Adirondacks 2018, Day 5: Health Emergency in the Wilderness!

I don’t have any photos of our paddle the final day because, as you will read, my mind was otherwise occupied.

We woke up on our final morning to cloudy skies. Cindy got up before me to go walk Trixie, but she returned not to long afterwards to suggest that I get up and check on Jean Marie, who was not feeling well. Cindy sounded concerned, so I quickly got dressed and went to see Jean Marie.

She appeared a bit pale, but otherwise seemed OK on first sight. I went in to EMT mode (I had been a volunteer EMT for many years) and I asked her a series of questions about her condition. Without getting into the gory details, I was able to confidently determine that she was suffering from a moderately severe internal bleed, something that could only be treated in a hospital.

And here we were, out in the wilderness. Shit!

When I had been planning this trip, which was my first leading a wilderness trip for the RI Canoe & Kayak Association, one of my considerations for selecting a destination-besides being remote enough to offer a good wilderness experience-was that we have cell phone coverage for most, if not all, of our route just in case we needed to call for help. Never have I been more thankful that I made that choice for our route, as well as planning our campsites to offer a quick exit if needed.

I got out my phone and called the emergency number listed on an NFCT map that I always bring with me on such trips. This put me in touch with a dispatcher for the rangers and first-responders for the Adirondack State park. What I had not anticipated, though, was that he would not necessarily have access to the same map info that was readily available to me. So when I let him know what our emergency was and described our location as “campsite no. 19 on the Raquette River just upstream from The Crusher” he had no frigging clue what I was talking about. Probably a damned rookie. But he asked for a GPS coordinate, which I was fortunately able to quickly get him from the GPS unit I was also carrying. Bingo, he could see exactly where we were! I suggested that he get a boat in the water at The Crusher access downstream of us and have them come up river to us, informing him that we were going to pack up and start paddling downstream as soon as we could.

Jean Marie was given the job of staying seated and not doing much of anything. Cindy was our only extra hand, so she helped to take down Jean Marie’s tent and pack her gear. Jim, Steve and I each packed our own tents and gear, and everyone pitched in to pack the rain tarp. It was probably the quickest I have ever seen a camp broken down.

We did not want Jean Marie to do any paddling, so her foot pegs were readjusted with Jim’s help so that Cindy could paddle her kayak. We put Jean Marie in my canoe and headed downstream. Around every bend, we hoped to hear a motorboat approaching. As the big beach at Trombley Landing came into view, we finally heard it. What a stroke of luck! This beach was literally the only easy place to land both my canoe and the ranger’s boat so they could work the patient without any tricky mid-river patient transfer maneuver to get Jean Marie out of my canoe and into their boat! They took a set of vitals and started Jean Marie on portable oxygen. Her systolic BP was 90 at that point. If you know anything about emergency medicine, you know that is low enough to make any EMT get a move-on so an IV could be started.

Jean Marie was transferred to the ranger’s boat and they tore off downstream. The rest of our group continued our paddle downstream. I found out what it was like to paddle an 18 foot tandem canoe solo with a full load of gear and a dog. Thankfully Trixie was well-behaved and did not panic with no one in the bow seat in front of her.

The rain began again in earnest as we arrived at The Crusher. Jean Marie had left her keys with us, so we were able to pack all of her gear and get her boat onto her car. I shuttled Jim back up to Axton Landing so he could retrieve his car. From the rangers that were still at the access site when we arrived, we were able to get the name and location of the hospital Jean Marie was transported to: Adirondack Health Center in Saranac Lake. That was our next stop.

We found Jean Marie in the emergency room, which was a first-class facility. It was clear that she was in good hands! We left her the keys to her car, made sure she had her phone, made sure she was able to contact her family, and wished her well.

She went into surgery that afternoon and was in the hospital for 4 days. She is doing perfectly fine now.

One of my original ideas for a RICKA wilderness trip was to go up to Lobster Lake and the West Branch Penobscot River. What a bad idea that would have been! If we had been there instead of the Adirondacks, she likely would have died. If not, it would have been damned close.

The next trip I planned and led for RICKA was indeed to the West Branch Penobscot and Lobster Lake (a trip I will write up soon). But before that was planned and committed to, I implemented some lessons that I learned on this Adirondack trip. First, I would be sure to have a means to communicate to emergency responders no matter where in the world I was. A SPOTX satellite communicator that allowed two-way text communication with responders was purchased. I required more detailed medical histories for any people who signed up for the trip. And I required signed waivers, and contact information for next-of-kin or another immediate family member.

This trip ended up with a happy ending, and I hope by reading this account you have also learned something that will improve the safety of your next trip.

I leave you all with well-wishes, and a picture of Tupper Lake that I took as we headed home.

Tupper Lake View

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2018 Adirondacks, Day 4: Gray Skies and Vibrant Trees

Packing up and moving on

The expected forecast for the day was cool weather and gray skies, with an occasional shower. But it wasn’t raining when we got up, so camp was packed quickly before the clouds could change their minds. Jean Marie woke up feeling better and refreshed by her rest day yesterday and decided that she would stay with us for our final night on the trip. Our plan for the day was to canoe back down Stony Creek to the Raquette River, and then take the river past Axton Landing and make some miles downriver to a camp that would leave us a short paddle to get to our cars the next day.

We were on our way around 9:00 or so, but before we were able to leave Stony Creek Ponds they left us with a departing gift: An adult bald eagle in a pine tree that we paddled past!

Bald Eagle!

We found the sharp meanders of Stony Creek to be much easier to negotiate going downstream, so the current quickly propelled us down Raquette River. Although the clouds stuck around all day, we avoided rain the entire day other than an occasional light mist. And the fall colors we passed were stunning. In fact, I am going to devote most of the rest of this post to photos so you can follow along with us down river.

Flame red maples!

Steve and Jean Marie

Jim leads the way

After a few hours we started checking out campsites, and at Campsite No. 19 found a nice site with plenty of flat spaces for tents and a nice privy. The first order of business was to set up a community tarp since rain would be expected in the morning.

Tarp, with log table.

After camp was set up and firewood gathered. we kicked back to enjoy the rest of the day and the evening, reflecting on the trip we had nearly completed. it would be an easy couple miles or so to our cars the next day.

Settling in at the end of the day.

Supper was cooked and eaten, and we settled by the fire. Jean Marie and Cindy played some more cribbage; Jim. Steve and I traded more canoe trip stories back and forth, and the Sailor Jerry made some rounds. The night settled peacefully around us and gave us no warning of what was to befall us the next day.

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2018 Adirondacks, Day 2: Upstream, downstream, and upstream again.

The sky was glazed over with a thick haze when we all woke up, but experience told me that it would burn off pretty quickly. And it did. While we waited, we scrounged up some breakfast, coffee, and tea. I took my coffee down to the river (I always gravitate to the water) and arrived just a minute or so before a motorboat arrived with the ranger. We exchanged greetings and, when asked, I gave him the news that we were a group of 5 that arrived last night and were planning on camping in the area for the next few nights. He decided to disembark and come up to camp to see for himself. Over the next ten minutes, he used small talk to skillfully determine that 1) we were who we said we were; 2) we were appropriately equipped, particularly with life jackets (dog too); 3) we had not destroyed the camp during the previous night’s party and 4) we weren’t a bunch of yahoos unprepared for a few nights in the woods.

The previous night, after a discussion of our options, the group agreed that we would paddle upstream to Raquette Falls with empty boats, check out the area, and then return to camp, pack up, have lunch, and head to our next camp up on Stony Creek Ponds. So, after breakfast was checked off the to-do list, we got in the boats and started paddling.

Steve and Jean Marie bringing up the rear.

By the time we got on the river, the sun was beaming through a blue sky and warming the air. The Raquette River is a lovely waterbody, lined with pine trees, red maples and silver maples, with occasional backwater and marsh areas. It was an easy paddle with empty boats.

On the way, we took a short break at one of the other lean-to campsites on this stretch, a camp I like to call the Land of Rock-Eating Trees. Here, there are several trees that must have started as saplings growing on the rocks, eventually extending roots down the rock to reach the earth, slowly “eating” the rocks they were growing on.

I told a couple stories about a previous NFCT trip I had led here during which we had stopped at this very camp. It was one of the few trips on the NFCT that Jim was unable to join at the time, so he was happy to be here on this trip. After story time, we got back into the boats to continue a short ways up to the foot of Raquette Falls. One can hear the falls before one sees them, but it is still an impressive sight as one comes into view.

Jim approaches the bottom of Raquette Falls.

We spent some time walking around, going a little further up to see some more impressive sections of the falls and visiting another campsite located along the carry trail that allows boaters to safely bypass the falls. Maybe 45 minutes later, we were back at the boats. We returned to camp, broke down our tents and repacked, and then headed back downstream.

Heading up Stony Creek

About a half mile before we would have reached our previous night’s put-in at Axton Landing, Stony Creek flows in from the north. We all turned upstream and started our battle upstream. Stony Creek (which is not very stony) is a sharply meandering stream that, thanks to the previous day’s rains, was flowing pretty swiftly. If you ever have had to negotiate

Approaching Stony Creek Ponds

sharp meanders upstream with long boats that have essentially zero rocker, you know what a challenge this can be! Around every corner, the current would catch our bows and try to sweep them away from our intended direction. Up to this point, Jean Marie had endured some good-natured ribbing about being the only kayak in our small group, but it turned out she had the right boat for this segment! She managed to pass us all as we battled the dragon.

After about 4 miles of expending far more effort that any of us would have preferred (except Trixie, who just enjoyed the scenery), we paddled into Stoney Creek Ponds. Our destination was the pond furthest to the northeast where several campsites are located. We first stopped at a campsite at a point on the west side of the pond as we entered, but decided it wasn’t for us. So we headed east across the pond, past the island, to a campsite that had been recommended to us by the ranger we met in the morning. Jackpot! Tons of room, tons of firewood, and a nice beach with a view!

The first order of business was to set up some chairs, grab some beers or other beverages of choice, and take a break from our arduous paddle up the creek.

That accomplished, camp was set up and firewood was gathered. I can’t remember what we had for dinner, but I think we all would have scarfed it down no matter what it was. We had burned some serious calories for the day! Over dinner, we listened to the weather forecast, which called for some rather rainy and windy weather the next day. The day after that called for some cloudiness but less of a chance of rain. It was therefore decided that we would lay claim to this campsite for the next two nights, using the following day as a “down” day with an optional paddle and hike over the Indian Carry to Upper Saranac Lake.

So it was a happy campfire. Cindy and Jean Marie played some cribbage, while Jim, Steve and I traded canoe trip stories. Did I mention that it was a nice campsite with a view? I think I did.

Beach with a view

 

 

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Day 43: Watershedding: The Next Big Thing?

We awoke the next morning to brightening skies and a little more water in the river.  After the morning routine of coffee, breakfast, breaking camp, farting around, visiting the privy, and cleaning up the beer cans scattered about camp, we hopped back in the boats and continued down the Raquette River.

Clouds breaking up on the Raquette

This stretch of river is one of the few sections of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail that I had paddled before I even knew such a trail existed.  My wife and I frequently visit the Adirondacks, and had paddled up from Axton’s Landing up to Raquette Falls and back on one of our visits.  The river winds its way past striped maple forests and many backwaters and oxbow channels that invite exploration.  We weren’t here to explore, however…we were here to finish another section, and Billy had decreed that he expected us to be in camp before 2:00 every day.  And with one sizeable and potentially tricky upstream segment to finish this day, our schedule did not permit dawdling.

Fall colors on Stony Creek

The mouth Stony Creek was easily found thanks to my GPS and thanks, also, to the big useful sign that someone had hung up in a tree.   It was quite a bit narrower than the Raquette, and significantly more meandering.  Tommy’s Bell Magic, which absolutely loves to go in straight lines, was a mite difficult to maneuver around the curves.  I had read of many tales how upstream paddlers on this stretch missed a critical turn and ended up mistakenly paddling a few miles up Ampersand Brook.  One piece of advice I remember reading stated that when in doubt, go left.  This turned out to be good advice and I highly recommend following it.  We did just that, and despite having to paddle upstream we were soon entering the Stony Creek Ponds.

Entering Stony Creek Ponds

I was a bit surprised at how many homes were on these ponds, but figured I might as well get used to it, since the Saranac Lakes would have plenty more to

Tommy passing the island in the upper pond

look at.  The skies were bright blue and reflected nicely on the smooth lake surface.  We headed right, and entered a narrow channel that led past a gaggle of geese and under a road bridge to another of the ponds.  Keeping the island to our right, we easily found the beach at the beginning of the Indian Carry leading to Upper Saranac Lake.  We paused on the sunny beach for a while to have some lunch and mentally prepare for the carry.

This is a good place to talk about the next big thing in paddle sports. No, I’m not talking about that ridiculous SUP craze.  First descents have been popular, as have source-to-sea excursions.  The latest thing with creek boaters has been descending a vertical mile in a day by lapping a steep creek.  What’s left for us normal people? We suggest it is paddling up to the head of one watershed, carrying over into another watershed, and descending down a different river.  An extreme example of this may be ascending a river that ultimately flows to the Atlantic Ocean, carrying over the continental divide, and paddling a river that eventually empties into the Pacific. Mike has dubbed this pursuit as ‘watershedding”, and the NFCT provides ample opportunities to rack up numerous watershed hops.

Jeff makes the carry his beeyotch.

The carry from Stony Creek Ponds to Saranac Lake is one such hop, trading the Raquette River for the Saranac River. As had been reported, this carry is mostly cartable.  Mostly.  Just before one reaches Route 3, there is an old plank bridge over a drainageway, portions of which are too narrow to accommodate the cart.  Fortunately, Erik was right behind me, so we were able to help carry each other’s canoes across without detaching the carts.  Using Mike’s tire pump as necessary, I was able to roll the whole portage without much problem.  In fact, no one really had any serious issues with the carry, especially after Route 3 where it was an easy roll down a nice gravel road to a public boat ramp on Upper Saranac Lake.  And just like that, we had made a short jump from the Raquette River Watershed to that of the Saranac River.

Arriving at a breezy Upper Saranac Lake

The winds had freshened up a bit when we reached the lake, but not anywhere near to a problematic degree, and our short paddle to the point just past Corey Island was quick and uneventful.  The rocky shoreline made landing a little tricky here, but we all managed to get out of the water and onto one of the rockiest campsites we’ve seen since Seboomuk Point on Moosehead Lake in Maine.  The glacier really dropped a lot of blocks here! Some of the rocks were the size of small cabins, and one nice block of rock served nicely as a kitchen.

Rocky friggin campsite.

The one thing that this campsite lacked was a lean-to, so we all had to set up tents.  I had decided not to bring a tent this time, which really simplified both my packing system and my set up…just a tarp and a bivy sack.  It worked well, but I think I would have set it up a bit different if any serious windy rain was forecast.

Hi Neighbor! Have a ‘Gansett!

Once again, we were in camp well before 2:00, and once again we decided that bringing a lot of beer had been the right call.  I mean, what else is there to do on a nice sunny day?  Set up tents, have a beer, gather some firewood, cut it up and split it, have a beer, change into warmer clothes, have a beer, take portraits of your beer against a blue lake, drink it, get the fire going…you get the idea.  This is why campfires are so entertaining.

Reflector Oven Cookies

At this night’s campfire, Jeff treated us to a nice surprise…fresh baked cookies in his reflection oven! These go incredibly well with Sailor Jerry.  We spent a happy few hours around that campfire as the night wrapped its cool arms around us.  Tonight we finally heard loons in number.  Later that night I heard a barred owl and a pack of coyotes.  I feel sorry for people who never experience these things.

Total Mileage for the day: 9.7 miles.

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Day 42: Can’t Stop the Children of the Revolution!!

Well, the clouds had definitely arrived by the following morning, but we were all able to break down camp, pack up, have some breakfast and coffee, and hit the river before any precipitation started to dampen our day.  The forecast was grim.  Gusty winds and a lot of rainfall were expected all day and into the night. But we were physically and mentally prepared for the expected drizzerable flatwater paddle and grueling carry around Raquette Falls.  Especially Billy and I, who (with apologies to T. Rex) came up with our personal catch phrase for the trip: The Children of the Revolution Cannot Be Stopped! We were ready for anything.

The rain starts as we head downriver

And it was a good thing, because the rain, which started as a barely noticeable mist just a few strokes downstream of the campsite, had graduated to a steady soaking slog by the time we reached the next tributary.  Rain gear was extracted by all, except by Mike who had discovered that his had been left behind in Rhode Island.  But you can’t stop the Children of the Revolution, y’all!  It was still a pleasant paddle down the lovely Raquette River, as we passed in view of several mountains, past trees painted with Autumn color.  Beaver had been pretty busy building a massive dam at the outlet of Moose Creek.

The Raquette Falls Carry comes into view

Past Moose Creek, almost exactly a mile after the river takes a 90 degree turn to the right, boulders start sprouting up from the riverbed and the murmur of rapids is heard.  The big sign with the nasty looking piece of canoe nailed to it that advises all that they should really think about portaging around the falls came into view.  It was time to walk.

Now, this one portage had started a discussion on a local paddling message board as to the merits of bringing beer.  Since none of us would be able to re-supply along the way, as we were able to on the Saranac River, we would have to bring along a healthy supply, ice and all.  And since it was pretty well understood that at least the first portion of the carry could not be handled by a portage cart, we knew  that bringing that much beer pretty much doomed all of us to at least two-carrying and maybe three-carrying the portage.  But you can’t stop the Children of the Revolution, Dog, so the beer came.

I was wrong when I thought this point was the first possible spot to start carting.

And here’s the funny thing about carries that supposedly can’t be carted, something that I call the Canoe Cart Theorem:  The length of the carry that can be wheeled with a canoe cart is directly proportional to the weight of the gear that needs to be lugged over the trail.  It worked  like this:  I carried a couple packs and a bucket for the entire length of the carry trail, making a mental note of the point in the trail past which I thought the canoe cart could handle.  This point was pushed along further every time that I found an obstacle to the cart.  But the further I trudged, the less likely I was to consider any obstacle as one that couldn’t be overcome, cart or not.  On the way back, when I reached that point again, I started re-assessing the trail with a more critical eye, and it came as no surprise that another good chunk of trail magically became cartable! There is no doubt in my mind that if I had just one more pack to carry, the whole damn carry would have been somehow carted.

Jeff takes a break at the end of the carry

We nearly all just about two-carried the trail this way, with one load of packs, the rest of the load humped a short way up the trail, and the canoe brought up, loaded, and wheeled from there.  Jeff, that animal, two carried it all without a cart!  Tommy could have done the same, but the beer slowed him down. I started carting from the top of the second steep incline, and it wasn’t long before I heard the familiar sound of air escaping one of my tires.  Son of a bitch! The same damn tire that let me down on the Saranac last year! WTF.

How the hell do we get through THIS?

Well, can’t stop the Children of the Revolution! I rolled the whole damn thing to the end, flat tire or not. And it worked.

Upon first reaching the end of the carry, we found a discouraging jumble of giant rocks and not much water, and it looked initially like we would have to do some rock scrambling to get to any water deep enough to float a boat.  Fortunately, farther along the beach there was a narrow passage between the bank and the largest of all the rocks just deep enough to reach the main channel.

Tommy finds the route far FAR right

A mere half mile further down the river we arrived at Raquette #1 & #2, where we hoped to find two lean-to’s so that no tents had to be set up in the rain, but despite the indication on my map that such was the case, only one lean-to was present and accounted for.  A short reconnaissance further down the river didn’t change that assessment.  But fortunately, Tommy, Erik and Jeff were able to easily set up tarps first, followed by their tents underneath.

Erik and Jeff lay claim to some wet real-estate

In what was to become a common theme, we were in camp early, like around 1:00 or 1:30.  Rain was pretty steady still, but the wind wasn’t too bad.  Lunch was broken out, and we sat down to some serious drinking to get through the wet afternoon, hanging out in the lean-to.  I cooked up a rare hot lunch and it hit the spot.  As breaks in the rain allowed, we each went on forays for whatever wood could be scrounged.  As nightfall approached, Mike managed to get a fire going, and that fire vastly improved everyone’s mood.  We kept it going well into the night, and eventually the rain eased off and stopped.  But by then we were mostly asleep and hoping for a dry tomorrow.

Total mileage for the day:  5.9 mile, including 1.3 mile portage.

Going ghetto on Day 2

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Day 41: Back After a Long Hiatus

After a long drive up from Rhode Island with Bill the previous afternoon, meeting up with the rest of the crew in Saranac Lake, and a more or less good night’s sleep at Amanda’s Village Motel (do NOT smoke in the rooms if you know what is good for you), it was time to get down to business.  The long drought of no NFCT adventures was coming to an end.  Our previous trip, across Lake Champlain, was almost a year ago and I was itching to get back on the trail.  On the agenda:  finish up the last remaining segment in the great state of New York.

Loading up at Long Lake State Boat Ramp

After a mostly uncoordinated effort at breakfast, we met up with Dave Cilley at his shop on the Saranac River, where we had begun a previous segment last summer.  The boats and gear were quickly loaded on the trailer and in the van, cars were parked in the Dorsey Street municipal parking lot, and we were on the road to the Village of Long Lake.

L-R: Billy, Erik, Chuck, Mike, Jeff & Tommy

The crew for this trip included me and my friend Mike of course, the only two that have been together for every one of these segments to date.  Bill and Tommy, who have both been on many of these trips with us, were present and accounted for, as well as Jeff, who joined the crew for the first time on last year’s “No Country for Old Men Canoe Tour 2011” down the Saranac River to Plattsburgh. Finally, Erik was the designated Friggin New Guy.  He had joined us previously on the Androscoggin and Upper Ammonoosuc trip a few years ago, but that segment didn’t really count since no camping was involved.  Hence the FNG status.  Erik had given lip service to joining us on a number of trips but never followed through, bringing up trivial excuses like work.  And family. But finally, we had him on an extended backcountry trip, his first.

The skies were sunny and the wind was light as we unloaded our pile of gear and boats on the beach of the Long Lake state boat ramp.  Spirits were high, and the list of vital gear that anyone forgot to bring was short.  Boat? Check. Paddle? Check. Beer? Check.  OK, Let’s go!

Heading down Long Lake

Sweet paddling conditions

The previous weekend, during the Adirondack Canoe Classic race, winds were so bad that dozens of canoes were capsized.  Long Lake can be fearsome.  But on this day, she treated us well for the entire 9.5 mile paddle to her northern extent.  Along the way, we met a number of motorboats that all knew how to play nice, and a couple kayaks as well.  We stuck pretty much to the center of the lake, passing by Round Island, Camp Island and Island House in quick succession. A light to moderate southwesterly breeze helped us along.  The views of the mountains to the northeast were incredible.

Tommy entering the channel of the Raquette River

It was easy to see how picking the correct channel of the Raquette River could be tricky, since they all look pretty good, but I followed the waypoints I had saved on my GPS unit and was not led astray.  We checked out the lean-to at Lost Channel, but the climb up to it seemed rather long and steep, and some of us had unpleasant flashbacks to some of our Saranac River campsites and we decided to move on to Deep Hole.

This lean-to came into sight on the left immediately after the channel of Cold River came in from our right, just above a ledge that stuck into the river channel from river-left, and the short trail up to it was more than manageable.  It was only a little after 1:00 in the afternoon at this point, with plenty of time to go further if we wished, but it had been decided that we would take an easy pace on this trip and enjoy our surroundings.  Besides, none of us were ready to tackle the portage around Raquette Falls on our first day.

So we unloaded and set up camp.  Billy, Mike and I claimed the lean-to, and Tommy, Jeff and the FNG, Erik, set up tents.  Beers were cracked open and food appeared from various buckets and containers. Erik impressed us all with the fact that he brought along some Sailor Jerry rum. He learns quick. Day transitioned to night as we all caught up on what everyone had been up to all summer.  We all waited for clouds to show up, knowing the forecast for the night and the following day was not optimal, but stars remained visible well into the night.

Total Mileage for the day:  10.4 miles.

Righteous red SRT and Explorer parked at Deep Hole

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Day 3: 40 miles of the trail down…about 700 to go.

While this would be the shortest of the three days, this day had the potential to deal us our biggest challenges.  It greeted us with a thick fog over Forked Lake that eventually rose up and dissipated to reveal a somewhat sunny day.  I took the opportunity to take some artsy-fartsy type photos, and we then packed up and paddled the rest of the lake to the boat ramp at Forked Lake State Campground.  From here we walked 1.5 easy-rolling miles down the access road, and then down a narrower cart path to reach the Raquette River.  Here was one of the nicest lean-tos I have seen.  Sweet location, at the foot of some rapids, facing the morning sun.  We continued down easy quickwater and flatwater to the top of Buttermilk Falls. 

The carry around Buttermilk is by far the shortest of this segment and, unless you choose to carry around the rapids a half mile further on, also the toughest.  We took a light load the first time through.  The paths are steep, rocky, and multitudinous.  We took multiple trips to get around this beautiful beast of a waterfall.  It was so much work that, a half mile later, when we encountered the Class II rapids and found that the portage path was in no way cartable, it was an easy decision to run the rapids.  If you have any whitewater experience at all, these rapids are fairly easy with minimal maneuvering required to reach the clear channels. 

Then we hit Long Lake.  As we had progressed down the river we had noticed clouds coming in and a cooling of the air.  There was a decent wind on Long Lake, and it was of course blowing right towards us.  We generally stuck to the southeastern shore and toughed it out, paddling over steady waves and mild chop.   Nothing serious.  A light sprinkle began, our first rain of the trip.  But it was a minor irritation at best as we rode the euphoria of coming to the close of our first segment of the NFCT.  I could tell Mike was hooked.  He was already talking about needing to do a longer segment this summer.  Perhaps something up in Maine.  As we approached the bridge at the village, a seaplane landed to our left.  We followed it under the bridge, and headed right to the DEC boat launch where our car was located.  We took pictures of the Long Lake NFCT kiosk, bought some souvenirs, and headed towards Lake George to find a cheap hotel to hole up in for the last night and get a shower. Total miles today: 9.6.  Total trip miles for this segment 40.5.  Note:  The NFCT map claims that the total miles between Old Forge and Long Lake is 43 miles.  That is an overestimate.  My mileage was calculated on a GPS, and confirmed using Google Earth.

Slideshow of photos for the Segment 1 trip are here: http://travel.webshots.com/slideshow/559135704bcXTSI

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