Amos and Donkey

I had to get up and go this morning because I planned on hiking 15 miles (and if I plan, I do). I still took some time to enjoy the view at my campground and the calmness of Long Lake as I drove past on my way to my first stop at Blue Mountain Trail. I saw a pair of hiking sticks someone left at the trailhead so I grabbed them. Thank goodness I did because I don’t think I touched dirt the entire trail.
The beginning was full of small rocks that I stumbled over and as it got progressively steeper, those small rocks turned into huge boulders that were slick from the rain. I bounded up them with no thought to getting back down. I was winded and sick of looking up and seeing more looming rocks when I finally came across a family that said it was only 10 minutes further. The dad and daughter had sleep pants on, all were wearing tennis shoes and they didn’t have any water. This is a steep, dangerous, 4 miles round trip so I’m not quite sure what this Dad was thinking. Anyway I forgot about them and concentrated on getting to the top. I finally made it and the views were awesome. The summit was forested but once I climbed the tower then Blue Mountain Lake spread before me. I rested a while and grabbed a granola bar and then decided to head back down. Thank goodness I had my hiking sticks. It was so dang slippery and dangerous on the way down that, after falling a few times, I decided to just slide on my butt. Once I got past the big rocks I don’t think my feet touched the ground because I was using my hiking sticks like crutches. I would plant both the sticks and swing myself forward and got a pretty good rhythm going. I got going so fast that I caught up to the family I had passed on the way up. They didn’t feel the need to move over and let me pass so I was stuck behind them. They obviously don’t follow trail etiquette.
I jumped in my car and headed over to Castle Rock. The only reason I wanted to hike this mountain was because the trail description said there were caves on top. It was so worth it. The hike was moderately easy and there was a spur trail down to the shores of Blue Mountain Lake that was really pretty. I had passed an older gentleman on that trail and then I passed him again on the way to the caves. I of course climbed right in and started following the caves and he must have thought that I knew where I was going because he started following me only to realize that that probably is not a good idea. I heard him turn back around and continued exploring the caves. By the time I had worked myself up and around I lost sight of the trail. I heard people talking so I figured I was near the top so I kept going up and found the trail once again. After scrambling over more rocks and pulling myself up on tree limbs I made it to the top. Castle Rock does not have a fire tower but it was probably the best vista of the whole trip. There was a group of old ladies on top and I asked them to take my picture. They happily obliged and I asked if I could take a picture of them. A few said of course and scrambled out on the rocks but this one woman was hesitant. Her friends yelled at her enough and when she handed the camera to me she muttered “of course they never listen to me”. They took off and I enjoyed the views for a while longer. The map I had showed a loop trail so I took off trying to find it. It wasn’t readily apparent so I headed down this other trail thinking it was it. When I got back to the caves I realized two things: 1) this is the same trail I came up on and 2) it looked new because I had bushwhacked up through caves, eliminating the last quarter mile of it. I encountered the women again and they were mad because their friends weren’t waiting for them to catch up. They tried to convince me to tell their friends that they had fallen when I caught up with them. Yeah right. I also encountered the old man who I thought had fallen off the mountain earlier when I led him astray. He stopped me and asked if I had left a hat up top because there was one hanging on a tree branch (I hadn’t). The last people I encountered on the way down was a family with 2 little boys who had started at the trailhead at the same time as me but obviously were moving way slow. They asked me how much further and I said “not too much but it gets a little sketchy at the top”. Well that was the wrong thing to say. The mother's eyes bugged out and I thought she was going to grab her children and run back down the mountain. I assured her that I had taken a more circuitous route to the top and that it really wasn’t that bad. I was so hungry when I got back to the car but the hardest hike was ahead of me so I drove over to Indian Lake gnawing on my hunk of cheddar, interspersed with handfuls of Wheat Thins. I didn’t realize how remote this last trail was. I ended up on a dirt road (par for the course for my road trips) and made it to the Wakely Mountain Trail head. There was a father/son team getting out of their car too so I rushed over to the trail register and took off, not wanting to be behind them the whole way. I briefly saw a sign for a missing dog and a missing hiker in the trail register box but didn’t pay much attention (which should have been my first clue). Wakely Mountain is one of the most difficult hikes I’ve ever done. The only reason I hiked it was because it is the site of the tallest fire tower in the ADK’s. It lulls you into complacency with the first two miles on a relatively flat old road bed. I did it in 45 minutes. But from that point on the trail basically goes up a rock strew mountain. The son from the parking lot (Amos) readily passed me without missing a beat. I heard the father (Donkey) coming up later and stepped aside to let him passed. He stopped and asked if I was okay. Nobody has ever asked me that before so I must have looked hard up. I said Donkey told me a story about hiking in Switzerland. The moral was “go slow and take deep breaths” (apparently an elderly Swiss woman in her Sunday best had beaten him up a mountain with that motto). Usually my MO is to charge upward until I can’t function anymore and then take a break and continue the same pattern. I decided to try his way and it kind of worked. I kept looking up and wondering when the heck I was going to reach the top. It took me about an hour and a half to go that last mile. Ughh. The father and son were already there casually enjoying a snack. He offered me a peach but I was too busy gasping and sucking water down. I strode over to the tower because I knew if I stopped moving I wouldn’t get going again for a while. Halfway up, Amos yells “watch out its swaying!” Not funny Amos. I was a bit perplexed because every other fire tower I had been to had some primitive form of safety precaution. Not the tallest in the ADK’s. Nope this one was just a shell of metal with a few thin pieces of metal as cross supports. At the top this ladder loomed ahead of me, leading into the tower. I drew the line there. I contented myself with taking pictures from the platform below the ladder. Amos decided he wanted to come up to so he squeezed past me and climbed right up the ladder. I carefully made my way down and Donkey looked at me and said “how about that peach now?” I gratefully accepted and it was the best peach I ever ate. Amos had made his way back down at that point and I was asking for directions home. Apparently the route I had planned on taking was 30 miles of dirt road. It was already 3:30 and I needed to be getting home so I’m glad I found out about that before I struck off into oblivion. Amos and Donkey apparently got around a lot in the ADK’s and informed me that this was one of the hardest hikes in the park. I told them I had also done Blue Mountain and Castle Rock and they asked “this weekend?” and I said “No, this morning”. I then said I had to get going and Donkey jokes “Why? Don't you have a few more mountains to climb before heading home?”. Oh Donkey. I hobbled down the trail and it was just as bad going down. I used my hiking sticks as crutches. Every time I stepped down I could feel the jolting in my knees. Oh the pain. I finally made it back to the parking lot and Amos and Donkey ended up right behind me. I bid them a good day and headed for home. Sounds like the end right? Nope as the final insult to my weekend I was driving through Utica and all of a sudden a couch cushion flies out from the car in front of me and before I could even do anything I barrel right over it. I have no clue where it came from since I couldn’t see a couch or cushions on any vehicle ahead of me. I made it home by 9:30 and collapsed into bed. Whew! So much for a relaxing Labor Day weekend.

Mt. Arab, Owl's Head Mountain, Buttermilk Falls, Long Lake

Well the good news is that I stayed warm last night. Thank goodness for my bedroll. As much as I miss my old cot (protruding metal bars and all), Vern (the new cot) is treating me just fine and I think it may be time to say goodbye to Ol’ Blue. I had a relaxing day planned (only 9 miles of hiking) so I took my time making breakfast and breaking camp. My first stop was Mt. Arab. Don used to go camping at Massaweepie Scout Camp and they would always hike up Mt. Arab and he recommended it highly. It was less than a mile to the top and had amazing views. I saw the fire tower and then realized there was a cabin as well. I warily approached it, not wanting to disturb anyone when I saw the following sign:

OK I won’t break in. Well it was the day before Labor Day and no one was there so I headed on up the fire tower and enjoyed the unobstructed views all by myself. This tower had windows in it but they were latched so you could swing them open and get some great pictures. When I got home I was showing Don pictures and he pointed out that the main lake you see from the tower is shaped like a fish. On the way down the trail a guy asked if I was from Rochester. I thought maybe he had read it on my fleece but you would have to be staring pretty hard at my chest to make out RIT. He then said he had seen Rochester on the trail register and I felt relieved. I headed over to Lake Eaton to set up camp. I had gotten there early but luckily my site was available. The fire was still smoking from the people who had just left. It was a beautiful campground. I set up camp, struggling with my tent again. The soil was sandier here and my tent stakes wouldn’t go in. I had forgotten a hammer and couldn’t find a small rock so I settled on using a can of pineapple (with a pull tab top by the way). It worked but that can of pineapple will never be the same.

My next hike was up Owl’s Head Mountain. There was a trail that connected to the campsite but it would be about 12 miles roundtrip. I decided to drive to the trailhead and make it only 7 miles roundtrip. It was a fairly steady climb uphill over rocks. I was hiking up and getting winded and I saw a pair of older ladies on their way down. I asked them how much further and they said “Quite a ways. And there’s a boulder blocking the trail!” I instantly doubted them because I find it hard to believe that a boulder had so completely obstructed a trail that there wouldn’t be a sign warning of it (the Adirondacks are very well labeled). Even if it were true there’s no such thing as blocking the trail. There's always a way to the top. I had my sights set on that fire tower and nothing was going to stop me. I finally reached said boulder and found it quite surmountable. I swung myself up on a tree limb and continued on over many more just like it. I finally reached the tower and immediately climbed up. The views were gorgeous. This one was open so I could take clear pictures all the way around. I climbed back down and sat on the rocks eating my trail bar. A couple with some dogs came up and I asked them to take my picture. When I got home I realized that the dog was in the picture with me. Nice. I ended up talking with them for a bit because she saw Rochester on the trail register and mentioned that she taught at Geneseo (a local college) and lived in Swain (a ski town). On the way down I cut over on a spur trail to the shores of Lake Eaton. I wish I had taken my binoculars, I probably could have seen my campsite on the opposite shore. On the way back I passed by a family and the woman turns around and shouts to me “Geneseo!?” Apparently she had seen the sticker on the car of the lady I had talked to on top. I said “Nope, RIT. Geneseo is at the summit”. By the time I got back to my car I was exhausted and hungry. I chowed down on some cheese and crackers and headed over to Buttermilk Falls. This was just a roadside falls so no hiking involved. On the way back through Long Lake I stopped and got some postcards and then hung around the lakeshore taking photos of the float planes. I have always loved float planes and would love to go up in one someday. Only a few lakes allow them. I got back to my campsite and fired up some quesadillas (I didn’t have the strength to fight another can of soup). I went for a walk down to the swing set I had passed earlier and enjoyed the sunset. I got some awesome pictures of my silhouette. I think I look like Ariel in the Little Mermaid when King Triton changes her and she walks out of the water all sparkly. It was getting chilly so I headed back to camp. I wanted to enjoy the lake so I grabbed my lawn chair and fleece blanket and curled up to read on the lakeshore. I must have looked pitiful because the guy in the campsite next to mine came over and asked if I wanted to come over and “chill” around his fire. I was tempted but I was in the middle of a great book and then I realized he was with his dad so it would be weird. Once again the rains came and I went to bed at 8:00.

Firetower Tour 2010

Wow. Labor Day weekend was one of the craziest camping trips I’ve ever been on. Michigan on the 4th of July was insane just because of the sheer scope of what I was doing (1700 miles in 4 days) so craziness was expected. This time I only had 3 days off for Labor Day so I thought I’d take a nice leisurely jaunt to the Adirondacks to hike, camp and relax. Instead I was left doubting my outdoor capabilities. What happened to me? I conquered the American west and 17 states over the last couple years so I thought the quaint Adirondacks would be nothing. I had gone up to the ADK’s over Spring Break (in March) and was looking forward to going back in the summer (FYI the temperature never rose above 60 degrees this weekend).

The trip started out with a bang because I forgot my purse! I was traveling on the Thruway (a toll road) and had gotten down the road about an hour when I started thinking that I would like some Skittles. I remembered I had stuck them in my purse the day before. I reached over to grab them out and realized, crap I don’t have my purse! I stupidly considered just keeping on going because I had food and my campsite was already paid for. However, I knew I would need gas at some point so I called home and my Dad drove to meet me halfway to give me my purse. Luckily, I always have cash somewhere in my car so I dug a couple bucks out of my change drawer and got off the Thruway and turned around and got back on only to get off a couple exits later to meet Dad. And with that ominous beginning I turned around yet again and forged on.

I went up the west side of the Adirondacks and drove through some beautiful farm country. My first stop was Wanakena, NY, home of SUNY’s School of Environmental Science and Forestry. The trail led up to the Latham Fire Tower. Being on school property, it was the nicest trail I’ve ever been on. Everything was groomed and there were bridges over wet spots and stairs over rocks and lean to’s and picnic tables and poems inscribed on rocks. I climbed the fire tower and only when I poked my head through the top did I realize that there was another guy in there. If you don’t know, fire towers are very small spaces so I squeezed around him and tried to take pictures through the window panes that were covered in rain. I lingered thinking he would leave so I could have some time on top but he just stood there staring at his cell phone so I got pissed and left and on my way down I heard him calling someone. Apparently he just needed the reception. Whatever.

I cruised over to the Cranberry Lake campground and got my tent set up. This did not go well. Last summer on the Great American Trek I got that tent up in 5 minutes in a downpour with 40mph winds. For some reason the Bungalow did not want to cooperate so it took me about 20 minutes to get her situated. I then headed off to hike Bear Mountain, a trail that started in the campground. It was a glorious hike. It rained and my umbrella blew inside out but I popped in my earbuds and was jamming to some tunes on my mp3 player and I just didn’t care. I’m pretty sure the French couple hiking behind me thought I was crazy. There was no fire tower on top just a massive boulder that I took a running leap at to try and climb. I slid off and decided that, the way my day was going, I should not tempt fate by climbing up a slippery boulder. I bounded down the trail, slipping and sliding on the wet rocks and leaves and plowed myself into a tree (luckily it was covered in mushrooms which cushioned me). Towards the end of the hike the sun broke through and I managed to get a picture of the lake with the sun and I headed back to camp.By that time I was hungry (the Skittles had worn off) so I grabbed a can of soup. On the Trek last year I loved my Healthy Choice soups because they were hearty and (best of all) the tops had pull tabs which made them very accessible. Much to my surprise, they no longer make Healthy Choice soup with pull tabs on top! After being defeated for a moment, I remembered I still had a Leatherman in my glove box so I pulled it out and found the can opener implement on it. Well this can opener was more suited for opening a Juicy Juice can than a can of chunky chicken noodle soup. It took me about 20 minutes to open the can and I had ripped the top apart so thoroughly that shards of metal had fallen off into the soup. I finally got all the soup in the pot and went to strike a match to light the cooker but I realized that I had set the matches down on the wet picnic table. My car came to the rescue again and I found some dry matches. I finally got the soup semi warmed up and had to strain it through my teeth like a whale because I didn’t want to ingest shards of metal. Oh and I had a new pot so I covered the bottom with dish detergent to prevent it from charring but by doing so I had gotten soap all over so my soup had a nice citrus soap flavor. By that time it was raining again so I threw everything back in my car and crawled into my tent to read a book. I was welcomed by my new Converta Cot that has 6 different reclining positions! I chose Position 2 and settled in to read. At one point I realized I could see my breath and I wondered how cold it was. I reached over to look at my clock/temperature gauge and realized I had forgotten to bring it. Oh well. Now it was about around 7:30 and getting too dark to read so I thought I would listen to my mp3 player to relax me before bed. Alas, it had apparently never turned off from earlier so I got through 2 songs before it petered out. I went to bed at 8pm, hoping for a better day tomorrow.

I Still Blog

Well it’s been a while since I last posted but I think of this blog as a place to chronicle my travels and I don’t consider traveling to Honeoye Falls every day an epic journey (beautiful though it may be). But Jess told me my blog is gathering dust so I had to think of some things to say. If you want a more consistent and hysterical blog to read, head over to Jess's blog.
http://www.adventureswithjessica.blogspot.com/
I can’t believe summer is almost over. Ever since I started work, time has just been flying by. I have managed to do some fun things though. My proudest accomplishment is finally getting my parents to update our house. Nothing has changed since I was born and I’ve been harping for years that we need a change. However they see "renovating" as picking the same color paint and putting a new coat on. So far we’ve managed to get some paint up in the living room and computer room and the carpets have been ripped out of those rooms and new floor is in. No more 80's brown carpet, now we have beautiful oak laminate. It look so much better and everything looks much bigger. We did get one bathroom painted with a nice new shower curtain that I picked out and they approved.A few weeks ago I headed off to Syracuse with my Grandma, Aunt and cousin to take in the Central New York Scottish Games. I used to go every summer when I was little and it was great to go back. I got to hear some amazing bands, watch some hot men throw cabers and eat a bridie.Last weekend I went to my first RIT Alumni event. They offered cheap tickets to Seabreeze, a local amusement park, so I rounded up Kyle, Devin, Don, Amber, and Kurt and headed out. My cousin Ted was there for his company picnic so we were quite the impressive gang. I had so much fun. I hadn’t been to Seabreeze since high school and it was great to feel like a kid again. They have a new coaster that spins around as it flies around the track so you never know which way you’re going next. They also have the Music Express where you sit in a car and go flying around in a circle while music plays. The first time I was on the inside and with the centrifugal force, I was thrown into Ted who was subsequently thrown into Kurt. They complained that I squished them but I maintained that I couldn’t help it. So to get back at me, we hopped on again and this time I had to sit on the outside. OMG. I was nearly folded in half. As soon as the ride picked up speed both of them threw themselves across the seat and with the added force of the speeding track I was half out of my seat and falling off the cart. I’m pretty sure my shoulders touched, that’s how squished I was. We went to the water park after and my entire left side was red. Thanks a lot cousins. My favorite part of this summer has been digging through my Grandpa Burns’ old things and discovering tons of family history. I uncovered about 52 reels of old 8mm film and a projector that still works! That thing probably hadn’t been fired up in 20 years and everything worked like a charm (thanks Kodak). There was tons of video of when our homestead was a thriving farm (combining, chickens, hay, etc), when my dad and aunt and uncles graduated, got first communion, went swimming. There’s all their vacation footage from FL, MD, MI, WV, WY, SD, MT (recognize those states? Yeah pretty much everywhere I’ve been, my Dad had been first.) It’s amazing to watch. My favorite is when my Aunt is graduating high school and she’s trying to pose in front of the house with my dad and uncles and they want nothing to do with it and they all get into a shoving match. Classic! It’s really neat to see how our property used to look in the old days and how much has changed. I just dropped them off to a transfer place so we should get them all on DVD in 6 weeks. The above letterhead is from my Grandpa’s business. I also found my grandma’s wedding planner book (down to what the bouquets were and what her outfits were). Now I know where I get my insane organizational skills from. I also went to Boulder Coffee to see Lucas Carpenter. My sister in law went to high school with him and introduced me to his music and he is insanely talented. Usually I don’t enjoy live performances but he does this thing called looping and he is amazingly skilled (plus he has a really engaging personality that makes it fun). Check him out here
http://www.myspace.com/lucascarpenter

Sleeping Bear Dunes Part II

Next stop was the National Maritime Museum and it was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip because I love museums. They had an old lighthouse station that was outfitted with exhibits and tons of old artifacts. It was devoted to the lifesaving crews that were stationed there and were a precursor to the U.S. Coast Guard. What a life they led! I stopped at the Glen Haven store which is restored to look like a 19^th century mercantile. Unfortunately, they had no food (except for Necco Wafers) so I ate more of my string cheese and crackers and drove on down a dirt road to yet another trailhead. I had a hike planned that I wasn’t motivated for but decided to do anyways since it was less than 2 miles round trip. It was a gorgeous overlook much like the one at Pictured Rocks except no demon insects thank goodness so I was glad I went. Of course there was yet another death defying sand cliff. As much fun as it would be to run pell mell down a sand dune and dive in a lake, I didn't want to face the return hike. I relaxed and soaked in the view and listened to a group of middle aged teachers debate the real meaning of words. For instance, did you know that dork=camel penis? One lady was convinced there was another meaning for the word twit but I got out of there before they could brainstorm that one. Apparently, Sleeping Bear has the largest collection of preserved farmhouses in the NPS. I stopped at one that was undergoing renovation to be turned into exhibit space. The guy said there wasn’t much to see but I was free to wander around. So I of course took that as an all access pass and found my way upstairs because the door was open. He runs up after me and tells me that I’m not allowed up there and ushers me out. I didn’t see anything too incriminating up there but if he didn’t want me up there then why was the door open!?I drove back along Glen Lake (stopping at Inspiration Point) and continued to the beach because I was exhausted and grimy and wanted a swim. Earlier I had seen an overlook where there was a lake, a sandbar and then Lake Michigan. It was so cool! When I found out it was a beach, I was even more excited so decided to make that my last stop. North Bar Lake was calm and warm but very deep. I look 3 steps in and then the bottom fell away. Then I walked across a dune and there’s Lake Michigan in all its glory. The waves were huge! This is what I thought the ocean would be like but it was even better because this was freshwater. However, waves scare the crap out of me. I went in up to my ankles and the waves sucked me right in and they are relentless. I was so hot and grimy that I didn’t care at that point. By the time I surfaced and turned around to look at the beach I was a couple hundred feet away from my towel. Oops. I then tried to get out which proved difficult but finally the waves spat me out in a most ungraceful manner (but at least my bathing suit was in place). Normally when I travel I hate lingering anywhere but I was beat so I laid out on my towel for a while and enjoyed the crashing waves (the pic doesn't do it justice).I was still hungry though and decided I needed real sustenance so I stopped at a little café in town for a sandwich. I was exhausted and starving but I had planned one more hike and because of where it was I thought it best to do on the way to my campground. It was a creepy hike because I kept hearing the tree branches above me creaking and swaying. I thought one would fall on my head. The overlook was pretty. It had a nice view of where I had just been swimming.

I ran back along the trail and nearly plowed over an Indian family. I sped down the road to check-in at my campsite and promptly devoured my delicious dinner. I considered going to fireworks (because it was July 4th) but the closest ones were about 20 minutes away and I was exhausted and facing a long day of driving the next day so I laid in my tent and listened to them. I gave up on my broken cot and just slept on the ground. It poured rain most of the night but luckily I stayed dry. The next day I headed out bright and early.

I made a stop in Frankenmuth, MI. Grandma Doyle said that they had stopped there on their way to Mackinac. It is famous for its Bavarian Inn where they have a glockenspiel (which I didn’t get to see go off). I wandered the gift shop and bought some strudel and a pretzel. It’s a cute tourist trap. Somehow that stop threw off Lee so I ended up on some back roads detour through farm country to get me back on the interstate. I always enjoy a good farm road though so I didn’t mind.

When I reached the Canada border crossing I had about a half hour wait which was a lot better than I was expecting. Driving across Canada it became increasingly hot and by the time I hit the U.S. border it was about 100 degrees (they kept exclaiming about the temperature on the radio while I was driving but I don’t understand Canadian). Ughh. I saw signs saying both the Lewiston and Fort Erie crossings were delayed a couple hours so I thought I’d take a chance and cross at the Rainbow Bridge which goes over Niagara Falls. However, that traffic was so backed up that I sat at a light and it kept turning green and red but traffic wouldn’t move. Thanks to Lee, I cut out of traffic ASAP and zipped through downtown and came out right across from where people were turning onto the bridge. I forced myself into line and waited 20 minutes to go back across which was awesome. I finally made it home about 5:30 pm after about 10 hours of driving. Overall, despite all my bitching about the state trying to harm its tourists, I’m glad I went to Michigan. It is a beautiful state with gorgeous coastlines and nice people but it was a bit too far to drive for a weekend trip (never thought I’d say that ;)