SATURDAY 12:24 pm We are officially on the road leaving Allentown at noon. It is a warm day but not too humid. It's cool in the van with the windows open. Vanny seems to be dogging up the mountains. Kenny is watching the temp gauge like a hawk and intermittently turning in the heat if needed to quick cool down. Our sunshower just flew out of the basket and had to be recovered on the highway. Apparently our net is falling apart. 1st leg: We will take the pa turnpike NE extension to 81 to Binghamton NY. Then 12 to the south western entrance to Adirondack park following route 28 to Inlet, where we will enter the backwoods of Moose River Plains natural area.
We stopped for lunch in Greene, NY. Such a cute town with a great 5 and 10 that featured cheap stuff like my usual haunts. We grabbed some 99 cent Twizzlers for the road. Then we hit the Dollar General for swim suits for the males because, surprise, both forgot to pack!
6:45pm. We are on route 28 on the way to Old Forge. Just pulled over for some firewood. The homeowner has cards with his name address in case questioned about where you got the wood. All untreated wood can only be transported 50 miles or less than it's origin. We just passed a farm with albino peacocks and was happy to see one with his feathers displayed! We also just crossed the moose river!
7:46 we are well into the moose river plains and starting to see campsites. It reminds me of Maine. Lots of marshes/waterways. The sun is going down fast so we need to find our real estate!
8:00 Benedict Creek and Mitchell Ponds trailhead. The skeeters are waking up! We found a great site just before the access but wanted to keep looking! Heading towards HELL DIVER POND. Further along we found site 63. It sat right next to a little bridge over Sumner Stream. Next to water. The bugs worried me so we continued to see if we liked anything better, but I would rather be here than in the deep woods or a clearing. We found sites in many of these terrains! 9:02 we are back at the very first site we loved in which I said we will know the right one when we see it! We are surrounded by Sumner Stream. We got our ez up and awning surrounded by screens. Time to start a fire and finish up. The bugs were really bad for a bit but now at almost dusk they may have backed off a bit. 10:41 pm. Listening to the peepers and the bullfrogs and sitting out at the fire enjoying the bright stars. The bugs really subsided after dark so hoping we are not covered in welts tomorrow. I did spray myself by mistake with permethrin instead of my clothes! And we sprayed our screens. I can see a few buzzing in the van but we are doing good with our little screen rooms. The kids are in bed, Trent is out. Genny is tossing a little. Tomorrow we will spend exploring the area and trails. We will not go back to town until Monday. It is cool out as I can see my breath but in the van is nice. No heat or fan required! I had my only Maple Mistress tonight so ready to hit the hay as Kenny lets the fire burn down. He just remarked about never seeing the sky as beautiful as it is tonight. 🤘🏼⛺️🚐 FREE CAMPING.....The impressive vacation that does not cost you a thing! 😍 zzzzzzz😴🌲🌲🌲🌲🌜🏔🔭
SUNDAY 8:10amWoke up to a not entirely cloudless beautiful day! The sleeping was cool and comfortable. We did not even open windows. sausage with gravy over toast on the menu. We want to fill the sun shower and get it in the sun for later wash ups and then we plan a hike. Looking forward to a fun day exploring the area.
10:15 am we just discovered a curious little feathered friend who is eating the bugs that swarm us!!!! So excited to find the mother lode of cedar waxwings!!!! They even come to us in a little flock and check us out when we stand on the bridge. Love them so much! We also discovered the insane amount of snakes in the taller grass just off the cut grass. We think they are garters. New rule. Don't walk before looking! They seem to leave when we get near but don.'t want to surprise them! The Forest Steward aka ranger assistant just came through. A nice young kid who gave us a permit and some tips on hikes near us. Getting ready to go for a walk in the woods!
Forest Steward just came through again and we asked about water. Site 70 has a pipe spring on the side of the hill. There are loons on the ponds and there is a Hell Diver moose which was spotted last week with a bear in the morning. We are close to hell diver pond so planning a hike!
We finally got our act together and started our approx 4 mile round trip jaunt to Mitchell Ponds. We made lots of stops to observe, take photos and explore which made us think we were on a much longer hike! The trail varies from tire tracks in gravel to grassy terrain with a view of the wet areas as we followed around the edge of a mountain. It had up and down grades but generally was pretty level in elevation. It was a great kid hike and complaints were minor.
12:03 well into Mitchell pond trail. Passed the biggest Beaver lodge ever! 💕1:07 finally at Mitchell pond! A shower came through and we are hiding out trying to stay dry in the forest. We got a quick glimpse on the dock before the rain started. As quickly as it started, the clouds moved out and the rain stopped. We stayed pretty dry. We admired the large pond. Spied another Beaver lodge on the far shore. Then we heard rustling on the trail behind us. We turned to see a most adorable Shepherd just as surprised to see us and turn back to look for her leader....1:37 heading back after talking to a man on fat tire bike with his dogs max and ruby. They were having a great ride and the dogs were excited to see us.The hike back went very fast as we were not stopping for anything except one short rest on a rock overlooking the massive beaver lodge.4:17 we have made some burgers and just hanging out enjoying the intermittent clouds, the smoldering charcoal and the breeze. It is cooling off. I am still in a tank top but kind of want to walk down to check out hell diver pond, which the ranger said was less than a mile from the trailhead down the road from us. If we are going to see a moose, this pond will be the place. We want to get up early tomorrow too.5:38pm. Back at camp after speed walking 2 miles on a almost 4 mile round trip. Dark clouds have been rolling through sporadically all day and we got caught in a light quick shower at the last lake. We follow the road probably 2 miles to get to the trailhead in beautifully sunny skies following what I named THE DEER SUPERHIGHWAY to the many tracks we followed on the sandy road when we hit the left down our road 1/4 mile. A car comes towards us with a smile and wave the slowly disappears as I turn around to follow them with my eyes. Then we both look up enough to see the massive dark sky that was following and gaining on us. Then we heard a rumble in the not too distant area. Fuck. Kenny and I turn around and start walking. Me in a speedwalk panic. My camera and phone are in my pack and the kids are at camp alone. Kenny stops to check for a signal and the kids hear us. We think we were out of range when we started back. Instruct the weasels to get camped cleaned up and everything under cover. The thunder is rumbling louder now, I am hoping a car goes by so we can scam a lift back to camp and I get well ahead of Kenny, who is trying to get the emergency weather on the walkie, and simultaneously smoking a cig. He's out. I break into almost a jog. Almost ...because I pretty much hate running and I already did 6 miles that day. But I had to get back with my electronics and because I did not trust the kids. As I push up a grade that I am praying is the final descent to camp, I can't even see Kenny behind me anymore and it was starting to drizzle, but maybe rain as the trees were shielding me. I get to the crest and strain my 👀 and there he was. Vanny. I yell Genny and she appears from the ez up like an angel. I quickly instruct them to radio daddy and tell him I made it. Then Genny tells me they got everything....every last piece of the wood pile even, under the awning and ez-up. They did a great job! As the thunder grows and the rain starts to fall heavier, I get naked as Kenny hooks up the sun shower that was cooking in the sun all day and because of the cooler temps and the clouds, only made it to 115 degrees. I soaped up in the shelter just as Kenny got everything set up and showered in the rain. The rain was a lot colder than my sun shower,but I am happy and exhilarated as outside showers are my favorite. Then I make a naked run around the back of the van and under the awning. No one drove by and no Bears were scared. We are now at 5:59pm as we are relaxing in our beds blogging, watching something on the iPod or playing a game. I think G was planning on napping. This day was the best day. 💕🌲🌲🌲🌲🚐7:57pm. After some reading and hanging out in the van, Kenny decided he wanted to get the fire going and make some mountain pies. We watched a beloved Cedar Waxwing hop around our camp before my face watching him through the window spooked him off. The storm is over but the temps really dropped and I feel myself grossly unprepared for cold. I put on one of 2 pair of leggings I packed plus a sweatshirt and cuddle further into my warm bag. Although it is still light, the sun is gone and it is very crisp. We do have the heater but I think it is in the roof box and Kenny will call me a total wuss if I demand it. So I guess I am in for the night! 😂 found a decent radio station playing Coldplay and pop but did find Mountain Stage just not in the mood. Kenny's fire is quickly raging. Maybe I will go out....or maybe I will wait in here for my mountain pie to get handed through the window....it is getting foggy on the mountain across from us due to the drop in temp.MONDAY 10:56am after a morning of packing up camp and oatmeal bar, we are heading out to explore Inlet. It is very overcast so starting off by driving to Hell Divers Pond, finding the spring at site 70 to fill up our water and then hitting the town. We met a guy this morning, Terry who just sat the moose this morning and told us a pack of coyotes were in the area.
HELL DIVER POND There are 3 sites on the road to the parking area. The one right at the parking lot is amazing but handicap accessible. The trail is through a pine forest filled with a moss covered floor and the sweet smell of balsam. No wonder the moose lives here! The pond is so gorgeous. We did not see the moose yet but the kids found some tadpoles in the pond to watch. It is amazing that 2 miles away from our Stream side site lies a lush pine forest. The terrain is so different at every pond! We are on the way to Inlet. It just started pouring so glad to be driving. Drove out of the rain. Wow! Inlet is so Northern Exposure!3:42 putt putting in Inlet and I not only get through the tube, it drops right in! Hole in 1 on hole 1! A fun day in town including ice cream, souvineers and WIFI a little. Not enough to load this but the word got out that we ok and having fun.
7:52. We decided to explore some roads up from our camp before we set up shop for the night. Just did another walk to Icehouse Pond which is pretty close to Hell Diver. There was a great mist rolling over the water and we saw a single Merganser who seemed to be having fun in the water. Now heading back to Hell Diver to dusk moose watch.
