Adirondacks - Labor Day weekend

“Jeepers Mr M - now that I am inspired by all that good news, what's the bad news?
Artex - what have you gotten me into?? LOL!”

“Looks like we'll see just how sturdy that bear canister of yours is! :-)”

“Pennsy Hiker and I have decided to meet at the trailhead earlier.. now at 9am on Saturday.. in hopes of beating some of the likely crowds.

Thanks for the lowdown, MSilver. I'll of course be very cautious, but I'm actually hoping we get to see some bears.”

“A buddy and I did an extended version of the trip you're planning. Got back late Wednesday. You'll be pleased to note that except for pesky horseflies that may bother you while sunbathing, bugs are nonexistent up there right now.

We stayed at the Cedar Pt. Leanto for 2 nites and a third nite at Feldspar Brook. No netting, no nothing. We never set up our 1-person tents. No bites whatsoever.

Even though it was midweek, there were a lot of people around.The ranger from the outpost cabin came around checking campsites. He carried bearspray and an axe and told us about recent bear nuisances, but we weren't fortunate enough to get a glimpse of Joe (or Jane) Ursus.

Anyway, there are steel cable and carabiner food pulleys near the outhouses uphill from the lakeside leantos. Your stuff will be safe from bear and varmints there. Keep a clean camp and sleep with your headlamp and a knife nearby ( bears may have weak vision, but I think that they recognize the reflection of light on sharp steel) and you probably won't even get lucky enough to SEE a bear.”

“Pennsy...

> now that I am inspired by all that good news, what's > the bad news?

...LOL

Hold on to your OR hat, Pennsy; here's the bad news... Artex will be leading this hike, and says he WANTS to see bears! ;-)”

“Pennsy,

It just occured to me... I wonder what Artex is planning to use for bait to see those bears?

Pennsy... you still planning to go? ;-)”

“I can't make the trip, but I'm curious- How many people does your bear canister sleep, Pennsy? I don't think Artex could fit in a bear bag. Oh yeah, Artex, don't forget when that branch nearly took us out in the catskills when we were hanging our bear bags- Further investigation of the crime scene shows a bear had clawed most of the way through the branch. They're getting smarter.”

“Bloody bears....

bastards!”

“LOL Mr M!
I've been working out so I am not worried about bears. I know I can't outrun a bear but I only have to outrun Artex.

I'm sure we'll get an early start for Algonquin, considering that Artex wants to make a loop including Wright, Marcy Dam and Avalanche Pass. So why not Iroquois as well?

He did say he wanted a good butt-kicking. Hmmmm, could be why I am the only fool to "sign up." lol!”

“hmmmm....now that I'm in NH right on the VT border, this trip may be a possibility for me. Still have room?”

“LOL M-Silver!

Iroquois sounds good to me! I was looking at the map last week and was actually thinking we should do Iroquois also but forgot to bring it up, I'm glad Silver mentioned it.

I am so pumped for this trip! It's going to be quite a challenge keeping my focus at work this week.”

“Skiracer - it'd be GREAT if you could join us. Meeting at 9am at the trailhead, check out the directions posted earlier in this thread. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions. Keep us posted!”

“yo artex! what are the directions for coming in on 88 out of binghamton, ny? me and boy are thinking of getting up to visit the homeland (towanda, pa) and this may be well within our reach. if i have this correct, everyone is meeting up saturday morning. what day are you heading out to the cars(monday?)?”

“Baume.. per Yahoo, it looks like it's about a 4 1/2 to 5 hour drive to the trailhead from Binghamton, NY. Be great if you could make it! Hard to say when exactly we'd leave on Monday, but I'd imagine it'll be late morning, early afternoon.. Here are Yahoo directions..

Binghamton to the Trailhead:

1. Start on FRONT ST 1.2
2. Continue on US-11 0.6
3. Turn Right to take the I-81 NORTH ramp 0.3
4. Merge on I-81 NORTH 0.9
5. Take the I-88 EAST exit towards ALBANY 0.8
6. Merge on I-88 EAST 116.5
7. Take the I-90 EAST exit towards ALBANY 0.3
8. Merge on I-90 EAST 10.7
9. Continue on I-87 NORTH/I-90 EAST towards BOSTON/MONTREAL 0.4
10. Take the I-87 NORTH exit towards ALBANY INT'L AIRPORT/MONTREAL, exit #1N 0.6
11. Merge on I-87 NORTH 59.0
12. Take the DIAMOND POINT RD exit towards DIAMOND POINT/WARRENSBURG, exit #23 0.3
13. Turn Left on DIAMOND POINT RD 0.2
14. Turn Right on US-9 4.2
15. Turn Left on RT-28 16.0
16. Turn Right on RT-28N 21.3
17. Turn Right on TAHAWUS RD 1.6
18. Turn Left on TAHAWUS LAKE SANFORD RD 5.9
19. Turn Right on TAHAWUS RD
*20. Turn left on Upper Works Road.. follow to the end of the road for the trailhead.

* = I derived this last step from looking at a map, since I couldn't manipulate Yahoo for said final step.”

“Well, Pennsy Hiker isn't the only fool signed up for this trip. I'll meet you guys at the trailhead on Sat. at 9 AM. Now, I've just got to root around through the storage facility and see if I can find my hiking sticks.

Baume 66- think you and boy might be able to make this? I've hiked in the area before and it is absolutely spectacular. It would be great if you could make it.”

“Sweet, we got a third! See you there Skiracer..”

“I just got a bulleting from the Montreal section of the Alpine Club of Canada which operates a hut in Keene, NY. Apparently there are a lot of forest fires in the Dacks. It might be a good idea to contact the park before you go.

You guys are planning a fantastic group trip. When you climb up to the ridge, there will be a cairn on the left (south) side of the trail. This cairn marks the route left to Iroquois; then you can return over Boundary to do Algonquin and Wright.

It's a long walk out to the trail to Marcy Dam and that trail is quite eroded. The trail up to Avalanch Pass is beautiful, if rocky. There is a leasn-to and a camping spot just before 'Misery mile'. If you spend the night here you can walk through Avalanche Pass, Avalanche Lake and to the Lake Colden lean-to's in the morning. After misery mile it's not a hard walk.

I'm not even going to begin to tell you about bears at Flowed Lands, Lake Colden, Marcy Dam and the lean-to. Not only must you bear bag (steel cables for this purpose have been installed at the lean-to), it is wise to remove only what you are going to eat and hang up the rest immediately rather than bringing it with you.

Many people go through a lifetime in the out of doors without seeing a bear and if you are careful and there are a few of you you probably don't need to worry. But be very, very careful.”

“www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dlf/publands/adktrails.html

Forest fire is in Pharoah Lakes area. Closure is noted.

There is a campfire ban in effect due to dry conditions and fire danger.”

“Gremlin, Geobeet.. thanks for the heads up. I'll be monitoring it very closely these next few days.”

“Fires, rocks, and bears oh my!!

That's great you can join us skiracer. Thanks for the info geo and gremlin. My bear canister should be fine for 3 of us. There might even be room for scented items, like toothpaste, Artex's perfume etc...

Sunday's loop hike should be a killer but I'm really looking forward to the challenge. See you guys at the trailhead!

ps...... my cell phone is 610-442-0364 if anybody needs to reach me.”

“I can't make it. I forgot that I had all my summer reading to do. Only 1200 pages! (2 600 page books). So I'm not even going to ask my mother if I have that much work to do.

Have fun!!!!”

“Cool.. barring the fires getting out of control, we're all set. Pennsy, my car is a blue Saturn 4-door, NY plates, with an Evil Dead sticker on the back, in case you don't remember.

In the event that one of us is running late, look out for each other's vehicles at the trailhead. Cell phones, at least mine (Sprint PCS), don't work up there at all. If there's a late-comer and the others decide to hike on to the campsite that person could just meet up there. This could obviously provide difficulites, as it is a general area that we plan on basecamping at and where we'll end up will likely be dicated by availability, so the best thing is to try your best not to be late!!! However, life happens, and if so, look out for my yellow Eureka tent. Pennsy Hiker has a yellow Bibler (a very bright one at that, you'd swear you're looking at some sort of mutant banana from hell) unless he's bringing another one (if so, I bet it'll resemble some other nuclear-traced fruit).

Skiracer, what color's your tent, in the event that Pennsy or I are running late?”

“Ice - bummer you can't make it, but good luck with the books.”

“Oh yeah.. hey Pennsy, Skiracer's vehicle is a Chevy SUV or truck with North Carolina plates that say "Skiracer". Hope you don't mind me sharing that Skiracer.”

“I have dark green SD Clip Flashlight. I'll be at the trailhead probably a little before 9 AM. Mapquest says it will be about 4 hrs. & 40 minutes for my trip. I'll probably grab breakfast somehwhere on the way up, but will plan in leaving at 3 AM. That will give me plenty of time for breakfast and some coffee.”

“Enjoy the trip. I was looking at my Gothics pix a while ago. Mmmmmmm, anorthosite! We are intimately acquainted.”

“Green Dodge Dakota 4x4. A bit less inconspicuous than my "banana" tent. Hey, I want to be able to find my tent in the dark ya know. ;o)”

“Good news and bad news...

The good news is I am coming on this trip.

Come to think of it...that may be the bad news. I'll slow y'all down on the trail and keep you awake at night. :)

No, that's not the bad news. The bad news is....well, I'll save it for later.

Pennsy, I am trying to call you, to see if we can hook up and ride together.

Fritz”

“Sweeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!!!!!! Glad you can make it Fritz! :-)”

“Cool, another foo.... err, I mean hiker.

Ummmm.... so what's the bad news before I let you hop in my truck?

Hey - the weather looks promising. The report was bleak a few days ago but this is the latest from the above site:

.SATURDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH NEAR 70.
.SATURDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE LOWER 50S.
.SUNDAY...PARTLY SUNNY WITH INCREASING AFTERNOON CLOUDS. HIGH IN THE
LOWER 70S.
.SUNDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE MID 50S.
.LABOR DAY...PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 70S.”

“Woohoo! :-)”

“Cool. Glad you are able to join us Fritz. (Note to self-don't forget earlpugs) Uhmmm...what's the bad news, Fritz?

Weather forecast looks much better than the raind predicted for Sunday and Monday a few days ago. Nights may be a little cooler, with lows in the mid-40's.”

“OK, the bad news is that I had to give up the NJ/AT trip Sept. 15/16 so I could go on this trip.

That's bad news for me but not a big deal for anyone else.

I am getting pumped about this weekend...can hardly wait to see how bad by knees hurt by the end of the hike on Sunday! ;)”

“Glad THAT'S the bad news Fritz, only because I feared something worse.

Yeah, things are shaping up weather wise, we couldn't ask for much better.

Want to reiterate that if someone is running late and the others hike in, see above for a description of other people's tents and keep an eye out when hiking around the Lake Colden area. I already know Pennsy Hiker and Fritz (what an ugly bunch), and they know me, so we'll recognize each other.

Just wanted to go over that again for some peace of mind. I'm very punctual and will probably wind up getting there early, but hey, life happens sometimes.”

“Yes, I also feared something much worse for the group. Fritz, sorry to hear you have to give up a trip, but happy you'll be able to join us. I can hardly wait for 3 AM to roll around tomorrow morning.”

“Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you guys!

I got two questions....no three.... ;)

1. Did lyra ever say she wasn't coming?
2. Is Colden Lake a good area for using my hammock?
3. What's the big rush to get there so early? Parking? Picking a good campsite? I know, I know. I just hate to get up so early. I'll quit whining now.

Can't wait!”

“Answers:

1) Don't know
2) Don't know
3) yes

Stop yer whining and you'd better be in Easton before 2:30! ;o)”

“Fritz- I think the idea in getting there so early was to secure a site for our basecamp. On Labor Day weekend, it's almost certain to be crowded and sites may be limited. Parking may be an issue, too. Getting up early?!? I might as well not even go to bed.

No, I don't think lyra ever said she was coming.”

“Lyra told me via e-mail she might not be able to make it because her boyfriend had planned another backpacking trip for them along with some friends of their's.

I've never been to Lake Colden, but I can't imagine why the hammock wouldn't be okay to use. But like Skiracer said, it's supposed to get down in the forties, so it'll be a bit on the chilly side.

The big rush to get there early is to avoid the big rush. There'll likely be a lot of people planning to hit the 'Dacks this weekend, so we're trying to get a jump on them so we can secure a good campsite.

Okay, back to work so I can finish up work and get the heck out of here! See you guys tomorrow!”

“For the Adirondacks-
0% CHANCE OF CPL NASTY
For the area in Harriman where I'll be doing the crappy cabin thing-
100% CHANCE OF JEALOUSY INDUCED HISSY FITS
Enjoy the trip everyone, wish I could have made it.”

“Apply lots of beer to the area.”

“Updated report
Area of Harriman where I'll be doing the crappy cabin thing-
200% CHANCE OF BEER.”

“Wow, nasty, that's a...um...nasty weather report. You better take your scuba gear so you don't drown!”

“7 more hours and I'm hitting the road. I'm not very tired, but sure hope I can get a few hours of sleep. Artex, Pennsy Hiker and Fritz...see you at 9 AM. Might JOSH make the drive from Cincy?”