Back to Bear Lake

It has been a number of years since I have been to Bear Lake. Most of the trips had been to either prepare the location for the lean-to build, or to visit the lean-to traveling different routes. This time would be the short way in as an "Intro to Backpacking" for the local meetup group. In the days leading up to the trip all but two dropped out. This is typical, unfortunately. The two who would join me did not need any Intro lessons, although one did ask if I would show her how to hang a bear bag. She spent this past summer hiking the PCT and always just slept with her food.

When we arrived at the trailhead in McKeever, the few parking spots were already taken. I found a spot a few yards away to back into for easy exit. The trail in was just as I remembered. I chuckled to myself as certain memories came back to me. We passed by a family hiking the opposite direction. One car down, 2 to go. The lake was upon us quite soon. We still had to hike about a half mile to the lean-to side. At the lake side, a solo hiker approached us. He looked towards me and said, "You're duct tape, right? I know you from Rob's videos". I said I was. He told us there were two guys at the lean-to bu the other campsite was free. We thanked him and continued on. We turned off the main trail and headed up to the lean-to.

The two gentleman and I talked a bit about the lean-to. I gave them a bit of its history. They invited us to share with them, but I deferred to the others who opted for the campsite. We set up camp and went to gather some firewood. Since the hike in was short, we just relaxed. It was unseasonably warm and I had not put on sunscreen. I would pay for this oversight later. I took a short walk around our side of the lake looking for the old rowboat. I didn't find it, nor any other boat or canoe. In front of our campsite, near the inlet I saw some smaller brook trout rising for the insects. I wandered back up to the lean-to to let the two guys know about the rising trout.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. We went to bed at hiker midnight and I slept quite well. didn't even need my quilt. As usual I was up before the sunrise. I was looking forward to watching the sun hit the trees on the other side as they were just starting to change. I snapped a few photos as the sun began to burn away the fog and illuminate the far side of the lake. The girls were soon awake as well and we packed up and headed back to the car. A stop at the diner for a late breakfast is always a great way to end the trip.

Return to Whitney (Wilderness)

It has been a few years since Chris and I have canoed together. We planned the dates for this trip back in the Spring, but left the final destination to the last minute. As we got closer to the trip dates, we decided to return to the Whitney Wilderness, specifically Little Tupper Lake and also the Round Lake Wilderness. we have used basically the same menu for the last few canoe trips so I modified one of our old ones and sent it to Chris to review. Once the destination was chosen, menu planned and all other logistics worked out we met for dinner and to put the canoe rack extender on my car.

I picked up Chris around 8am and we arrived at the Whitney Wilderness HQ and were met with a full parking lot. The side road parking for the Round Lake Wilderness was also quite busy. With the wind swept lake we needed to go to Round Lake and hoped to find an unoccupied campsite. Paddling East on Little Tupper was easy although I had a difficult time keeping up with Chris and his double blade kayak paddle with my single stick. I could close the gap, but it took effort. As we made our way through the connecting creek, the water and wind was against us though the weeds showed the current was with us. We stopped to check out campsite #1 as it was unoccupied. The waves made the landing difficult. Chris went up on shore and I struggled to hold his canoe (and myself) from crashing into the rocks or drifting away. I opted to drift away and then paddle back when Chris returned. Next time I suggested he bring his boat onshore as there was no way to hold it in these waves.

The site was ok, "a 6" according to Chris. I downgraded it in my mind due to the landing. The next site was taken and the one after than had been "closed". The other sites were at the northern part of the lake, so we continued to paddle up against the waves. The number of boats and people did not seem to match the number of vehicles fortunately. We eventually found a pretty good site with a pebble beach landing in a protected cove. The site was up the hill as is the new design by the DEC. It doesn't make sense as these designated sites are set back far enough than they do not need to designate them to be legal (150' setback from water). Camp was set up and we went for an evening paddle. The lake had begun to calm down. I fished a little and caught a couple tiny perch. Back at camp, dinner was later than usual and included dessert. We each brought "extra" items so going hungry was not going to be a problem. It felt great to climb into my hammock, I expected to sleep well.

Chris was up first. I did not sleep as well as I thought I would. Not sure why. Chris was building the fire. He wasn't sure if he was doing it right. I told him I would let him try and learn. He struggled getting it lit and asked me to intervene. I gave him some tips and showed him how to get it going. After breakfast we paddled back the way we came to Little Tupper. The plan was to paddle the length and head to Rock Lake and camp on the island. we had all day to get there so we weren't rushing. I fished along the islands as we passed by them. Got one real nice sized bass. No picture, but Chris said he would be my witness. Stopped for a break at the beach on Eagle Point and for lunch at one of the island campsites. While we were eating it was decided that we would stay there. The landing had a small sandy beach and was protected. After setting up camp, we went for a paddle and fished a bit. I was tired and could have easily taken a nap, but I resisted knowing I would not be able to fall asleep later if I did. after a big dinner, we watched the sunset over the lake and I went to bed early.

Our last morning and the lake was glass. We had about half the distance to paddle then we planned so we took it slow and just enjoyed the gliding across the water. I changed to my to my other paddle and was surprised at just how much more water I could catch with it, and the control. Chris said it was probably because I was used to that paddle. That would explain my control with it, but the ease at which I could keep pace was more a result of the paddle blade shape. The other paddle was designed for use with a faster cadence, it certainly excelled at that, but was inferior with a relaxed solo cadence. The beavertail shape was also much quieter slicing through the water. The paddle back to the put in was a joy. This is what canoeing is all about.