Boy Scout Adventure in the Adirondacks - Part 2

After about an hour ride to Long Lake and a quick stop at a convenience store for snacks and bathroom breaks we arrived at Long Lake.  We gathered our gear and exchanged out some hiking gear for water gear and restocked our food supplies and were ready to hit the water.  We had to wait about ½ hour for a thunderstorm to move through the area, but eventually the sky’s cleared enough for us to set out.  We paddled less than a mile when another thunderstorm hit and we had to beach our canoes on someone’s private beach and wait out the storm again.  Finally it looked like we would be able to get going and we set out again, paddling toward the north end of the lake. 

The lake is long and fairly narrow and we tried to stay on the east side as we went.  Sea planes would periodically fly past and land, which was pretty cool to see.  Then the plane would take off and fly above us.  We made pretty good time, even though we were dealing with a slight head wind and slowly made our way up the lake.  We would pause and drink or snack when we could but we had a long way to go, about 10 miles, before we would get to camp and needed to keep moving.  At one point another thunderstorm came up and we had to beach our canoes on shore and get out of the water.  We lost another ½ hour or 45 minutes waiting out that storm as well.

Waiting out the thunderstorm

It was fun watching the lightning up in the mountains around the lake and the rain and wind blow across the water.  Again the sun came out and we pushed on.  We had started from the boat launch around 1pm and eventually made camp around 6pm.  We found a nice campsite with a lean-to right on the water’s edge.  We were all pretty tired and hungry and went right to work setting up camp.  Once the hammocks were hung and the tents set up we got to work cooking dinner.   The bugs were a little annoying but not horrible here and we could sit in the shelter and cook.  Dinner was dehydrated chili and dehydrated mashed potatoes with bacon and cheddar cheese.  I passed on the chili but enjoyed the potatoes.  Once dinner was done and cleaned up we all went in our hammocks or tents to get away from the bugs.  They were getting more aggressive as the sun went down. 

One of the scouts did a little fishing and caught a nice size Northern Pike.  He threw it back in and was soon in bed as well.  We had seen some Loons on the water during the day and that night could hear them calling in the dark.  It was the first time I had ever heard a Loon.  Also, I heard the little buzz of mosquitoes all around my hammock, trying to get me.  The bugs ate well on all of us for the next day or so.

Thursday was foggy when we awoke and broke camp.  Once all our gear was packed we ate breakfast and boarded our canoes for the trip down the Raquette River. 

Our campsite was only about a mile from the mouth of the river and it didn’t take us long to get to the river and the anticipated current.  The sun quickly burned off the fog and became a nice summer morning.  The river is slow and winding as we paddled along, with forest and swampland on both sides.  It felt very remote as we went and I really enjoyed the scenery.

There are campsites scattered along portions of the river and we would see other campers periodically.  This would be the day we had to portage our canoes around the falls, about 1.25 miles.  We made the pull out spot just before lunch and began the arduous portage. 

It was probably the hardest part of the trek carrying 35-40lbs backpacks plus a canoe over your head.  The trail went uphill for the first ¼ mile or so then levelled out.  It was very taxing.  We took many breaks as we went along and finally found the best way to hold the canoe on our packs, making it a little easier and we could hike for longer stretches.  Tired and sweaty we arrived at the put in spot and relaxed for a while and ate lunch.  Lunch was cut somewhat short by some dark clouds moving in and we tried to get in front of the storm by paddling.  We made it a few miles but the storm was faster than us and we had to pull over and beach our canoes again.  We sat on a sandy shore with tall banks above us and trees growing out over us, giving us a little shelter.  This time the storm was intense, powerful lightning and thunder clapping just above our heads and pouring rain and wind.  We huddled up together under the overhanging bank and tried to stay warm.  We were all soon soaked through as the rain came down in buckets.  It was something none of us will soon forget.  Then it was over and the sun came out and we continued to paddle.  It was a long afternoon of paddling and I was soon out of energy and struggled to keep in good spirits.  I was hurting and sore but continued on and we all pushed hard to find a campsite.  We paddled until about 5:30pm at a campsite not far from out extraction point. 

My view from the hammock

It was a long afternoon and I wish we had been able to stop and enjoy the scenery and river a little more, but we wanted to make a short morning for Friday and pushed on.  Once we found our campsite, which was right along the river and offered nice views, we were swarmed with mosquitoes.  It was horrible!  They were everywhere and HUNGRY!  We ran around as fast as we could to set up camp and get into our tents or hammocks to get away from them.  We started a campfire to smoke them away but that only worked if you stood in the smoke.  So, we ate a quick dinner and went back to our beds.  The scouts talked for a while and enjoyed the evening.  I had set up my hammock with a great view of the river and enjoyed listening to their conversation and looking out over the water. 

Friday was sunny when we got up and packed up camp for the last time.  We ate a quick breakfast because the bugs were still ferocious.  We left the campsite around 9am and had just a small stretch of river to go before our point of extraction.  We were there by 9:30am and our journey was over.  We had to wait awhile for pick up and the scouts worked on helping complete the canoeing meritbadge for one of the boys still needing it. 

They had fun in the water swamping a canoe and being wet.  The pickup van was soon there and we loaded up and were on our way back to base camp.  It was a memorable trip that I think all of us will remember for a lifetime.  We worked hard and were tired, but the trip was fantastic.  We hiked around 17-19 miles and paddled about 30 miles in total.  I think all the scouts learned something about themselves and about each other.  The adults probably did too.