Pecoy Notch Trail: Had I But a Sceptre

Sometimes, you don’t get the big day you want, but you get the day that you need.

At 10 AM on Saturday morning, I slipped the clutch on Rheinhardt, my faithful shooting brake, in what may be my latest start ever. The pandemic has cratered the personal training business, so I’ve been loading trailers for a package delivery company. One isn’t supposed to blog about one’s job, so I won’t name the company with the ubiquitous brown trucks.

view of Thomas Cole
maybe Thomas Cole

The money is acceptable, but the job is the hardest physical labor job I’ve ever had. It’s played havoc with my training regimen. You’re constantly fatigued, and after two days off, when you’re sort of recovered, it’s time to get back at it.

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Canoe Camping on Thirteenth Lake

Looking for cool water to jump into, ways to force kids outdoors when camps are closed and some fun for ourselves, witenoize and I packed up a few days worth of food, gear and our canoes and headed to 13th lake, tucked behind Gore Mountain in the southern Adirondacks. It’s a classic Adirondack setting, a little to the south, easy logistics and there are trout and land-locked salmon if you know how to get at them.

Thirteenth Lake camp site

The forecast was looking volatile with a thunderstorms called for our third day, and though I have some unresolved childhood trauma from camping trips in downpours with canvas tents, we had to project positivity to our kids and go for it.

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Follensby Clear Pond Camping

A few years ago a friend of mine was married on the summit of Cascade Mountain at sunrise. Part of the wedding weekend involved camping out on an island on the Follensby Clear Pond system. I had never been much of a camper, but I fell in love with the spot and planned to return.

Follensby Clear Pond

Camping on Follensby is a great experience without the added labor. There is no need to hike in with heavy packs, just load up your water craft of choice and paddle to your chosen camp location. For this trip we booked a 2 person and 3 person canoe from Raquette River Outfitters a few weeks prior. Early Friday morning we packed my car and after a few rearrangements, fit everyone in and headed out.

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