Backtracks    

July 3 - Silver Lake Mountain Hike
Worries about a hot day were allayed by a brisk refreshing wind. We started up together but soon divided into smaller groups on this steep climb. Luckily it was short (1 mile) and had many fantastic views along the way to inspire us onward. We lunched at the top while soaking up the sights of Taylor Pond and Silver Lake with hills rolling off into the distance.
Back row, l-r: Dick Mooers, Tim Berger, Peggy Mooers, Rich Sharp, Derek Habermas, Benjamin Greenberg, Rob Silversmith, Debbie Simmons, Tom Simmons, Alex Murray, Molly Simmons, Cole Madore and TL Marg Madore.
Middle row, l-r: Hannah Mooers, Oscar Perez-Gomez, Natalie Sharp, Nick Rapczynski, Citlalli Zamora-Mejia.
Front row, l-r: Mariana Sharp with Isabel, Julie Rapczinski, and Sarah Rasco.
Not pictured: Sarah Mooers.
Photo: TL Blair Madore.

July 10 - Long Sault Paddle
L to R: Brian Baston (TL), Marilyn Levitan, Ron Dumoulin, Carol LaDue and Ann and Tom Ortmeyer pause below Long Sault Dam in Massena.
Photo: TL Geri Ames.

July 14 - Parishville Paddle and Picnic
Participants: John & Susan Omohundro (TLs), Carolyn, Richard, & Jonathon LaDue, Geri Ames, Alison Charles, Brian Baston, Gabe Hinkley, Tom Ortmeyer. The summer heat had finally let up a bit, so we paddled upriver to the riffles and back, and after a cooling swim dug into a potluck picnic, finishing with lemon meringue pie. Not a calorie-deficit day, but no one was complaining.

July 17 - Paddle the Santa Clara Flow Participants: Geri Ames (TL), Darielle Dartt, Carol & Johnathan La Due, Brian Baston, Karla Flynn, Toni Senter. The river was like glass the whole trip. Lunch was at the first camp site after the river turns--the beautiful spot led to many pictures taken of the trees and river.

July 17 - Stone Valley Trails Seven eager hikers led by TL Duncan Cutter enjoyed the beautiful scenery in Stone Valley during Colton Country Day. The water hit the lowest mark all summer, leaving us room to rock-hop up the bed to several delightful pools below the waterfalls. Great for swimming, and we met lots of friendly folks, kids and adults, including people working on publicizing the Raquette River Corridor.

July 31 - Red Sandstone Trail Participants: Blair & Marg Madore (TLs), Cole Madore, Jeff, Cheryl, & Rebecca Miller; Lynn Hall, Emily Smith, Benjamin, Isabelle & Joel Menard; Sylvia Broer, Sharon Ryan, Rich, Mariana, Isabel & Natalie Sharp, Martha Chew, Paloma Venn-Chew, Citlalli Zamora-Mejia, Oscar Perez-Gomez. Our treasure hunt was for letterboxes along the trail hidden by Wyvern. Each one contained a hand carved stamp of an imagined dangerous plant. Mother Nature turned on her charms for our young naturalists: they ate ripe blackberries, chased frogs and collected as many acorns as they could carry. The adults enjoyed the history, the scenic views and the blackberries, too.

August 4 - Paddle the Colton Reservoir of the Raquette Participants: Tom Ortmeyer (TL), Mary Beth Rosenfeld, Tom Lockridge, John & Susan Omohundro, Mary Jane Watson, Dick & Peggy Mooers. We circled the Colton Reservoir counter-clockwise from the Gulf Road boat launch with a stop at the Colton boat launch for a picnic. Though thunderstorms were a possibility, the skies cleared as we launched and we had a very nice paddle on what was a warm and humid day for those on land.

August 7 - Blue Mountain Weather conditions were ideal - cool and sunny - and so there were a great many people on this very popular trail. The views from the summit are limited, except by climbing the restored fire tower which affords an amazing 360 degree view. John, Armond, and Ann stopped for a swim at Long Lake and an exploration of a Raquette River access point near Jamestown Falls. We paid special attention to our relationship to the Raquette throughout this trip, in recognition of Raquette River Awareness Week.
L to R: Ann and Armond Spencer, Kirke Perry, and Rusty.
Photo: TL John Barron.
Not pictured: Sandra and Jim Wright.

August 11 - Hannawa Paddle and Picnic Participants: John & Susan Omohundro (TLs), Terry Persons, Kathy Wright, Mayme & Bill Trumble, Peg & Dick Mooers, Ann & Armond Spencer, Jane & Dave Wells, Sally & Jim Lynch, Alison Charles, Phyllis Charleston. A leisurely float/paddle from Brown’s Bridge to the picnic spot at the Red Sandstone Trailhead. Our 11-boat flotilla impressed the shoreline folk. A huge picnic and lots of conversation concluded a grand outing.

August 14 - Ranger School Trails and Cathedral Rock
Participants: Bill Mueller (TL), Pat Mueller, John Barron, Tom Lockridge, Joy Williams, Fred Russell, Kirke & Rusty Perry. A perfect day for walking in a sun-studded woodland, covering five of the many Ranger School trails. On our return we enjoyed what one participant called “dessert”: a visit to a beautiful bog known as Esker Pond where we saw, among other boggy plants and trees, bug-eating pitcher plants in full array! A spontaneous and refreshing swim in the Oswegatchie River off the Ranger School dock ensued upon our return.

Aug. 28 - Climb Arab Mt. A spectacular weather day enjoyed by Rose Rivezzi (TL), Jennifer Henry, and her six year old daughter Catherine, who exclaimed from the fire tower, “You can see the world!” The wonder of a first mountain climbed.

September 4 - Hike around Massawepie Lake Participants: Ann & Armond Spencer (TLs), John & Susan Omohundro. Since the four of us had done this hike a couple of years ago, we abandoned the planned route and explored some new trails and ponds in the area. Had a great time. Once again we just escaped a drenching by getting back to the car shortly before the rains hit.

September 11 - Mt Seymour Bushwhack
We had the best weather in a week for our hike - clear, sunny, and mild. This was a first ascent of Seymour for all our participants, but all are strong, experienced hikers and none had any difficulty with this long and challenging route. There were terrific views of the Sawtooth Mountains, the Santanoni and Seward ranges, Long Lake, Ampersand Mountain and Lake, and distant views of the central High Peaks.
Back row, l-r: Nora Lanigan, Enico Gilbert, Marya Furnia, Meagan Emlaw, TL John Barron, Dana Chudzinski, Fred McLaughlin.
Front row, l-r: Marianne Hebert, Monica McLaughlin.
Photo: TL Debbie White.