Friday July 18th
A long drive for both of us to St. Regis. Longer for Paul. I would get there early to go claim a site and then return to the launch and pick him up in the canoe. Brought the tandem Bell Morningstar. Short carry to the water, so I doubled it instead of trying to do everything at once. Lot was almost full, not sure how many were on their way in, or just out for the day. Not many signed in at the register. Out on the water I was the only boat visible. Paddling into the wind from the north east was odd. I did my best trimming out the boat with gear, but the bow was still catching a lot of wind. Stayed close to the S. shore for protection and to scout the campsites in case they were needed. Never saw the site closest to the other portage trail and inlet. I think this was the one Dan and I heard all night a few years ago. Sound really travels across the water. I turned the canoe to head to the north shore to campsite #3, which was my first choice. Found it unoccupied. Set up my tent and the GoLite shelter and made lunch. The breeze cut right through the site keeping it mostly bug free. Gathered a bit of wood and relaxed at camp. every so often another canoe would paddle by. I could hear the paddlers comment as they passed, "nice site" and "it has a picnic table" were often heard. Tried to take a nap in the chair. If I did fall asleep it was brief.
Plan was to pick up Paul and the launch around 6pm. I figured about a half hour paddle. In case he was early I would depart at 5pm. With the canoe empty, I tried to kneel in the middle. By now the wind had shifted and I was again paddling into it. With no pad for my knees, it was not comfortable. I found it was ok if I knelt on one, and lay the other leg flat and switched legs every so often. Reminded me of the position that the olympic canoe racers use. Not sure how correct my form was. I was just trying to not be in pain. At the cars, I set up a chair to await Paul's arrival. There was a very weak cell signal which allowed me to get a text from Paul giving me an updated ETA of 6:30 due to major traffic backup in New Paltz apparently.
Paul arrived a little before he expected. Gave him a paddle and pfd. We carried his gear down to the canoe along with a cooler. Another cooler would wait in the car. The lake had since layed down so the paddling was much nicer. Paul paddled aggressively in short bursts, while I maintained a steady relaxed cadence, only switching sides when Paul did.
At camp, I started up the fire as Paul set up his tent. He brought clams from the island for us to grill. With the grill, my large pot, and skillet we cooked up the clams "3 ways". There was definitely a difference in taste between the ones on the grill vs the ones in a pot. We would eat as the clams opened. Stayed up rather late, probably around 10 or 11 by the time we retired.
Saturday July 19th
Clear skies allowed the temperature to drop. The moon was bright. Slept great as expected. While I did wake up at my usual time, I was able to coax myself back to sleep. When I heard Paul moving around, I got up. Started the fire and made coffee for myself (Paul did not want any). Plans for the day:
Breakfast (Bacon, eggs, sourdough toast)
Beer run
Paddle to site #9/portage trail
Climb Long Pond Mountain
Lunch/Beer at summit
Hike/Paddle back to camp
Relax
add more pine needle cushioning for Paul under his tent.
Dinner
Beer
After breakfast and cleanup we prepped for our beer run. The lake was calm so we took the long way around the island. Noted the hornbeck canoes at site #2. Loons were all around the entire paddle. They did not seem to be bothered by us. At the car we loaded up the soft cooler with beer and pork chops and returned to camp. Took a short break at camp while we prepared for our day's main adventure. About a 2 mile paddle, then a 2 mile climb up the mountain with elevation change of around 300+. As we paddled around the bend and through the narrows we noted these sites were more occupied. Except for those passing by, our site was relatively secluded.
At the portage trail, we switched to our hiking boots and donned day packs with lunch and summit beers. There were two other canoes here as well. Note: super deep muck at the take-out. The portage trail to Mountain Pond was very nice. Paul really enjoyed the flora, he would comment often and take photos. After the pond the trail began its climb. Signpost said 1.6 miles to summit. Not long after we started up the well maintained trail the occupants of the other canoes made there way down. They commented it was a nice view from up there. As we climbed I noted how out of shape I was, it was tiring and steeper than expected. Pausing at the false summit I figured we must be getting close considering the elevation we have already gained. Then it hit me, 300 meters not feet. Sheesh, felt stupid and relieved at the same time. Stupid error, but relieved I was not getting tired on a short 300 foot scamper. Still a ways to go. Tough little climb, but I needed it.
Finally at the top, we took some photos. It was bright and sunny. We could see rather far to the South and East. Needed to look at the map to figure out which water bodies we were seeing. An eagle soared overhead and then ducked down behind the trees. Cracked open the beers and lunch. Soon another hiker joined us at the summit. He was a local guy just doing a day paddle & hike. This is a favorite of his. Cell coverage here, so we checked weather report. As expected tomorrow would be on/off rain with heavier rain at night. The report validated our choice to do this adventure today.
Down the mounatin was significantly easier on the cardio, but the other leg stabilizer muscles now got a work out. Back at the canoe we switched footwear. Glad the bugs were not bad here as they often are at the portage landings. We used the edge of the landing to enter the canoe to avoid the muck. The other hiker had since caught up with us again and watched to see how we avoided the muck. Success and with an audience! Easy paddle back to camp. Good work out for the day.
Went to gather some more wood. Paul had seen a big dead birch tree so I went and harvested some decent logs from it. We relaxed around the fire with some cold ones from the cooler. Paul did his James Dean impression leaning against the giant pine by the water's edge. We pan fried the pork chops for dinner. They were thn cut, so they cooked quickly. Paul would continually add them to the skillet and we would eat them as they finished. Hoped the sky would stay clear after sunset so we could paddle out and look at the stars. Sadly it did not.
Sunday July 20th
Slept in again. Sky was overcast and threatening. Started the fire and made some coffee. Small showers would come and go all day. Made cheese quesadillas in the skillet, Paul ate leftover pork chops. Many paddlers passed by the site on their way to the launch. Paddling in the rain is not the most enjoyable but neither is sitting around camp in the rain. The GoLite shelter did provide some dry areas for us to sit when the rains picked up. A small leak in the shelter will need to be patched up. Later in the afternoon the clouds lost their battle with the sun and blue skies appeared. We used the opportunity to bring some gear and trash back to the cars and restock on beer. Also grabbed the last of the fresh food from the other cooler.
Just before sunset, the sky opened up and rain it did. I headed to my tent and did Paul. Loons sereneded us all night. A nice complement to the rain.
Monday July 21st
Up early so we could pack up and dry out tarps etc as much as possible. We both had long drives ahead. Was a smart move yesterday to bring a load to the car already. All our remaining gear now would fit below the gunwales helping to keep the boat stable and balanced. Was a relaxing paddle back to the launch. Very few cars remained in the lot. Paul helped me lift the canoe onto the car. As I finished tying down the canoe and signing out I thought next year Dan Denn and I should come here in earlier June before the water warms and the trout go deep.
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