August 31 Cranberry Lake dropped Snoopy. got generator, tour Watertown 75 miles each way. laundry, colemans fill generator, new coffeepot
Sept 1 Wanakena not much there. Inlet Trail stones...quit...mushrooms
Sept 2nd
Slept until 9:30. Snug…to Fish Creek Pond/Rollins Pond. This is where we canoed between lakes.
Beautiful. Big. Had lunch at empty campsite on the edge of the lake in Rollins
Pond CG. No power boats allowed on the
lake. Each campsite quiet, surrounded by very tall evergreen trees, ground
covered with pine needles…just a picnic table and fireplace. Ham/cheese,
salami, chips, oreos. Decide to take
the Otter Hollow Loop Trail for a hike. Read the sign to say 2.7 miles. It turned out to be 4.7 miles PLUS a 5 mile
trek through the Rollins Pond Campground and back to Fish Creek Pond. Beautiful hike the first 2. 7 miles. A little
surprised and tired the next 2+ miles.
Trudged on the campground road, begged water from some guys at the first
campsite we reached. Finally hitchhiked
with “Gretchen” an angel sent from
heaven to give us the final 4 miles back to the truck. Talk about tired! It was after 5 pm when we got to the truck.
That is beginning to be dark inside the woods.
Got back to Snoopy at Cranberry Lake, grilled fresh corn on the
charcoal, had steak and chicken grilled and homemade slaw beer and wine. Chick’s campfire was especially welcoming as
we sat there for a long time watching the fire burn. Temperature by 9 pm was 53.6 degrees so we
moved inside. Set up the critter cam and
washed the dishes in Snoopy by the light of the coleman lanterns. Sleep and lots of warm blankets were more
than welcome.
Sept 3
Slept in..got H20 , empty pot,drove around. 1 hrtalk with couple from Vermont. drove to Sand Rd, canoe access Oswegotchie...lunch at picnic table. Jeanette" "tour" 23-58. no place to access water to fish. Called Katy atEdgar...headed to Bonaparte. Katy PJ Betty. Beautiful lake. wine/neighbor caught up on onld times; scenic tour lake Katy's new boat. 7 pm took off ate coffee shop Coffee Cafe --Star lake. flat iorn steak/parmesan risotto, chicken picatte split each shared. decaf coffee/latte back to Snoopy by 9 pm Lit lantern 58 degrees outside supposed to get hot next couple of days.
(dog Hemingway)
Sun Sept 4 slept late again....regular breakfast...grocery store for eggs & milk; DEC keeping motor vehicles out found foradside fishing spot from years ago...2 guys with the top 40 country music countdown full blast on their car radio had the best fishing spot. Endured the noise awhile, then moved on. Found a nice picnic spot along the road--had the usual--then exploreda huge Boy Scout Camp which occupies untold acerage and multiple lakes. Part of their property is OK to public afer Sept 1. Chick tried fishing on a couple of their beautiful lakes but no luck. Returned to Snoopy. I hooked up generator and used my laptop to transfer pictures for a couple of hours. discovered I could recharge my kindle in the truck. A few more days of this "dry camping" and we will get it figured out. Threw a few more circuit breakers off to stop unneeded electrical activity. Chick went to fish below the dam that creates Cranberry Lake. Cooked dinner on the charcoal and coleman stove. great food...pork loin, roasted vegs; mushrooms, orange and green bell peppers, onions potatoes. Salad of tomatoes cukes, cottage cheese w/ balsamic...wine Watched a stunning campfier for a couple of hours. Actually spent a day in Tshirts hight was about 78! 9 pm tonight is 61 out 71 in (thanks to coleman lanterns) Beautiful day of almost nothing.
Mon Sept 5 Found a 'shortcut' to the dam at Cranberry Lake for Chick's fishing. Grocery shopping in Tupper Lake. Still can't find red wine vinegar. Took the main road to Horseshoe Lake then followed a snowmobile trail about 8 miles until we encountered a gate. ...turned back. Chick tried several fishing spots...hard to find where the water not too shallow and sandy...most canoe launches like that. or too full of cattails or water lilies to fish. Lunch beside lake...got home, took showers, dinner...salmon and vegs on grill--tomatoes/carrots/cukes/cottage cheese w/olives and balsamic...washed dishes outside...easier...heated water on leftover charcoal of the grill. Chick had a good fire again. warmer tonight...9pm 62 degrees. Beautiful day. Going to read since my kindle was charged in the truck.
Tues Sept 6 Anothyer goreous day...another hike after breakfast. ..this time Bear Mtn lookout...supposed to be one mile...actually more like 5 with a 1 mile return through campsites. And steep and rocky. We seem to be having some issues with NYS trail info. I remember when I used to hike the Catskills I believed the mileage markers were "as the crow flies" and had no relation to the meanderings of the actual trail. 1 mile in 2 3/4 hours??even 1 mile one way/ two mis in 2 3/4 hours? not likely. Going up the trail, three ladies and a toddler talked and shouted the whole way. Finally asked them to shut up. They were insulted but did shut up. We made sure we went down a different trail than they did. We had a quick lunch, cheddar cheese, hummus and Triscuits w/ tonic, then took a short rest. Chick headed out fishing and I read. Set up for dinner: BLTs on the coleman stove I love toast on the camp stove. some wine and a Clementine...good stuff. Finished off the firewoodk, packed the generator to return it in the morning. Warmer night...only need 1 lantern to keep warm. Already packed the thermometer. Decided to leave a day early and make an overnight in Lake George (KOA) since we had a roundtrip to Watertown to return the generoator (extra 150 miles).
Wed. Sept 7 Early Breakfast at Coffee Cafe in Star Lake (Lazy Eggs benedict...on bagel) Retuirned generator, Left Cranberry, drove to Lake George via Long Lake. Had lunch, bought coffee mugs with bears on them, and Chick bought me some very pretty handmade earrings. Thankfully we were south of Lake George and not really in it . What a zoo.
Thursday Sept 8 Lake George to Woodstock. Took I87 (Northway) through Albany because of the traffic so did not get to stop at Rennselaer to recognize another of my ancestors...this one Dutch...(ADD INFO HERE). Got to Woodstock before lunch...it was a little over 100 miles...Began checking Woodstock....Gilded Carriage, lunch at Little Bear, Church...tried to find Elfs but failed to recognize it on Glasco Turnpike. Drove Blue Mtn Road (not the right road after all) Took in Byrdcliffe, Maverick Theater, Holly Hills, gas, Walked Woodstock, Garden Cafe wine and planning. Dinner chicken salad, Clementines. Rain, showered, hooked up TV saw part of Panther's game...not sure who finally won...Panthers behind when we turned it off.
