Next Stop- Maumee River

Tonight I'm parked with Marianne D- trail friend and Girl Scout friend.

We took a little walk beside the Maumee River. It's much prettier in the green months than last winter!

We went to check out two treehouse cabins which can be rented from Toledo Metroparks. Probably not cheap camper lodging, but right along the trail. Location 41.44967, -83.783427.

In the wildlife department, probably as a result of the hot weather, we found a new hatch of water striders. I'd never seen tiny ones before. I wonder if this means there won't be many next year. If the eggs are supposed to overwinter and hatch in the spring will this be a problem, or will these mature quickly and lay more eggs? I don't know!

And it was a fantastic day for me! I found a new stage of a plant I've only seen in Ohio. This is Wingstem. The seed pods are distinctive and attractive.

One more road day, but it will have adventures. Stay tuned.

See Wingstem

Step Two Homeward

Now I have a friend in my hometown who also likes to hike! Diane and I were a few too many years apart as children to really know each other. Now it turns out that we like a lot of the same things.

We had time for a short hike before I had to hit the road, and she took me to see a piece of rail trail so new it's only been open for about 10 days. This was a section of the Lehigh Valley system. Only 2.3 miles are open yet, but it may get extended.

This line stayed high on the hills for frieght. The passenger line had to stay low to go through Ithaca at the south end of the lake, 500 feet lower down. That means there are some great views. This is the valley south of Watkins Glen, and we think the water there is the south end of Seneca Lake.

I liked this one a lot with hills and a farm.

Then I hit the road and went across western NY. I've shared a lot of views of this drive in several seasons, over the years. All I could get is some drive=by snaps out the windos, but this one is OK. Just the hills I love. Sure, it's not the Adirondacks here, but it's still great. The afternoon light made the trees glow, and the colors are fantastic this year.

And I arrived at blogger-friend Ann's house to spend the night.

Odessa, NY. Bruno Schickel Rail Trail. 2.3 miles

See Time to Leave

Time to Leave

The Celebration ended right after breakfast. A lot of people did one more thing in the area if they weren't pressed for time. Some people hiked a few more NCT miles either in Vermont or New York. I know of 6 people who made a point of hiking in the mile from the road to the eastern terminus at Maine Junction. (Vermont)

Marie and I walked up to Lookout Point on the camp property. This is a great view to the south, but the NCT is north of here, so I can't show you where that fits. This isn't from the highest point, but it includes a lake, so I liked it better.

Then we went to North Creek, which has just become an official Trail Town. The link below is the day I walked through there last year. Today, I studied the mosaic more carefully. It's a whole block long with many panels. I'll just show you the sun which I particularly like. There are a couple more pictures in the linked post. The artist said she might try to incorporate a blue blaze on a tree in it since they are now a Trail Town.

Then we walked across the Husdon River. The light was much nicer than the gray and rainy day I was there last year. This is where the trail crosses the river.

We sure enjoyed how the colors were turning. The reds were especially beautiful this year.

Before I completely leave the Celebration behind, I'll mention that last night's keynote speaker was Jennifer Pharr Davis, renowned hiker and all-around cool person. She came a day earlier so she could go on one of the hikes today on OUR trail. That is a quality "celebrity."

The Spirit of the Woods Chapter of the NCTA had 9 people at the Celebration! I think that's a record for us.

But, eventually, Marie and I had to say goodbye for now. She is already home and I am back at Dick and Darla's. I made one rest stop on the drive, at a crossing of West Canada Creek. The Adirondacks just keep giving their beauty.

Don't be surprised if I end up in the Daks again next summer on some volunteer project for the trail. I just feel like I have a tiger by the tail.

See Across the Hudson

Fort Ticonderoga

Today I chose to do a tour of Fort Ticonderoga. I hadn't been there since I was a child, and I really wanted to see it. The location was important in Colonial and Revolutionary times. Whoever controlled Lake Champlain and the waterway that basically connects the St. Lawrence River with the Hudson River controlled that whol part of the country. You can see the cannon mounted to face Lake Champlain.

Some of the fort is original, and some is reconstructed. This is the inner courtyard.

We watched a musket firing demonstration, with explanation of how the soldiers were organized so that they didn't shoot each other.

This man was demonstrating how the guns were cleaned after firing.

This is a morter. They were highly decorated, and the designs mean something, but I didn't have time to read all of what that was about. Apparently most of the artillery used was made in the Caribbean.

This is believed to be the oldest American military uniform in existence. It was made in 1772.

Finally for today, here are two horsemen who were patroling the grounds.s

Gotta scoot to dinner. We did another fun thing too, but I'll have to share another time.

See Meade and Beckham

Meade and Beckham

We chose a short hike today because I needed to be back at the lodge in time for the workshops. We went up a trail that goes to Meade and Beckham Mountains. These are small, and they are east of the NCT route. I don't think I could identify where the trail fits into the view at all. But this is the vista from Meade.

From Beckham the view is to the south, and the body of water is Lake George, one of the larger lakes of the area.

One amazing thing about this hike is that these two mountains are privately owned. Yes, you read that right. The owner keeps this trail open, and he is out there checking on it almost every day. We actually ran into him.

I attended two excellent workshops, one on the NCT mapping program, and one on some of the history of the Adirondack region. Then I led a workshop on tips for hiking the trail in the Adirondacks.

Now it's time to get ready for dinner. Nonstop fun!

See Moxham Mountain

Moxham Mountain

Marie and I signed up for the Moxham Mountain hike. The primary reason was because I wanted to see something that was new to me. It turned out to be a wonderful choice.

In the bus, on the way (picture taken through window), we had this view of the entire mountain. We were getting ready to hike from right to left up to the little hump, down into the saddle and then to to top of the hump with the sheer face.

Even part way up, we began to have nice views.

Part way up the little saddle, we could see the cliffs of the south side of Moxham. Yes, we are hiking to the top.

The trail got rockier, with a lot of our walking on ridges and rock outcrops.

Finally, we were at the top and were rewarded with this spectacular view! The existing North Country Trail is on the front ridge on the opposite side, with the Hudson River in the bottom of the valley.

Here is the lodge at the camp where the Celebration is being held. We have tents or bunkhouses for sleeping.

Last night we heard a talk by the Deputy Director of the Adirondack Mountain Club. It was very informative, and they are welcoming the NCT to the Adirondacks. Believe me, our trail would not be here without that acceptance.

See On the Way

On the Way to the Celebration

We spent last night and this morning with long time friends Paul and Shirley.

This is a scenic lookout not far from where Paul lives. You know I love to place things in the landscape. I've marked Kenjamuk mountain in this range. The NCT follows the Kenjamuk trail on the far side of that peak, down in the valley where I've tried to tuck an arrow.

We have arrived and I'm blogging early because I have power in the dining hall and Wi-Fi. I'll try to keep it up while here, but we are at a camp and things are more primitive than some conferences. It's all good, but will make blogging a challenge.

See The Mystery of the Blue Dot Solved

The Mystery of THE Blue Dot- Solved

You may not remember it from the blog post a year and a half ago, but if you've had to listen to my stories from the big hike, you know that a favorite has been of the trail that ended at the blue dot in the woods... followed by a mile of bushwhacking and then more bushwhacking the next morning when I lost the trail again. (see link below)

Both those mysteries were solved today. Voila- the blue dot.

My goal today was to hike in from the north, instead of the south, to see if I could find where the trail was supposed to be, in both places. The adventure was successful, and the trail was not anywhere near where I had expected it to be. As you can see, we found THE blue dot. The trail markers for this trail are blue disks like this, but there was only one that was mounted on a horizontal board, and we found it coming in from the other direction. We also found the car at the end of the day. Always a plus.

We crossed Bear Creek on rocks- a typical Adirondack stream crossing.

Bear Lake itself was looking beautiful, getting ready for fall.

The colors are really starting to pop, and there are lots of reds.

Most of the trail we followed today was very narrow and faint, but this section was looking appealing.

By far, the best find of the day (well, other than the trail itself), is thie huge yellow toad. I don't think I've ever seen one this color before.

The weather was about as perfect as it can get.

North Country Trail, McKeever TH to Gull Lake TH parking on Bear Creek Road. 6.1 miles.

Tonight we are with my friend Paul. It's been so much fun to hear from other trail friends who are making their ways to the Celebration. Rome, Ithaca, Canestota, one hiking in Vermont.

See Bear Lake Trail Adventure