with more wood than we came with. Cool! The only camper who has been here longer than us is Ron. Ron has been camping at Wilmington Notch Campground almost continuously for two years. He says he wants to die here. Technically there is a 14 day limit, but they usually do not enforce the limit except during peak periods. They asked Ron to leave during the busy 4th of July and Labor Day weekends, but he returned shortly thereafter. He will have to leave when the campground closes for the season next month, but will likely be back when it reopens in the spring. Ron wins the contest for the most frequent camper points.

I keep a log of when and where we have stayed in the motor home. Tonight I summed things up: On September 30, the year is 3/4 gone, and we have been in the motorhome for 107 nights this year so far. It will be about three weeks until we get home, and we have some other trips planned before the end of the year, so that number will rise. Additionally, we have spent at least 45 nights in a tent this year: backpacking on the Chatooga in Georgia, canoing the Withlacoochee River (north) in Florida, biking the KATY in Missouri, canoing the Current and Jack's Fork in Missouri, backpacking the "Bob" in Montana and canoing the BWCAW in Minnesota. I think we have earned some serious frequent camper points ourselves!

Oktoberfest

Today we attended Oktoberfest at Whiteface Mountain. If you have never attended an authentic Oktoberfest, the objective is to drink German beer, eat German food and listen to German Music, all to excess. We managed to accomplish all three quite well. Luckily the event was within walking distance of our campsite at Wilmington Notch. Musical headliners were die Schlauberger, said to be "America's #1 German Festival Band" (that must be an impressive honor) and the Schwarzenegger Connection. When we attended the Joplin Ragtime Festival in Sedalia a few months ago, someone said that a little ragtime goes a long way.
The same can be said of traditional German dance festival music, which is a kissing cousin to the polka. In the afternoon we rode the gondola to the summit of Little Whitemface Mountain. The temperature there was in the low 40's with 30-40 mph winds. I'm considering re-thinking my commitment to wearing only short pants for the duration of this trip. From Little Whiteface we had great views of Lake Placid to the west, Lake Champlain to the east and the Adirondack High Peaks to the south.

Mt. Marcy

Today we conquered Mt. Marcy. Mt. Marcy is at EL 5344' and is the highest peak in the state of New York. We approached on the Van Hoevenberg trail from Adirondak Loj. That trail is 7.4 miles to the summit with an elevation gain of about 3300'. A pretty fair day hike. As is typical for most summit trails, the first third is flat, the second third is moderately steep and the final third is the steepest. While it is a long hike, almost 15 miles round trip, it's still not as steep and tough as is Mt. Katahdin up the AT from Katahdin Stream access. The weather was not great, but it could have been worse. The temperature was mild, in the mid-50s at the summit (with +40 mph winds!), but it was overcast and spitting a little drizzle all day. Unfortunately the views from the summit were obscured by fog and clouds. For a while we thought we would be the only ones on the mountain this day, but shortly after leaving the summit, we met two young soldiers, who apparently had trotted up the hill. Show offs! At the trailhead was a pile of rocks with a sign asking hikers to carry a rock to the summit, for use in cairns and trail markers. Dorcas and I, being noble and dedicated to the cause of wilderness preservation, each carried a rock to the summit. I bet the soldiers didn't carry a rock!

After the hike, we were bushed. We headed for town and had pizza and beer at Mr. Mike's Pizza.

Lake Placid and Wilmington Notch, NY

We are camped at Wilmington Notch Campground, at the base of Whiteface Mountain, about 8 miles from Lake Placid. We signed up here for five nights. When we pulled in the lady asked if we were looking for the KOA. Wise ass. I guess they aren't used to seeing the big rigs. On Sunday we will probably head for New Hampshire. Yesterday the temperature rose to very unseasonable 90 degrees. It stormed a bit last night, and, after a day or two of unsettled weather, it should get cooler. Today we are poking around the village of Lake Placid. Lake Placid was the site of the 1932 and 1980 winter Olympic games, and is rich in Olympic history. Except for the Olympic venues and some good bars and restaurants, the village of Lake Placid is basically a shopper's tourist trap. Parking is tight in the village, but we found a metered space where the meter stopped counting down at 1:30 hours. Free parking! We have left the prime paddling area of the Adirondacks and have entered excellent mountain hiking terrain. Tomorrow, if the weather is not too bad, we may hike to the summit of Mt. Marcy, the highest point in New York.

Paddling on the Bog River

Today we paddled on the Bog River, between the villages of Long Lake and Tupper Lake. The Bog Flow is a well known canoe camping area. One can put in at the Lower Low's Dam and paddle a few miles along flat water through Hitchen's Pond to the Upper Low's dam. After a short carry around the dam the river continues to Low's Lake, where there are about 50 established campsites. The ranger reported 95 cars in the parking lot (actually strung out all along the access road) on Saturday night. People were still coming out on Monday morning, but we saw few people after noon. At the upper dam we hiked to the Hitchen's Pond overlook, a high rocky outcrop that has excellent views of Hitchen's Pond and the Bog River. It was a very leisurely and enjoyable day trip.

This area was developed by Augustus Low, who was into about everything, including maple products, lumber and wine. When he built the upper dam in 1907, the state of NY claimed he flooded public land and levied a fine. He disagreed and ignored the fine. The state later re-fined him and he paid the fine under protest. About 60 years later Low's son, Augustus, Jr., filed suit on the the old fine and won. The state returned the amount of the fine with interest. Justice prevails!

Lake Lila

Today we paddled on Lake Lila. Lake Lila is in the William C. Whitney Wilderness area near Little Tupper Lake. It is a camping destination with about 2 dozen established campsites on the lake. To access the lake, one must negotiate a 0.3 mile carry from the parking area. This inconvenience did not stop folks from carrying coolers, folding chairs and the kitchen sink. These folks would never make it in the Boundary Waters, where efficient portaging skills are a must. I suspect that the real canoe campers find more remote areas to visit.

We paddled a mile or two to the far end of the lake against a brisk headwind. There we hiked 1.6 miles to the summit of Mt. Frederica, which had commanding views of the lake. On our return, the wind had shifted (of course!) and we enjoyed an even stronger headwind as we paddled back. On the carry folks were impressed with how I singlehandedly carried the boat, and asked how heavy it was. I told them the secret is a decent yoke and good balance. That and practice. Rookies!

Still in the Adirondacks: Blue Mountain Lake

We are still camped at Lake Eaton. This is a wonderful area. We will likely stay put until Tuesday and then move to Wilmington Notch CG, near Lake Placid in the High Peaks area. The colors are continuing to ripen, but they have not peaked yet. We may see peak colors before leaving the High Peaks.

Today we went back to Blue Mountain Lake. We hiked to the summit of Blue Mountain, a climb of about 1750' over two miles. The summit is at 3759' and there is an abandoned fire tower with excellent views of the area, including Blue Mountain Lake. Our only mistake was to do the hike on a gorgeous Saturday morning. There must have been 300 hikers on the mountain. We're retired! We can do this any day! Why do it on a Saturday? Actually we did it today because we wanted to get back over to Blue Mountain Outfitters, where they were having a demo day for Swift Canoes and Kayaks. Bill Swift, the founder of Swift Canoes was there. I own a Swift Yukon and wanted to meet Bill Swift. They had a lot of kayaks on hand, but very few canoes. Dorcas and I paddled a kevlar Prospector and a few kayaks (but don't tell anyone that!). It was a bit windy on the lake so it was difficult to get a good feel for the boats. The Prospector needs to be paddled on a river anyway to be appreciated. We didn't buy a boat, but Bill said he could bring me a new Yukon when he is in Wilmington in November. I said I'd let him know.

Tupper Lake vs Tupperware?

Yesterday we went back to The Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake. We spent another 7 hours at the museum. We didn't see it all, but at least we walked through almost every exhibit. If you are ever in this area, I highly recommend this museum.

Today we puttered around Long Lake and drove over to Tupper Lake, "the Crossroads of the Adirondacks". Tupper Lake has the only cell service within a gazillion miles. We called Mom and she asked if that was where they made Tupperware. I don't know, but there is a large factory (kinda rundown now) that says Jarden Plastics Solutions. Hmmmm. We found a really good canoe outfitter at Tupper Lake. We bought some maps and got some good ideas for out-of-the-way ponds to paddle.

Photo of the week

"I washed in hot water and I SHRUNK!"

"And that's the truth!"

Quote of the Week

"Of all sports ever sported, commend me to angling. It is the wisest, virtuousest, discreetest, best; the safest, cheapest, and, in all liklihood, the oldest of pastimes."
William T. Porter, 1840s

Blackfies, Mosquitoes, and Punkies: a cosmopolitan police, detailed by Divine Providence to guard the great hunting park of the Republic from the incursions of cockney poachers and murderers of deer in the summer. Long may they wave!"
North Woods Walton Club Toast, 1858

Blue Mountain Lake and Long Lake, NY

We are camped at Lake Eaton, a public NYDEC campground near Long Lake, in the heart of the Adirondacks. Today we visited the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake. We were there 7 hours and did not see half of the exhibits. Our admission is good for a second day, so we are going back there again tomorrow. One reason we moved so slowly was I got bogged down looking at all the old canoes and Adirondack guide boats. Recreational canoeing here goes back to at least the 1870s. Canoe heaven.

The weather has been exceptionally pleasant, with daytime highs in the 70s and evening lows in the 40s. The campground here is nearly deserted; we will stay on this site until Sunday, so we won't have to fight the weekend crowds (if any) for a new campsite. We have scavenged enough abandoned firewood from the campground to make fires every night for a month.