After planning the menu, shopping and packing, we headed for the campground that would be our base camp for the next 3 days. Arriving at around 6 PM we found the group from the Albany area waiting for us when we arrived. After welcomes and introductions, we set up camp and cooked dinner. The setting sun turned the western sky a rich red-orange color behind Whiteface Mountain. We ate by lantern light, cleaned up and went to bed since tomorrow promised to be very busy.
We woke early and made a good breakfast before heading for Pitchoff Mountain to do some rock climbing.It was a beautiful, sunny day. The rocks were not in use by anyone else so we set up 2 lines, went over the safety rules and began climbing. Everyone had multiple chances to climb the different routes on the rock face. We climbed for a few hours until everyone was getting hungry. We packed up the climbing gear and went down to the picnic area for lunch. I asked if they wanted to do more climbing and somebody suggested swimming so we drove to the public beach in Lake Placid to play in the water for a while. then we toured the shops along main street before going back to camp and cooking dinner. A campfire finished off the day.
Tuesday morning, we ate a good breakfast, loaded our day packs with food,water, rain gear, flashlight and whatever we wanted to bring on the hike up Phelps Mountain. Harry's friend Brady joined us for the day so we would have 3 adults on the hike. We parked the cars and started our hike. Maybe an hour and a half later we arrived at the former Marcy Dam and took a break to enjoy the scenery. Then we started up towards Phelps Mtn. Reaching the trail junction where the Phelps trail began, the trail got rougher and steeper. After what seemed like forever, it began to open up with views of the surrounding mountains. We all enjoyed the views and then it was time to head down. A twisted ankle caused some of us to really take our time down so Harry sent the rest of the group ahead to the trail junction. When we were back together he suggested that they go ahead to the creek and cool down while us slower hikers ambled down the trail. We caught up with them at the creek and soaked our feet in the icy waters before continueing down to Marcy Dam and back to the cars. We drove back to camp for hot showers and soap and clean clothes and then Harry took everyone out to dinner at the Chinese Buffet in Saranac Lake where we ate until we couldn't eat any more.
Wednesday morning started with breakfast and then packing up camp. We planned out what we needed for the canoe trip and packed it away and then drove to Cranberry Lake. Launching the canoes at the public boat launchat the north end of the lake, we paddled all the down to the south end of the lake and found a great campsite on Joe Indian Island. The kids especially liked the big flat-topped rock near the camp where they could sit and enjoy the view down the lake. We made dinner and afterwards sat around a campfire. It was pitch dark and the sky was filled with a million stars and an almost full moon. Harry asked if anyone wanted to go for a moonlight paddle and only one camper was interested. We went out on the still waters and tried to find as many constellations as we could. It was very cool being out on the water under a full moon and a sky filled with stars. Then it was getting late and time for bed.
After breakfast the next morning, we went in search of a geocache in the middle of the island to deposit a "travelbug" that Harry's scouts found in a cache in Irondequoit. Returning to the campsite, we loaded day stuff into the canoes, put on swimsuits and headed west on Cranberry Lake towards the small town of Wanakena. We stopped for a swim and lunch at a small island with a sand beach before continueing west. the wind was blowing in our faces the whole way and eventually we decided that it was too much work and paddled up some side bays and channels, exploring around some islands along the north shore. Finally we turned around and paddled back towards camp. It was too early for dinner so the kids hung out on the big rock until Harry asked "Who wants to play a game?" We played a game of pitching rocks against a log and the person with the rock closest to the log got a point. We played to 21 points and of course the kids beat the counselors. Finally, it was time to cook dinner and eat. Around sunset, some kids went out to paddle around near the campsite. Later, we wanted to go out after dark like the night before but the sky had clouded up and the moon and stars were hidden.
Friday morning, we ate a quick breakfast and packed up camp, loading everything into the canoes. It is funny how things that once fit smoothly into the boats seemed to get bigger during the week and now had to be stuffed into and tied onto the canoes. We paddled around the west end of the island got out into the middle of the lake and thought since the wind was blowing in almost the right direction, it might be fun to put up a sail and sail back to the boat launch. It worked for a while but we eventually had to take the sail down and resume paddling. The sky was very overcast and threatening to rain on us. After what seemed like a long paddle we arrived at the boat launch and began unloading the gear and packing it into the trailers. The parents from the Albany area were there waiting when we arrived. We got almost everything packed before the clouds decided that we had been given enough time and it started raining. We finished up quickly, said our good-byes and started the long ride home.
