Over labor day weekend this year my girlfriend Kim, our friends Riley and Julia, and I went on a 3 day 2 night camping trip in the Adirondack mountains. We faced some adversity, namely the endless rain, but overall it was a good trip and some needed time away from the routine of everyday life.

The Plan#

We have been to this camping spot before, minus Kim - it is a great primitive site off of Good Luck Lake that you can either paddle or backpack to. Last time we went in 2021, we padded in. However we only stayed one night, and this time we wanted to stay a bit longer so we would have time to actually enjoy the time in the wilderness, instead of setting up camp and then tearing it back down the next day.

So we planned on packing 4 kayaks in the back of my Tacoma and heading up early on Saturday so we could have camp ready before lunch. We would then stay Saturday night, all of Sunday, and leave after breakfast on Monday. The weather forecast looked good for the weekend, with only a few two hours of rain on Saturday. Unfortunately, the forecast is often wrong

The Trip#

Tacoma with Kayaks We packed up on Saturday morning as planned. We strapped down the kayaks and headed to a local diner for breakfast, and hit the road. We were listening to season one of Midst on the drive over (So far I am a fan, would recommend giving it a try). About an hour in, and we hit the rain. Again, there was some rain in the forecast, and we aren’t at the lake yet, so no big deal. But I start to get worried - the rain is so loud I have to pause the podcast occasionally because I can’t make out the dialogue over the pounding of the drops on the windshield.

We continue on, hoping that the rain stops, but being willing to pivot plans and still enjoy the weekend if there is no chance of getting in the kayaks. It lessens up as we get closer to the boat launch, and by the time we get there the rain has completely stopped…

It only rains when its inconvenient#

…until we unload all the kayaks, then it starts again. It wasn’t very heavy rain though, so we continue on. The boat launch is right next to a bridge, so as we get the kayaks in the water one by one, the launched boats go and wait under the cover of the bridge. There are two people waiting under the bridge ending their trip, who warn us there are two beaver dams the way we are going. This is interesting, since last year there were no obstacles.

Those beavers work hard#

We start to head upstream, only getting slightly wet from the rain. It actually feels rather nice at times. It doesn’t take long before we hit the first beaver dam. We all have to one by one get out of our kayaks onto a muddy path, only to launch them again about 6 feet away. Its an annoying task, but we get it done and no one falls in. There are some other kayaks going the other way who warn us that the next dam has no way around, and you basically have to go right over it, and they were right.

Its a short trip to the second dam. I go first - I paddle my kayak half onto the dam and step out onto the sticks and mud. Its surprisingly sturdy, actually. I pull my kayak up and let it float on the upper side while I help the others get across it. I manage to pull the other kayaks up so they don’t have to get out, and one of them pushes my kayak back to me so I can get back in. After another 5 or 10 minutes, we reach the lake, and are basically at the camp site. Kayaks on lake

At the site#

We get to the camp site, and after getting our kayaks out of the water work on getting all of our dry bags unloaded. It is still raining pretty steady at this point, and it will be for the next few hours. We setup a tarp so we have a dry area to keep all of our gear while we wait out the rain.

One thing I love about camping is how good food tastes, and that applies double to coffee. I am sure the coffee I make while camping is much worse than what I normally make at home - but that weak percolated coffee we had waiting under that tarp after the long, cold, and wet paddle to the site was one of the best cups of coffee I have ever had. The rest of the night goes pretty uneventfully. The rain eventually calms down, we setup our tents, and we have a short fire before going to bed. The rain started up again that night, but I was able to get some decent sleep.

A Restful Day#

We had no reception at all at the camp, and thats alright. Its such a break from normal day to day life, at least my life, to be untethered from the internet and electronic communication. No checking what friends are doing, no checking the weather even. It is just you, your thoughts, and whatever activities you can find to do.

Overall everyone took the day pretty slow. Hanging out in the hammocks we brought, reading books, listening to downloaded podcasts. Riley managed to build a little stool with a scotch eye and his hatchet I wish I had taken a picture of. It was a good day.

I didn’t bring any straps for my hammock, so I attached it to a tree with some rope. It seemed to hold well, and I felt pretty comfortable with the setup. Later in the day I was swinging in the hammock - I kept swinging more and more. As soon as I said “I am going to do a flip!”, the rope broke, and the hammock dropped me right on back. Honestly, even though my back still hurts from it, it was pretty hilarious. Would swing in unsecured hammock again.

The Journey Home#

On the final day, we woke up and had some more amazing camp coffee. We decided to skip a big breakfast, and instead packed up camp and planned on grabbing food on the car ride home. The paddle back was much nicer, it was sunny and there was almost no bugs. Going down the beaver dams was easier than going up, and we managed to make it to the car uneventfully.

Beaver Dam

It was a pretty quiet ride home. We had Midst on again, but had a lot less discussion about in-between episodes, as pretty much everyone else was in and out of sleep while I drove us back.

We stopped at a gas station in the middle of no where, one of those local places where you feel unwelcome the whole time you are there. Apparently we accidentally went in the wrong door which went into a small restaurant area, and everyone just started at us, and when we cashed out, the cashier just gave us that look.. The look locals give out of towners when they don’t get why they are there. I never understood that attitude, but whatever.

I like this spot a lot. It has the right amount of adventure to get to it, remoteness and quietness while you are there, and lots of loons on the lake to keep you company throughout the day.