We May Never Pass This Way Again

The mountains were very near their peak, though a few of us are well past ours.

For some, this is a repeat of a nice trip many years ago.  Why not, when a fine campsite and local points of interest beckon?  Even when hours of downpour greet you upon loading up your canoes and paddling to the campsite.  There was so much rain, it was questionable whether we'd know the difference should we capsize our overloaded canoe.

But no reason to broadcast, "Mayday!"  Or even, "M'aidez!"  A good part of the experience is taking inconveniences in stride so that the annual camping trip can provide excellent entertainment opportunities.

There was a vaudeville review.

After much precipitation,
one wakes up to fog in the forest.
There must be a wizard and a gnome back there somewhere.

The loons have no problem with swimming close to the campsite
before the sun melts the mist.

Less mist means more color.

Eventually, the sun breaks free of the haze
and boots can be dried.

Had there been a few more giant mushrooms,
we would not have needed a tarp the size of Rhode Island.

Rain and fog gone, the decision to paddle was unanimous.

After paddling, we hiked over mossy ground
on the way to Ledge Pond,
carrying the lightest of the canoes with us.

Plenty of color to be seen once there,
all the better appreciated from the canoe.

As a rule, ponds are not so aptly named.
Here is one of the ledges.
Had it been warmer and had we been more adventurous,
ledge leaping might have been the preferred activity.

A fine reward for a paddle and a hike, don't you think?

Here is a barrier put up by the government to keep undesirables out.
M. F. G. A.
Make Fishing Great Again!

Later that same day, the fishermen fished.
While no catches of great note were reported,
the fishermen didn't really care.

Later that same evening,
we were visited by a lumberjack who said, "I'm OK."

Even later, backsides were warmed.

And a disembodied head floated by.

Though the sky had been blue the previous day, 
the next morning provided evidence of rain during the night,
which continued through the morning.

Another paddle and hike were the orders of the day.
We left after the rain tapered off.
The bag hanging from the tree?  That contains our food.
At that height and proximity to the trunk,
it only discouraged underachieving bears.

Scenery worth paddling through,
regardless of the clouds.

Lots of it.

Time for intermission?  Too many pictures?  Always.  And this is the edited group!

Out of the boats and onto the trail to Long Pond Mountain.

We hiked the beautiful path through the pines, past a picturesque pond,
and up Long Pond Mountain.

Interesting mossy growth.

Weary bones enjoy lunch at the top.

Fabulous views!
Pay no attention to the man almost completely obscured behind the hiking stick.

He thinks he's hiding behind the stick.

We work to get to the pinnacle, but never stay long enough 
to fully assimilate the sights.  It is not possible. 
The photos never do justice to the views.
While one's head is larger than this picture,
it's impossible to get one's head around the vastness of the actual space.

The larger mountains have gathered in the far off mist.

The gang gathers on a second rocky ledge.

Green-clad Jim drank in the views.  "This is probably the last time I'll get to see this."

Oh, Jimmy, don't say that.  Even if it is 100% true, let us old guys have the illusion that encroaching age will not soon end this fun. 

But damned if Russ, the third of the "mature" campers, didn't tweak his knee on the way down, just to emphasize the point.  We could have rolled him down the steep spots, but chose to get him a walking stick instead.  We did not leave him, since he kept insisting, "I'm not dead yet!"

Sappy cones

Mossy shrooms.

A last look and then on our way.
We came from one of those water bodies way down there.

We departed and the butterfly had the entire mountaintop to himself.

Nosewood?

Mushrooms "Heart" NY, too.

A mushroom of the 4-fingered variety.

Delicate saprophytes on the forest floor.

Up there.  That's where we were.
Will we ever return?

We got back to the campsite just as another rainstorm arrived.  Dinner, another campfire, and outstandingly intellectual conversation ensued.  Maybe even an inappropriate song or two.  

The next morning saw us striking camp and hustling out of the woods.  On the 4th day in the woods, the call of the warm shower is strong.  But even so, the beauty of the land makes for a few delays.

The rocky summit of Snowy Mountain looms high above Lewey Lake.

And farther south, the lowlands of the Sacandaga River
 cause another short delay.

Why would you do that?

I told my friend Tony that I had been way up north, paddling around on Long Pond (near Tupper Lake) and hiking and camping for 4 days.

"You did what?  You slept out in the woods when you could have been in a nice warm hotel, complete with a shower?  Why would you do that?"

This is why.

We put in on a sandy beach with a fine view.

Mama Loon and her chick swam by.

When you go camping in September, you generally have a good selection of campsites.  We explored a number of them before selecting #3 on Long Pond.  Why?  Jim, our chef, wanted use of the picnic table that we found only there, and you always want to keep the chef happy.

Always good to get your tarp set up when the sun is shining.

We got to engineer different versions of tarp support.
Doug is demonstrating V1.0 and V2.0.  V3.1 is doing the job for the moment.
We finally settled on V5.0

We got to set up our very own Home Sweet Home.

When you set up camp in the woods, it is all yours.  No one else to blame if you get wet when it rains, or if the wind disorganizes your belongings, or if the bears get your next dinner instead of you.

We got to paddle through this narrow channel into another little pond.

I got to use the GPS to determine where we were, pull weeds off my paddle,
saw logs with the folding saw, and admire my stubby legs.

We occasionally got blurry around the campfire.

Endless fun was to be had rearranging the burning logs.

We got to enjoy a nicely misty morning...

...from more than one vantage point.

We enjoyed warming up by the fire with our coffee.

Jim entertained us with his old "pull the string out of my chin" trick.

I got to add an element of adventure to the same old same old.

We got to paddle to the trailhead for climbing Long Pond Mountain.

We got to take pictures on a mountain top. 

Ate lunch on the mountain top, too.

We got to see for miles.
Peter Townshend must have been here years ago.

Pretty amazing view.
We looked across multiple ponds and lakes to small mountains
and the High Peaks beyond.

I always like to see what's around the next bend.  Jim is forever telling me that every "lost in the woods" story starts with "...and then I left the trail."  This time, I found a little bit of a path leading away from the ledge where we had spent the better part of an hour drinking in the view.  The second rocky outcropping I found was well worth the few minutes of exploring.

I returned to tell the others that I'd found something they didn't want to miss.  
I even let Jim come along.

And we got a nice second vantage from another rocky ledge.

We got to be mountain men.
I left a shiny penny for someone to find.

We got to walk this beautiful path through the forest on our way to Long Pond Mountain...

... got to see these toadstools along the way...

...and we got to walk the beautiful path again on the way back.

We paddled past numerous points and bays in Long Pond.

Looking around the lake, one can see that the cedars are all leafed out above a certain level.  It looks as if a gardener has gone around and trimmed them all about 4 feet off the water.  It is the same height all around the lake, and on other bodies of water as well.  Do the bears trim the trees when we're not there?

My guess is that cedars don't like being buried in snow.  The height of the snow on the frozen lake would account for the uniform height.  I'll have to come back in the dead of winter to confirm my theory.

We got to relax after a good hike.

A good reason to go camping is to get away from the never ending chatter of the wired world.  Unfortunately, we weren't really far enough away from what is loosely termed civilization to keep data feeds from arriving.  The day is coming when we'll never get away.  Oh well.  I suppose that as long as there is still a power button, there is hope.

In this case, it was probably a good thing, because there were family matters to stay on top of.

We saw that a big tree had uprooted, falling back into the woods.
I don't think the yellowing smaller tree is happy about the circumstance.
However, the birds nesting in the holes in the new high ground are very pleased.

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Never bring glassware into the woods.  Even if it only cost $1.98 for four stemless snifters.  They may break.  But if a glass meets with misfortune, there is always duct tape...if you brought it along.

It is really great to have your own monogramed glass in the woods.

We got to paddle out onto the lake to take in this sunset.
We went back out again to enjoy the Milky Way, satellites and shooting stars.
No shabbiness whatsoever.

I got to eat the smiley face pancake Jim made for me.

We enjoyed seeing this trio of loons paddle by.
Shortly after, they met with four others.
No shortage of loon views or loon music on Long Pond.

We paddled to the trailhead for Ledge Pond.

Doug and I went for an exploratory paddle to look for this trailhead.  It is completely unmarked, and not on the pond where Jim told us it was.  Of course, Jim will never admit his mistake.  Or maybe he initially told us that we had to paddle through the unmarked channel into the second pond to find the unmarked trail, and I'm the blockhead for not listening or understanding.  That's another benefit of going camping...you get to ponder, "What is reality?"

We had the privilege of traveling another beautiful trail to Ledge Pond.

We got to see an "Undesirable Fish Barrier."
Is being an undesirable a societal stigma?
Or is this a barrier to try to keep the carp and bass out of Ledge Pond?

The barrier clearly did not keep the beavers out, as shown by their dam.

We got to rock-hop this stream.

The little-used Ledge Pond campsite was a fine place for lunch.

Across the water, you can see the ledges if you look carefully.

Striding along a narrow path though the trees is always peaceful.

We got to see peeling "Barch Birk" above.

We saw twisted trees.

Peaceful.  No question.

We got to see interesting shrooms growing out of a dead tree.

We got to see the biggest pack in the whole world.

We realized it is good to have a sherpa!

And finally, we got to see a canoe-headed man.

What could be better?

P. S. - One more thing.  When I returned and took a drink of tap water, it tasted positively chemical.  UGH!