T.O.G. Hike Indian Ladder

Perhaps you noticed at the top of the blog that I have added that "the next chapter in our lives has become the adventures of two old goats" (T.O.G.). Although our big boat cruising has ended and our lives are more routine, we still look forward to reporting more tales....like yesterday's hike on the Helderberg Escarpment's Indian Ladder at Thatcher's Park. The view from the top is spectacular.

But we wanted to go down THERE...

It was a long way to the base, but I was just glad that it wasn't the original ladder! You can click on the photos and hopefully zoom in to read about the trail.

This is an easy hike, although quite muddy from the previous day's rain. However, it is on the edge of the drop-off and there are not even any split rail fences in places. This proved to be tough for my fear of heights, so I made Dave walk next to me on the outside of the skinny trail, with me hanging on to his hand for dear life.

He kept trying to get me to look up at the overhangs but I just couldn't, so I handed him the camera. 

Most of the trail was very interesting though, with two waterfalls that you walked under. One even freezes in the winter.

Crevices and caves...

We walked back up the flight of stairs at the other end of the trail and along the ridge back to the car.

We came across one of the streams that turns into the waterfall. Yes, please don't throw anything over the edge because people like us are down there!

An interesting footnote to this hike is that Dave told me that the Helderbergs is where all the bluestone rocks came from that line our front fence at home. We saw some on the trail but I was good and didn't take it for the fence!

Two old goats survived another adventure during the pandemic!

Keeping Things Dry

Fall weather has arrived early so it is time for some chores. Dave has been sealing the former motorcycle shop and showroom roof, which developed a leak late last fall, just as we were headed south. He jury rigged a patch to help keep the rain out, but now it is time to make better repairs. I know that the showroom (now more of a museum) was built back when Dave and I were dating, so that means it is almost 45 years old.

This is what it covers...

They all run, so it is even more important to keep the diverse collections dry. What a perfect time to accomplish this!

Two Old Goats Get High...

And those old goats are us! For the first time in many years, we took a hike on the trail to the lookout spot over both Lake George and Lake Champlain. It was a bit challenging for me, being that I have been so cautious since I broke my ankle a few years ago. We went slowly and carefully on the rocky trail, which is close to a one mile trek there. First we had to go down to go up to the 700 ft. high view.

We made it to the lone picnic table poised on the edge of the abyss...

The view was spectacular with Lake George and the Adirondack Mountains on our right...

And Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains on our left. When you see the two together, you can tell that Lake George is higher than Lake Champlain (hard to distinguish in photos).

Although it is difficult to see how steep it is, this is the beginning of the worse spot on the trail. It is even rockier further up. When Dave used to own a Yamaha XT 200 on/off road bike, he actually made it up this hill. Of course that was about 10 years ago and he was much younger! 😉

The only wildlife we saw on this trip was a red tailed hawk soaring above our heads (and a float plane over Lake George that was lower than us). However, we did have a chance encounter with one of the Ticonderoga locals who had parked his ATV before the big hill and was walking the trail. He told us some of the history of the area and that he was one of the people who brought the picnic table out to the viewing spot. He has seen deer (a buck today...too bad we didn't see it also) and even a bear in early spring (glad we didn't see that!). We did find out that the land is privately owned, although we did not see any 'no trespassing' signs. Meeting up with someone who had grown up here and was so familiar with the area really added to our experience. Another monumental day and we are excited to start taking a few more of our favorite easy hikes this fall. Not bad for two old goats!

Back to Valcour

Today Jim Ryan met us at the Peru boat launch ramp on Lake Champlain, just south of Plattsburgh. We hopped in the Sea Fox and spent the day exploring the coves of Valcour Island. It brought back fond memories when we went cruising in camper boats with Jim and the Metz family. We swam in a couple of different anchorages and the guys also went snorkeling just north of Smuggler's Cove. Boy did they see lots of big fish!

We had the bay all to ourselves, except for one sailboat that passed by on the other side of the rocky spit.

We ventured up to Plattsburgh Marina and had quite the surprise. We knew that there were way less boats on the lake because of the closed U/S./Canada border, but we were shocked at how few boats were at the marina docks, indicating how many Canadians normally keep their boats there.

There was not one boat on any of the moorings...

So where are all the Canadian boats? Hauled out on land in the parking lot at the marina!

On the way back to Valcour for another swim, we stopped at Crab Island to visit the monument there. The water is deep to shore, so the guys took turns holding the boat while the other went to the monument, carefully maneuvering through all the famous poison ivy that is everywhere.

Seeing the monument was really appropriate since this is such an historical area with battles fought (we are always on the lookout for musket balls hidden in all the rocks), but also because this was such a monumental day being with Jim again in these special spots where we made our own history! 

Two Jims

With our latest heat wave we have been on and in the water daily. Jim Ryan came up to go snorkeling on Lake George a couple of days ago. It was a bit windier than expected, but we still found a spot in the lee and it was perfect for several dips in the water from Moxie. We had to keep an eye to the sky though, as thunderstorms rolled in. Luckily we got back to the house just before the rain came down. We even social distanced in the water...

Today Jim Rulison brought his Sea Doo up to Ti and we went south to our latest favorite spot on Lake George, Steere Island. Except for boat wakes, it was much calmer than the previous two days and there was no threat of bad weather. We are getting spoiled to cooling off in the crystal clear water.

It certainly was two fun filled days with two good friends...both named Jim R.! 

Another Twist Of Fate

Yesterday the weather prediction was sunny and warm with light winds from the southwest. It is always hard to find something to do on the water on the weekend with so many other boaters out there, so we decided to head back to Lake Champlain with our kayaks. Dave remembered that there was a nice little beach next to the Port Kent ferry docks where we could launch and then go south to the bay that is protected from the southerly quadrant winds. As we drove north, we could see that the lake was still calm but the clouds were moving in (that was fine with me due to less sun exposure). What a surprise we found when we arrived at the ferry terminal and beach. We knew the Port Kent to Burlington ferries were not running this year, but everything, including two of the ferries and the gift shop, were left abandoned. The Adirondack and the Valcour looked really decrepit and forlorn. This made Dave especially sad because he was invited down into the engine room of the Adirondack one time when we made the lake crossing.

The gift shop was all grown in and eerie.

To top it off, the beach was closed, although I doubt no one would have cared if we launched the kayaks. However the sky was gray and the wind was blowing 15 knots out of the southeast and right into the shore. Time for a change in plans, so we got back in the van and headed further south along the shore, hoping to find the calm conditions we saw before. We stopped to check out the launch ramp at Port Douglas, across from Schuyler Island, but there was no lee there either and the boats on moorings were jumping up and down in the waves. We ended up eating our picnic lunch in the van and I couldn't even open up my widow because the wind was blowing so hard. 

Southbound still, we stopped south of Essex on the Shore Rd. by Spilt Rock Point Beach, where Dave remembered a spot that said "Anglers Park Here". Dave discovered that this is a local beach access, but since the parking area is up high, you have to go down some rock steps and through a path that leads through a tunnel under the road to a rocky beach. This was a first for us, and quite a portage. The cobblestone beach is where people leave their dinghies to access their boats on moorings just offshore. 

Once we were floating, the wind was still blowing a bit, but it got calmer and calmer as we got into the lee of the crescent shaped bay leading to Spilt Rock Point. There were more boaters than we had ever seen in this area, but then again, that may have only been about a dozen, which is nothing compared to Lake George. By the time we got to the Point, there was no wind at all and we ventured out into the main part of the lake to see the spilt from that side. The water is exceptionally low for this time of year, even with the recent run off from the tropical storm.

Heading back to the beach, Dave decided to chase away some seagulls and explore this rock island and go for a swim, while I lazed in my yak. This water is the coldest on the lake due to all the rocks, but a fisherman we talked to said it was 77 degrees and it actually felt that 'warm'. 

Another cave-like spilt rock we found paddling close to shore with its see-through hole...

For awhile the lake was flat calm and you could barely tell the water from the hazy sky in the distance.

However, as we approached the beach we launched at, the wind picked up...from the north! The many moods of Lake Champlain make it unpredictable and challenging, but at least we know how to adapt. 

Quick Ti Tour

After our morning power walk and bicycle ride yesterday, we hopped on the Aprilia to cool off. We were thrilled to not only find that the gates to go up to the top of Mt. Defiance were open, but also that the road had been paved (it used to be so bad that I would have to stand on the pegs like a dirt bike)! It was 9 AM and social distancing wasn't a problem since we were the only ones at the summit.

Going up the steep walking path is worth the trip and the views are spectacular, even when hazy like yesterday was. 

Looking north towards Ft. Ticonderoga and the mouth of the La Chute River is in the foreground...

Looking south along the Champlain Canal...

The canons keep a vigil over Ft. Ti. Vermont is a short boat ride away, but don't try to go by car from here because the Ti cable ferry isn't running this year. That means you would either have to go to the Crown Point Bridge to the north or Whitehall to the south.

Now we know why we had good cell service up at the top...

In the distance is the paper mill or 'Oz' as we call it...

What fun it was to go down the mountain silently on the new road with the engine off. We explored some of the side roads on our way back home and found this poor old Suzuki GT 550 at an abandoned house.

We also found the Ticonderoga Municipal Airport, complete with float planes. The runway is even paved.

We came across these teenagers jumping off the lower La Chute falls. You can tell they all grew up here since they knew exactly where the deepest water was to jump in. Most of it is pretty shallow, not to mention lots of rocks. 

We never know where we will end up these days, but that's the fun of being retired. We sure are lucky we are able to do so many diversified things.