The Adirondacks

What a year and a half it has been! We have been fortunate but know that many people have had great losses. So we were lucky to take our first vacation in what appeared, a month ago, to be the end of the pandemic. We chose a beautiful locale that we could enjoy after a relatively short drive. That locale, the Adirondacks is one of the most diverse destinations on the East Coast, offering unparalleled outdoor recreation throughout its spectacular lakes, wild mountains, and charming towns and villages. How many of you know that the Adirondack region was established in 1892 by the State of New York amid concerns for the water and timber resources of the region? Whatever the reason, the Adirondack region is large, dramatic and paradise for those of us who revel in playing in the outdoors. Thus, Pat and I decided to head there for our summer 2021 vacation.

We began our trip at the The Hedges on Blue Mountain Lake, a well-known Adirondack landmark that has been enjoyed by individuals and families as guests for generations. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the camp became “The Hedges” when the Collins family welcomed its first guests in 1921. The Hedges evolved and grew throughout the twentieth century into a resort that now welcomes over 1,000 guests each season. While there, we celebrated the Hedges Centennial year and enjoyed the amazingly expansive waterfront.

The Hedges rustic resort is a water-sport lover’s paradise. They have high quality canoes and kayaks of all sizes. Pat and I went on three great kayak trips. On two of them we crossed over from Blue Mountain Lake to Eagle Lake via the bridge in the photo below. Those two kayak adventures were glorious.

I would be remiss if I did not include a photo of the inside of the Hedges dining room, a gorgeous rustic room that provided us great joy at each of our meals.

Pat and I hiked quite a bit on this trip. For our first hike, we chose Castle Rock Trail in Blue Mountain Lake, a moderate, 3-mile loop trail offering an amazing view of Blue Mountain Lake as seen in the first photo above. With an elevation gain of 700 feet, the hike to the summit is generally a gentle slope except for one steep section just below the summit. Pat and I then decided to do the longer loop back to the trailhead that made the hike a 4.7 mile trek. Because it had been raining like crazy in the Adirondacks, the trail was muddy and the streams were rushing.

On two of the days we spent about 7 hours total at the Adirondack Experience, a museum that provides a truly unique experience. With more than 20 buildings nestled across 120 acres overlooking Blue Mountain Lake, the open-air campus offers everyone something to do from learning the history of boating from the earliest canoes to the latest motor boat extravaganzas. The same experience exists with shoes, skis, stoves, railroads, homes and anything else that the Adirondacks touched. While at the museum one could row an authentic guideboat, break up a logjam, climb a classic ADK fire tower, or enjoy a wonderful hike to Minnow Pond. We hiked to Minnow Pond on both days of our visit. Below is the entrance to the Minnow Pond Trail hike.

One of the most gorgeous buildings at the Adirondack Experience museum is the Sunset Cottage, a one-room cabin from Camp Cedars on Forked Lake, which is decorated with split-spruce pole siding. I loved the design, the weathered look and just the natural beauty of the cottage.

On our last day on Blue Mountain lake, we traveled to the Great Camp Sagamore for a 2.5 hour guided tour. Built in 1897 by visionary great camps designer William West Durant on 1,526 acres of remote wilderness in the Adirondack Park, Great Camp Sagamore was a wilderness retreat for the Vanderbilt family for half a century. It is now a National Historic Landmark managed by a non-profit educational institution as a public trust. Notwithstanding, one can still get a room at the camp and truly enjoy the experience. My favorite building on the grounds pictured below is where the family and friends spent many hours reading, playing games and drinking.

Check out the closeup of the amazing red door to the building that is being opened by our guide. I would love that door as the entrance to our condo!

The camp even had its own outdoor/indoor bowling alley pictured below. The one catch to the alley is that the pins had to be cleared and set up manually after each roll. But that wasn’t too much of a hardship for the Vanderbilts so they coped.

We next spent a week at the Mirror Lake Inn on Lake Placid. We were fortunate enough to be there for the Lake Placid Ironmen, one of the hardest Ironmen competitions in the world. On our first morning there, we woke up to see the competitors beginning the 2.5 mile swim portion of their Ironmen. If you look carefully at the photo below, you will see 2 rows (the pros and the merely elite athletes) of Ironman swimming with the pros heading back to the start already at 7:15 am.

We were also lucky enough to be at the finish line for the arrival of this year’s winner, Rasmus Svenningssen, of the Ironman competition. Here he is looking fresh as a daisy after swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running 26.2 miles in a little over 8 hours.

Another highlight of the Lake Placid portion of the trip was our visit to the top of the ski jump. We took an elevator up and then walked up a set of stairs to view the horizon. What struck me was the enormity of the structure, the Mars-like feel of the area in the summer months and how it ruined the pristine view in the area. What do you think?

The final highlight of our Lake Placid trip was a visit to the John Brown Farm State Historic Site, the home and final resting place of abolitionist John Brown. It is located on John Brown Road in the town of North Elba, near Lake Placid, New York, where John Brown moved in 1849 to farm. The site provides an excellent educational experience about the abolitionist movement in the Adirondacks and John Brown. Brown’s passionate hatred of slavery shaped his plan to launch a revolt in the South to end slavery. This plan lead to his death following his raid of Harper’s Ferry. The grounds are also lovely with several hiking trails on the grounds. The following 2 photos show the John Brown house and a powerful Black Lives Matter exhibit delineating those who died during that era.

This was a great vacation. I loved watching Pat looking overjoyed during one of her many swims!

We are hoping that the world will return to some normalcy in the not so distant future and that you are all staying healthy. Please leave a comment after reading so I know you received it and read it.