A much-needed vacation!  Abs and I took off last week and headed up to the Adirondacks with a rough plan to paddle part of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.  Equipped with a pair of Feathercraft folding kayaks and a bunch of backpacking gear stuffed into dry sacks we set off to do about 34 miles in four days of paddling.  

Late Monday evening we put in at Floodwood Pond and paddled only a few hundred yards to our first backwoods water-access -only campsites.  We hired a shuttle from St. Regis Canoe Outfitters in Saranac Lake  to shuttle our car to our endpoint the following Friday.   They were amazingly helpful in our trip planning and had a very well-stocked shop where we picked up a few last minute supplies such as a nifty dehydrated dessert for Abby’s birthday dinner on Wednesday, replacement deck bungee, and a rental dry box (you will likely see in every photo I took) for my big camera.

We rushed to assemble the boats in the early evening on Monday, and found our site just before dark with fear of being eaten alive by bugs.  Waking up early Tuesday to get out on the water, I realized that we had landed in paradise.  Our very own island, free of trash, broken glass, and people!   After bowls of instant oatmeal and packing up the boats, we set out into the wilderness, stopping to swim in the amazingly clear and fragrant ponds whenever the urge arose.

Day Three: paddling in Middle Saranac Lake, a few hundred photos taken and a few pages could have been written. Here we approached a tiny island smaller than our Manhattan apartment, er, maybe.  Our next campsite was just a quarter mile ahead, but how could I pass up an island that mimicked the shape of my bow?  Stopped for a snack, tied Abby’s boat to my stern, and she swam the last leg to camp (sans swimwear). 

Yes, paradise once again.  Our very own cove with amazing breezes coming from the west across the lake and blowing the bugs into the woods beyond our tent.  Cooked an amazing birthday dinner (from a package…  just added hot water) and a strange birthday dessert that after paddling all day we devoured like wolves.  As the sun began to set, we paddled out on the lake to watch the constellations appear in a moonless sky.  The wind and waves died down, and the lake became smooth as glass.

Day Four: out on Middle Saranac Lake, early in the morning before the breeze chopped the surface, but this time there was enough light to take a few photos.  Yes, amazing still, and the trip kept getting better!