Roger’s Rock, 2009

It was raining. OMG it was raining. Sunday, arrival day and the water was coming down so hard, someone said they had to hold their breath for fear of drowning when they bolted from their vehicle in a dash to a local store. Water was running (?) across the ground so fast, it was eroding the surface right where we wanted to pitch our sleeping tent. All we could do at that moment was stand under our dining tent which we were able to put up in a lull, and drink wine. Actually, that wasn’t so bad.

Others joined us in the "misery-loves-company" concept, and we stood under the tent top while the rain dripped off the edges onto our legs and feet to join the flood across the site under our feet. While imbibing, we glanced around and noticed others having "fun" erecting their shelters, all except Charlotte that is. Charlotte avoided all this chaos by bringing her shelter with her fully erected, totally waterproof, and rolling on wheels. Yep, she’s been there before, and has decided tents are so passe’. When the rain slowed up, she came out and offered her second bed(???) to anyone, and someone and her husband un-named by this writer decided to take her up on the offer. Some decided it was crazy to try and set up, so opt’ed out and went looking for overnight accommodations of the more conventional type. The rest of us continued to drink wine and wait out the deluge. It did stop, and soon everyone remaining was able to get their shelters up without getting them wet inside.

Normally on the first night, we have a dish-to-pass meal with everyone bringing their specialty to the mix. Because of the situation, we decided to put this off until the next night. Everyone dealt with their own dinner, cleaned up and went to bed.

Monday morning, everyone came down to our site to find out what we had planned for the day. I was able to get a weather report which indicated the day was supposed to be OK for anything, so it was decided to take our kayaks over to the Paradox camp grounds and paddle the lake as we had done in the past. The contingent with boats took off for this while others without boats took in sites in the area, most notably Fort Ticonderoga, just up the road.

Ya know that rain mentioned earlier? A lot of kayaks seemed to have considerable water in them when we went to unload them. Thank goodness for the bilge pumps on hand.

I’m not sure how the land based took in lunch, but those in the kayaks took over one of the small islands (more a rock really, 20x20 maybe, see photos on http://gallery.me.com/junewayskiers ), "beached" our boats and took a deserved break. We continued up the lake until we got into the larger end where we encountered some wind and small waves. After playing there for a bit, it was back to the put-in at the DEC Paradox Lake Campground.

Back to camp, everyone prepared for our dish-to-pass meal at Charlotte’s where we talked over the day’s adventures as we ate. Not being really sure what the weather was going to be like on Tuesday, no real plans were made until Tuesday morning.

Tuesday, our site was again "Planning Central". Consensus was to paddle for a second day, but this time at Eagle Lake. This lake is divided by Route 74 which goes to Schroon Lake from Ticonderoga, but there was a small bridge under which we could paddle ( I had measured the ‘head room’ on Monday just be to sure.) The put-in was a DEC fishing access with a sloping concrete pad and dock on the smaller quiet portion of the lake which was fun. Under the bridge led us into the major lake area where we paddled to the far end looking for an area where we could beach for lunch. An aged local man at the put-in had told us about it. What was really interesting about this person was he was training for the swimming portion of a triathlon the following weekend. Splash and he was in the water swimming away, on his first training swim.

While down at the far end of the lake, we found an inlet and proceeded to paddle upstream against a fairly strong current until we got to the rapids. Turning around, we "coasted" back into the lake, located our lunch area and enjoyed another PB&J sandwich. The lunch site was pretty amazing; put there by NYS, there were 2 picnic tables, 2 outhouses WITH toilet paper, a horseshoe pit WITH horseshoes and a fireplace. What a find! It was really fun to see Scott, Leanna, and Mary Clay approach; they had started out after us, but caught up in no time.

After lunch we encountered a bit of a head wind, but it was manageable. Once everyone was loaded up, most headed back to camp. Greg and Kathy continued west on Route 74 to check out a possible paddling area on the Schroon River, and M&M did likewise.

Back at camp, everyone assembled at Charlotte’s again where we had to say goodbye to Grace & Yuan, Mary, and Dave. Duty called, so they had to leave boohoo. ;-) They missed a great birthday party for Mardi. The OSC "Chip-&-Dales" again did their famous "boogie" just for the birthday girl. It was funny, and afterwards other non-OSC campers were calling out "Happy Birthday" too.

Wednesday morning we decided to try out the Schroon River run. Listed in the books as do-able, but there might be spots where the water got a little thin. Remember that rain I mentioned up front? Marilyn and I actually took a look at the river on the way to camp Sunday, and the water was moving at a good clip, a real good clip. Today, the water level was down and looked much easier to handle. Eleven kayaks put-in below an area called ‘the falls’, which was actually a quick descend over the rocks. Once obligatory pictures were taken (thank you Dianne and Lou, also for your assistance in ferrying people around), off into the current we went. Paddle and coast, paddle and coast. That was the routine. We could have just guided the kayaks around the curves and let the current take us the distance, but we paddled along at a very leisurely pace. I could only hope that all my future paddles would be that tough.

We came upon Lou and Dianne further downstream at a possible put-in/take-out where more pictures were taken. At that moment I realized how much higher the water level was on Sunday as the sandbar they were standing on was nowhere to be seen when M&I stopped to look.

At another sandbar, we beached, had lunch, and took a breather. Soon we continued downstream eventually entering Schroon Lake where we paddled across the open water until we got to our preplanned takeout at the public boat launch. Once everyone was out and the kayaks secured to our vehicles, we bid adieu to Donna, Kathy & Greg as they had to head back to reality. Others went back to camp, and some went off to find the ice cream stand before heading back to camp. It was a real good day as the sun was out, little wind, and no rain.

Thursday morning and many had to break camp and head home. Charlotte was the first one out, but she just had to hitch up and go. Soon Chuck & Mardi were packed up and gone along with Gary, Will, Marcia & Jack, Diane & David, Dianne & Lou, Leanna and Scott leaving just Remo, Sunny & John, and M&M to continue on. The camping area sure looked empty at that moment. Remo went off to check out something called Penfield Pond, originally a source of power for the Old Iron Works, the country’s first mill that used electricity for some of it’s operations (in Ironville). Sunny & John went to take in some of the sights in the area while M&M first drove over to another DEC Campground at Putnam Pond as a future possibility, then over to Ironville to see how Remo was making out. Just off the water, he took us on a sight-seeing walk around the old mill area. Then it was off to gather ingredients for the evening meal which took place at Sunny and John’s very fine site. Shared-good-grub.

Friday the five of us took a leisurely paddle around Putnam Pond, stopping at a "primitive" camp site for lunch. Just as we were leaving, the registered occupants paddled up, and we had a nice chat. Good timing I guess.

After this paddle it was off to gas up, and start thinking about striking camp the next day. Again we all joined Sunny and John in the evening to finish off any food/drink left over. We discussed some of the new campers that came in to fill the sites our group vacated. Two giant RV’s were shoehorned into the sites Charlotte and Dianne & Lou occupied, a noisy five-some were where Leanne and Scott stayed, a motorcycle/car combo was in Kathy & Greg’s site. A very quiet single guy was in Marcia & Jack’s, while two young adults with three very noisy kids set up in Gary and Will’s spot. Down at Dave, Donna and Mary’s place, two young couples had boom-boxes up and running, loud enough to get a visit by the park ranger. While we were eating our last meal together, some guy in a loud diesel pickup was shattering the stillness in Diane & David’s site. It was time to go.

Saturday morning again was clear and sunny, so Marilyn & I went down to the Lake George shoreline below our site for a relaxed quiet cup of coffee. Later, we found a note on the windshield from Remo saying "Thanks and goodbye". Then Sunny & John drove past. They were heading out too. That left just us. We spent the rest of the morning trying to stuff all the stuff back into the truck. Squeezing in the last piece, we "policed" the place and pulled out ourselves. We took a few minutes to drive back up to Mt. Defiance in Ticonderoga where we looked out over Lake Champlain and the fort itself. Then it was off to home where we opened the doors of the truck and got out of the way as all the stuff burst out, or so it seemed.

T’was another good camping experience for members of the Onondaga Ski Club.

We thank the participants that have contributed their words (below) and Donna and Kathy for photos up on my web site ( http://gallery.me.com/junewayskiers )

M&M

Now, in their own words;

Rogers Rock Thoughts:
From Dianne and Lou;
We had a great time at Rogers Rock. Thanks to Mike and Marilyn and Sunny for organizing and reserving our campsites. The seemingly incessant rain stopped the minute Lou and I arrived on Sunday and the sun or moon shone for the rest of our time. The best part, of course, was the camaraderie of the group: the shared meals, the campfires, the cocktails hours on the rocks by the water.
Since we don’t have kayaks (and I have a torn rotator cuff), we entertained ourselves other ways. We hung out at the Rock one afternoon and swam. Another day we went into Ticonderoga (the locals, we were told, call it Ti) with Charlotte Buskey joining us. We toured the museum, found out about Ticonderoga pencils and paper mills, walked the creek hike (where we came upon what I’m sure was a naked bald guy taking a dip in the stream), and visited the fort. Another afternoon we went into Hague - what a cute little town - and walked and struck up conversations with some locals. And the last day we followed the kayakers to the put-in point, helped to shuttle them between ending and starting place, and then found a bridge downstream where we climbed down and had our lunch along the shore, waiting for them to paddle along and to photograph them. Great fun.
Other memories: huge blue tarps over the campsites, Scott and Leanna carrying their tarp like a Chinese dragon in a parade, Sunny’s and Diane’s goulash, Charlotte’s salt potatoes, Remo’s ability to scrounge up wood, Sunny in her inflatable chair, 8:30 AM meetings at Mike and Marilyn’s, our somewhat sad attempts at campfire singing led valiantly by Charlotte (but we missed you, Terry), meeting some new (to me) people like Willie and Gary, checking out Grace and Yuen’s fancy (to us) camper, giving tours of our fifty-year-old Nimrod tent camper to passers-by (yes, it still does have the original canvas and orange floor).

From Greg;
Kathy and I had a great time. It is hard not too with such good company. Thanks to Mike and Marilyn for all their organization and efforts in making the trip a success. We went on three paddles and really enjoyed each one. Now for the complaints; Mike couldn't you have arranged the weather so we you not have to drive up in a heavy rain? When we arrived at Rogers Rock it was pouring. We had to wear PFD's to pitch our tent. The next three days of perfect weather was good, but Mike, improve the first day.

From Mardi;
Among the things that I appreciated most were my "birthday party" and everyone feeding us so much--I hardly had to cook. Something I did not appreciate was pulling the muscle around my right rib cage. Due to this misfortune, Chuck and I missed out on the canoeing. We did however, tour Ft. Ticonderoga, one afternoon and found it very interesting. As usual, we enjoyed the camaraderie of the Ski Club. On the negative side, Site 127 was less than desirable: too small for a tent, trailer, and two vehicles, not flat enough, too rocky and too far from the waterfront.

From Diane;
After kayaking on Eagle Lake which was a real treat Dave and Diane drove to Putnam Pond and found 2 graduate students wrestling (not really) but trying to hold down a very large turtle with long very sharp looking nails! The students were busy trying to keep those long nails off of them and couldn't stop to chat but we did learn one gal is doing a thesis about a mercury study on turtles in the Adirondacks. Kayaking was superb! Especially the run down the Schroon River.

From Scott;
Leanna, my sister, and I had watched the moon rise over Lake George for two nights. So with Kayaks already on the car and tired from the headwinds of the afternoon's adventure, Leanna and I decided to grab our headlamps to head to the Rogers Rock water front just before 8pm. We paddled over to where the rock climbers might have been during the day and drifted in silence while the full moon rose over the mountains in a cloudless sky. After half an hour we hesitantly retraced our route along the shore, the moon at our backs, Leanna's new headlamp from the Ticonderoga WalMart blinking electric red and mine a steady harsh white light to ward off speed boaters, who were just not nearby. Arriving at the boat launch a family pointed out the beginning of surprisingly terrific fireworks directly under the rising harvest moon. Does this have something to do with skiing?

From Dave;
Nice job M&M, any decisions on next year?

Not yet, Dave. What does everyone think?

M&M