Adirondacks

I arrived in Indian Lake NY in the Adirondacks during a week of heavy rains.  I stayed at a really nice family campground called Thornbush Acres.   http://www.thornbushacresrvpark.com/  The owner’s son is in the Air Force, stationed at Langley AFB in VA.  Really nice guy, he was up with his family visiting the folks.  The area was beautiful and the hiking plentiful.  I spent almost every day of my 2 weeks on a different trail.  Due to the heavy rains, the trails were muddy and the bugs out in full force.  It wouldn’t have been so bad if it were either muddy or buggy.  Both were a bit much if you ask me, but I decided the worst day hiking was still better than the best day working! 

One of the trails I hiked was called Blue Mountain.  It was a 2 mile hike, straight uphill.  It basically followed a creek bed up the side of the mountain, so you were climbing over boulders and splashing through water much of the time.  The effort was worth it though; the view at the top was spectacular, especially if you climbed a little bit further up into the 3 story fire tower.  On the way I passed two older men, probably in their 70’s.  They looked surprised to see me and asked if I were alone.  I get this all the time, usually followed by some comment that I shouldn’t be out here by myself.  I was all ready with a response to the effect that you shouldn’t be out here at your age.  (hey, I know it’s rude, but so are the constant comments that I shouldn’t be doing something because I’m a single woman)  I was very pleasantly surprised when their next comment was ‘well, you won’t be alone for long, there are lots of people up top’. 

As hard as the hike up was, the trip down was worse in some ways.  First off, going down is much more painful for my knees.  2^nd, because the rocks and boulders were in water much of the time, they were coated in green slime which made them pretty slippery.  I slipped several times, but luckily made it back without breaking anything.  Some of the other trails were on much flatter ground, but it made for more swampy conditions.  I just bought new hiking boots and while they may be waterproof, this did no good when I sank in mud above the top of my boots. 

I decided to take a break from hiking one day and visited Lake Placid, the site of 2 winter Olympics.  The area was beautiful but I couldn't imagine how it ever support that many people. It’s a really small town, there aren’t many hotels or restaurants.  Not only is it hard to believe that many people stayed there, it’s just hard to imagine that many people even being there.  I guess the venues were pretty spread out.  I also took a scenic train ride, which was nice, until the conductor started talking.  The area is well know as a place for bicyclist.  They hold several international races and the riders train during the summer months.  In fact, the entire region is popular with cyclist.  The conductor apparently thought the cyclist were trying to take the working railroad and turn it into a bike path.  He spoke at length about how much money the scenic train brings to the region and how the cyclist bring none.  He further informed us that the roads are illegally narrow so the shoulders would be wide enough accommodate the cyclists.  Having just driven an RV up those same roads, I would dispute his assertion that they are too narrow.  When I got to the tourist office in town I commented on the fact that I took the train to see the sites and to learn about the Olympics, not to hear about the conductor's opinion.  Later, on my credit card statement I noticed my train ride was refunded, so I guess it’s good to speak up.

On one of the rainy days I decided to straighten out the storage compartment of my RV.  As I was lifting my big plastic bin of Habitat tools, I suddenly felt my lower back make a sickening pop and pain shot up my back.  Uh Oh, now what!  I couldn’t straight up but  I could hardly stand outside at a 45 degree angle all day.  That’s the problem with such a small campground, there was no one around.  I literally couldn’t move for a good 10 minutes, but I finally managed to massage the muscles enough to at least let me get inside.  I maneuvered myself into my chair, which was no easy feat, and thought about my next move.  I knew I had to do something, because sitting was getting painful too.  I’ve had back problems for years and usually have a prescription for muscle relaxers for just such an occasion.  No such luck though, I was fresh out.  The next best thing was to walk it out.  Since I was headed to Wal-Mart anyway, I decided what the heck.  At least I could walk inside and not get wet.  It did help, by the time I got home, I could almost stand upright.  It took a few more days before I was back to normal. 

It rained quite a bit while I was there, but for the most part, the days were warm and dry.  My cell phone kept showing alerts for severe storms, but luckily it was for the area east of me.   There was one night, however, that it rained so hard one of my slides leaked. I went out in the morning and there was standing water all around me, and I was on a bit of a hill.  When myself and another camper left several days later, the roads were still a bit sloppy.  As I said, it was a small campground with nicely shaded sites.  The other driver left a few minutes before me and ran into trouble right away.  He tried to make a corner and got his truck stuck in the mud.  He gunned it and his 5^th wheel slid closer to the trees. He stopped and gunned it a little slower.  This just made his RV slide a little slower toward the trees.  This went on for a few minutes and I was sure there was no way he was going to avoid smacking the tree.  There was nothing I could do but watch.  Eventually he powered through and made it around the corner.  He stopped when he got to the straight part of the road and the owner went to meet him.  Apparently he avoided hitting the tree with his RV but in the process of turning the corner, the 5^th wheel turned into the back of his truck and busted out his window.  This is the reason I got the 8 foot bed.  I can turn at a 45 degree angle or more and not come anywhere near the back of the truck.  The poor couple now had to wait 4 days before anyone can get out there to replace their back window.  Better him than me, I’ve had my fair share of problems!  Thanks to him, I made sure to give myself plenty of room to get around the trees. Also thanks to him, everyone at the campground was outside to tell me if I was remotely close to anything!  Next stop Canada…

Photos:  https://plus.google.com/photos/118205599704530902363/albums/5901043097544600897?authkey=COWbm-Xx4__5SQ