Tuesday
We dropped off the kids to Grandma and Grandpa’s house after lunch and made what is now a very familiar drive to Saranac Lake to stay in a very familiar hotel to do a very familiar activities in very unfamiliar times.
When we last visited 2 summers ago, we planned to return and tackle the 2 large climbs that had (to date) evaded us: Marcy and Whiteface. Our first year, we didn’t know what to expect and didn’t try any large climbs. Our second year, Keith was struggling with a thyroid storm, so large climbs were out. The third year, we tackled Giant Mountain without much fanfare, so when we departed, we had committed ourselves to checking the 2 remaining large but technically-reasonable climbs off our list.
We planned on dinner from Casa del Sol, the Mexican restaurant that is less than a block’s walk from the hotel; they have outdoor seating and we expected it to be the perfect COVID-friendly meal on short notice … until their outdoor dining was closed due to a staffing shortage. Even still, they were selling all dishes for takeout, so we placed our order, went shopping for a few minutes, then returned to pick-up our food and return to the hotel room where we watched re-runs of Big Bang Theory and Friends before packing up and going to bed early in advance of our hike of Marcy the next morning.
The forecast was promising for the week: Wednesday was going to be warm, dry, and sunny; Thursday had a chance of rain in the afternoon with some clouds; Friday was going to be cooler, dry and sunny.
Wednesday
Wednesday was every bit as warm as predicted. It was the warmest conditions we had hiked in and the largest summit we had tried to conquer. With our own ignorance, each conspired against us. The climb, technically-speaking, was no problem. It was long, but very doable. The problem for us was that we under-packed our water supply and each of us was at less than 20% reserve by the time we reached the summit. By the time we ate some food, we had less 10% to work our way back down the 7+ mile hike to the trailhead.
There is no sugar-coating it: the walk back was brutal. We were both very thirsty. And the worst part of it was that there was stream with beautiful fresh-water cascading along the last trail for approximately 2 miles in the middle of the hike and we couldn’t touch it for fear of parasites. It was such a tease the whole way. By the time we reached the car, we were both feeling very, very depleted … but we had done it. Throughout the day, we had walked 16 miles and ascended more than 3400 feet of total elevation.
After drinking our weight in water on the way back to hotel and after, we would go to dinner at the Boathouse Pub, which is located at the new Saranac Waterfront Lodge. Dinner was nice enough and they had outdoor dining, so it was a win.
Thursday
We woke up sore and still depleted from the climb up Marcy. It was our fault and we could have felt so much better had we been just a little bit smarter the day before. To save weight on the climb, I had left a 3L hydration bladder in the hotel room and carried only 40% of that up to the summit. Lesson learned: NEVER under-hydrate, be more mindful of the rationing water from the outset, and carry water filters.
So we immediately decided that today was going to be a more chill day. It would be our recovery day.
We purchased a large-ish breakfast from the diner next door to the hotel (McKenzie’s) and ate on the deck outside the pool before getting ready for our day in town. Christine would swim Mirror Lake. We’d get ice cream from Stewarts for ‘lunch’. We’d paddle board the lake after ice cream and go back to the hotel to shower for dinner.
Dinner on Thursday was at The Cottage at the Mirror Lake Inn for what would be our most pleasant meal of the week. Others were nice enough, but the view, drinks, and white chocolate/chocolate mousse for dessert made this particular meal and evening standout.
Friday
Much of the conversation at dinner the night before had revolved around our plans for Friday. We were still sore … much better than the morning, but still not back to normal. We contemplated pushing through the discomfort and doing what we had set-out to do and climb Whiteface … or … change our plans and do something different. We elected to save Whiteface for next year.
One of the reasons that we had considered doing both peaks was because they were the last 2 that we really wanted to do. We were thinking that, once we did both of those, we would start to go elsewhere for our summer trips. But once we were in the ADK again, that just didn’t make sense to us. We enjoy the ADK. And while we are not opposed to going somewhere else another time, there is no reason to write off the ADK because we have done every hike one time. It isn’t about where we are, so much as what we are doing and who we are doing it with. We enjoy the experience and you wouldn’t avoid going to your favorite restaurant because you have had everything on the menu. Nor do we plan to stop going to the ADK, so Whiteface will be there for us next year.
So we elected to do one of the easier and more scenic climbs up Porter and Cascade. The hike would prove to be half the distance and half the elevation of Whiteface, which was perfect. Christine’e legs regained their form mid-hike. And while Keith’s legs were good-to-go (even if not feeling 100% recovered) his feet, however, were becoming increasingly sore and blistered, so the shorter hike proved to be the wisest choice after all.
By the time we found our way down the mountain, it was the very early afternoon. We then went into Lake Placid for a late lunch before deciding to go paddleboarding. After some comfort foods and drinks and Lake Placid Pub and Brewery, we drove around in search of a place to put our paddleboards in some water. We found the public launch at the northern-most tip of Mirror Lake and its limited parking. We could have gone back to the hotel, changed, and then drove back in hopes of a spot still being available … or … we could go to the park across the street from the hotel and put in there. We chose the latter, which proved to be a mistake.
Firstly, there are biting flies at at Lake Flower that were not at all friendly. They kept nipping at our ankles as we pumped up the boards. They had never bothered us at the hotel only 150 yards away. The never bothered us at dinner at the pub down the road on Wednesday, but they were ravenous that afternoon at that location. And the goose droppings … they were everywhere. It was impossible to find a clean place to rest the boards when they inflating/deflating. But that wasn’t the worst part.
The worst part was the boat traffic. Mark has warned me a couple of years ago that boaters in the area think they own the water and are inconsiderate of paddle traffic on the waters, and – oh my – he was right. Once we were on the water, the flies were no longer a concern, but the boat traffic became heavy (we got on the water at 1600 and the traffic really picked up at 1630) and they don’t care who is on the water or where. They are going somewhere, they are going to get there at the speed they want to travel, and they don’t care else they are sharing the waterways with. We did enjoy seeing the houses on the water and being out, but the boat traffic was loud and their wakes kept us on our knees most of the afternoon.
So we learned our lesson – stay on Mirror Lake or at least don’t go back on Flower Lake during peak boat traffic rush-hour on a Friday night.
After packing up our boards, we returned to the hotel, showered, and made the obligatory trip to Donnelly’s for a soft-serve ice cream dinner.
Heading home
Obligations on Saturday and missing the kids meant that we would leave by mid-morning to return home, but we had enjoyed our brief respite and time away and we look forward to doing it again next year.