Popular Post F_in Ray Of Sunshine Posted September 9, 2017 Popular Post Share #1 Posted September 9, 2017 ....usually aren’t as cool to you as they are to the person who took them, since you weren’t there, but screw you, I’m posting them anyway. Smile and nod politely as you stifle a yawn and check this out. We purposely chose the week after Labor Day, since it was after summer touron season....and before "leaf looker" season. The forecast, of course, was “rainy and cold”. The drive up Tuesday was rather inauspicious- three hours of pouring rain and a dog panting in my ear. ? At least my bike got washed. The destination? Garnet Hill Lodge/ Ski Center, in East Jesus Nowhere North River NY. We chose “The Birches”, rather than the main lodge....because they don’t allow dogs in the main lodge. As a bonus, we had the place all to ourselves. The “pseudo-fireplace” was amusing. I’ve never had a woodstove with a remote before...? There are four guest rooms in The Birches. Upstairs they have a "common room" (which of course costs extra....). It'd probably be fun to rent all four rooms and the common room and spend a few days here with friends. Now all I need are friends. ?Since breakfast is included with the room, and they have righteous dinners, we didn't use this. (Although "someone" did sneak up and warm her coffee up in the microwave....but, hey, there was no one there to rat us out...) Wednesday’s forecast called for rain morning and late afternoon, with a window of about three hours mid-day when there was less chance of liquid sky. We opted to hike (Evil-Lite) in to OK Slip Falls. (The name comes from back when they were raping logging the Adirondacks. They used the frozen pond at the top to store logs over the winter and they had a dam at the top. When it was time for the spring log drive, they’d release the logs a bunch at a time and yell “OK! SLIP!” to alert the river drivers below, since “timber!” was already being used. I was disappointed to find out that it had nothing to do with them wearing an “ok” slip to go with their high heels, suspendies and a bra. ?.) The guidebook said the trail was ”suitable for children”. I can only guess that means you’re hoping for a visit from Child Protective Services. It wasn’t super rugged, but three and a half miles of wet roots, algae covered rocks, boot-eating mudholes, off-camber slopes and some fairly steep terrain at the end is NOT suitable for children. Children would be whining and being taken back to the car after the first half mile, never mind the other three.... In the end, the hike was worth the view: The falls drop about 250 feet and it was fairly difficult to get it all in frame, even if I stepped back. There were only two spots where there were breaks in the tree line. (Well, there was another, smaller one that I started to go down to....but the yawning abyss at the end made my gut knot up fairly hard so I noped out). It’s not just the humans that cling to the steep, thin soil above the falls: I made a friend on the hike back: (Actually it said “NO! PUT ME DOWN! LEAVE ME ALONE!”. Must have been female). Just as we got back to the room - with surprisingly dry feet - the sky let go. Perfect timing. It rained the rest of the afternoon and that night and into Thursday morning, it poured. After breakfast Thursday, we decided to hike back to the old Hooper Mine, on the Garnet Hill property. We got about a mile out and Gus said “Uh.....nope”. He was still worn out/stiff from the hike the day before. We took him back to the room and headed out again. The mine played out and was abandoned in the ‘20’s, but there’s still a few garnets here and there. In the distance you can (maybe) see the still-in-operation Barton Mine. (Right side, on the ridge line- not the Ridgeline, that’s what we came here in....?) When we got back, since it hadn’t started raining yet, and Gus wasn’t up to anymore “adventures”, I opted to go explore the MTB trails - which conveniently there was access to about 50 yards from our front door. This was some brand new, swoopy singletrack (and part of the racecourse for later on this month. SWEET! They even had some wooden features in case I was in the mood to wad my ACL..... I spent most of my ride wondering where the hell I was. The trails are nice, but the signage is confuzzling to a directionally challenged idiot like me. Part of the problem is that there are ski trails, MTB trails and snowshoe trails all mixed together. Oh, and naming them “4H Road”, “44HTrail” and “4HLoop” isn’t very helpful, either. Hopelessly lost most of the time, I found the steepest descent I’ve done in a long time. I was off the back and dragging my ass on the rear tire and entirely without regret of a single penny I’d spent on the brakes. To make the descent more interesting, it was littered with rocks and ruts, that were hidden in the grass....and it emptied out onto a dirt road. I could picture myself shooting out the end of the trail and getting run over by a truck or something. When I got to the bottom unscathed, I came to the realization that I had no idea where the hell I was and didn’t know where to go. About my only choice was to head BACK up the hill I’d just came down. I started in....and it just wasn’t happening. I ripped my feet out of the pedals a couple of times and once I stopped, there was no re-starting. It’s the only hill I have walked in a long, long time. This is supposed to convey how steep it was, but it still doesn’t capture it. Mind you - that tree is vertical: Not all the “surprises” hidden in the grass were unpleasant - at one point, I stalled out in a mudhole. As I stood there trackstanding, I came to the realization that I was going to have to put a foot down. I clipped out and put my foot down, expecting to sink in cold mud, right to my shins. Instead, I found a hidden log. “Damn....that’s handy....” My luck held for the rest of the ride - I got back before the sky opened up. Again. ? Friday we opted for playing tourons and drove along the Hudson River, to the town of North Creek. Whitewater rafting and kayaking are a big thing here in the summer. Bashing my head on a rock and drowning in freezing cold water just didn’t seem to be a fun thing to do, so I just read the Hysterical Markers and looked. Probably super pretty in fall colors, but probably also infested with tourons. North Creek’s claim to fame is that it was here that Teddy Roosevelt found out President McKinley was dead and that he had become President. He was at the train station, on his way back in a mad rush, when he heard McKinley had taken a turn for the worse. We spent some time at a depot museum that milked that historical connection. They had a historically accurate scale model train of the whole area, when it was a lumber and mining area. (Pretty sure I’d have to drag TK out of here....) When we got back, I went back out on the racecourse. I had more of a sense of where I was and managed to find my way out to the mine “tailings”/ gravel pit, where they have a “play area”. This morning consisted of an early morning walk with a somewhat rejuvenated doggo, packing up, having breakfast and heading out. For those who were skeptical of the “in-bed trunk” in my truck, I give you this - four days worth of gear for two people and a dog for multiple sports and multiple temps....all safe, dry and locked in: (The only thing not in there was the dog stuff, which was in a tote in the back of the truck) Oh, and as a souvenir, I brought you some garnets - help yourself: Here is a bonus picture of Nodding Ladies’ Tresses that I took so I could ID it when I got home. Now I know what they are....and so do you: 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Far ★ Posted September 9, 2017 Share #2 Posted September 9, 2017 Nice post, thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airehead Posted September 9, 2017 Share #3 Posted September 9, 2017 Sounds fun. We try to escape there for a few days each winter to X ski, but this time of year looks beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Further Posted September 9, 2017 Share #4 Posted September 9, 2017 I enjoyed your vacation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F_in Ray Of Sunshine Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share #5 Posted September 9, 2017 4 minutes ago, Airehead said: We try to escape there for a few days each winter to X ski How crowded is it? I was thinking of taking my sister up for her birthday, in January. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Posted September 9, 2017 Share #6 Posted September 9, 2017 Beautiful country and sounds like a nice trip! I love the Adirondacks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Wheels Posted September 10, 2017 Share #7 Posted September 10, 2017 I'm telling about the microwave, expect a bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Kosciuszko Posted September 10, 2017 Share #8 Posted September 10, 2017 6 hours ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said: Pretty sure I’d have to drag TK out of here.... Only if you could have pried me away from the waterfall first! Excellent travelogue! I appreciate all the time you put into writing up the report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F_in Ray Of Sunshine Posted September 10, 2017 Author Share #9 Posted September 10, 2017 11 hours ago, Thaddeus Kosciuszko said: Only if you could have pried me away from the waterfall first! Oh, come on - there was no waterfall here, and I had to call AAA for a tow truck to get you out: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airehead Posted September 10, 2017 Share #10 Posted September 10, 2017 17 hours ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said: How crowded is it? I was thinking of taking my sister up for her birthday, in January. The flatish area by the ski center can be a bit crowded. If you leave from the paths by the lodge, you will rarely see anyone but there are some tricky turns. Skiing out and across the lake was very cool-- we left from the lodge to do that. There were maybe 6 other people on the frozen lake. We all started having a contest-- ski down a little hill and then see who could glide across the ice the furthest. Finished with a wine tasting at the lodge. Also the ever warm pot of mulled cider waiting in the dining room. Help yourself but take it to your room to add the brandy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Kosciuszko Posted September 10, 2017 Share #11 Posted September 10, 2017 1 hour ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said: Oh, come on - there was no waterfall here, and I had to call AAA for a tow truck to get you out: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F_in Ray Of Sunshine Posted September 10, 2017 Author Share #12 Posted September 10, 2017 1 hour ago, Airehead said: If you leave from the paths by the lodge, you will rarely see anyone but there are some tricky turns. I live for tricky turns, on skis. We’ve been to GH, several times, but never for skiing. We try to go when there’s few people because on a couple of occasions, there seemed to be a disproportionate number of loud, rude, pushy people from NY/NJ/LI and it sucked a bit of the fun out of going someplace quiet.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted September 10, 2017 Share #13 Posted September 10, 2017 16 minutes ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said: I live for tricky turns, on skis. We’ve been to GH, several times, but never for skiing. We try to go when there’s few people because on a couple of occasions, there seemed to be a disproportionate number of loud, rude, pushy people from NY/NJ/LI and it sucked a bit of the fun out of going someplace quiet.... Great Adventure in central NJ. Horribibble! Hershey Park in central PA is much more tolerable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kzoo Posted September 10, 2017 Share #14 Posted September 10, 2017 * smiles and nods politely * Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F_in Ray Of Sunshine Posted September 10, 2017 Author Share #15 Posted September 10, 2017 7 hours ago, Kzoo said: * smiles and nods politely * I’d say “golf clap”, but you’d probably think that was something Tiger Woods had. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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