Blue Mountain Fire Tower hike

Friday, before driving home, I drove to the trailhead to do the Blue Mt Fire Tower hike.   Rated as "hard" on the All Trails app.   I didn't remember it as a hard hike the last time I did it, about 20 years ago with my older sister.   Maybe we did a different trail back then?   

Anyhoo, when I got there,  I deployed the shower stall so I could change clothes discreetly.    And I parked so the truck would be in the Sun, so the solar panels could top off the batteries. 

Off I went.   

I was a little worried because a young woman arrived at the same time.   I couldn't tell if she was being slow so i'd go first, but she gave up and left before me.   I thought she was just waiting for a friend to show up.    Felt bad about that, but I needed time to get my stuff sorted.

Sure enough about 30 minutes later, I had caught up to her on the trail.   I always feel bad for solo female hikers in those situations.   I wouldn't feel 100% comfortable it if a sorta fit dude a foot taller and weighing 2x more caught up to me either.    While I was still a couple hundred feet behind her, I decided to stop to take a leak, because I could feel the need coming and I didn't want to pass her, just to have to stop again.    How creepy would it be to pass her, just to have her catch up 5 minutes later as I'm standing 10-20ft  off the trail taking a leak.  Not cool.

Anyhoo, I caught up to her again 5 minutes later, and I just called out that I'd pass when she felt comfortable and found a safe spot.    I guess that was the right thing to say because she seemed to relax a lot, and started asking questions about my truck.   She was interested in the shower stall I'd used.

I walked in front of her, she followed behind me the rest of the way up.   We traded travel and camping stories.   She lives in Duluth Minnesota with her boyfriend but was on a road trip to explore the Northeast.   I talked more than her on the climb up, she told me later that my pace was faster than she'd normally go, but she wants to get in better shape and appreciated the challenge to push herself a little.   I took it as a big compliment to my fitness.

I will say again.   Gosh Darn!!! it's so much easier hiking up a mountain at 215lbs vs  265-290lbs.    Night and day difference.   I'm sure with all the biking I do my legs and cardio are strong too, but I felt great climbing up, and the poles save my knees, especially on the way down. 

 Funny enough she confessed on the mt top that she carries a taser just in case.   I think maybe I said a quick "sorry" about the awkwardness of passing her on the trail to prompt that topic.    She dug it out from her backpack, and I couldn't help but to comment that it doesn't do her any good to have it buried in her bag, she needs to keep it on her waist or shoulder strap where she has quick access to it.    She said she didn't have anything to do that.  I showed her the mesh bag on my backpack's shoulder strap.    I don't use the one on my left strap, but I couldn't remove it until I got back to the truck because I needed to cut through the stitches that keeps the end of the strap folded up so it won't pull through the buckle.

Anyhoo, after the taser conversation, we climbed up the tower.  Me leading again, photos from the tower down below.  Again, leaves nearing peak color.   I left Maya/Mara to enjoy the summit and hiked down solo.  I had trekking poles, so it was going to be a lot easier for me to hike down, and I think she was tired and needed to eat and rest more before heading back.   I thought parting ways up top would also help avoid the creep factor, and there were quite a few other hikers too.   All couples, so it felt safe to leave her on her own. 

I hiked solo on the way down, listening to my audiobooks.    Down at the truck, I ate some reheated low carb pasta and lentil meatballs, heated water for a shower, and went digging through my stuff to donate the mesh bag to the young woman.  I also decided to gift her the little orange green fanny pack I made.    I've been wanting to make a new one to better fit my bike's front rack anyway.   Something that mounts better to the bike's front rack.

I put the bags under her front wiper.   Just as I was packing up, she got back from her hike and drove off, she hadn't noticed the bag under the wiper yet.   It started flopping around as she sped up, so she turned around to thank me.   I told her I'd left her some contact info in the mesh bag if she was interested in the freestanding shower tent I have.   I haven't used it since adding the mounted shower stall to my truck.  I added Jacqui's info in the note too, I felt it might be less creepy that way.     She seemed very happy with my homemade ugly little fanny pack; it's the perfect size to carry her taser and it has a built in clip in one of the pockets to keep car keys secure. 

Mara/Maya will be visiting Salem Mass from a friend's place in NH in a week or so, but it may not be worth driving out of the way for the shower tent; gas is super expensive.   We live an hour and a half west of Salem.   Also, the shower tent takes up space that she may not have in her tiny Rav4.  It's  43.3 × 6.7 × 6.7 inches packed up (110 × 17 × 17 cm).   So it takes up a lot more space than a folded tarp, and she sleeps in the back of the Rav4 at night.  

I like the idea of helping out younger campers just getting started.  And I just have gear sitting around I no longer use.   My Maryland camper buddy and his friends donated some gear to a nice young man just getting started with overlanding.   It's a nice way to pay it forward and get the next generation started.   Lots of backpacking channels do that on their youtube channels.    Donate their old gear that's still perfectly good to their followers .   A lot of the channels get free gear to test and review, so donating to the new generation seems like a perfect solution.

Anyway, the drive home was uneventful.   Glad I wasn't driving north on 87, south of Glens Falls there was an accident and traffic was backed up for miles.    

Just writing blogs the day after and riding out the Nor'easter.   Going to rest today (Saturday), but will use the treadmill in the attic tomorrow and get started sewing a new bag while 4-5 inches of rain blows through New England.   Stuck indoors until Tuesday if the forecast holds, but I don't mind.   it was a busy week. 

 

Wild Center

 This blog will be more photos than yapping.   Had fun walking with my sister checking out the Trolls.   There's a section you walk through sending a wooden ball through ramps and pulley lifts.  Sort of reminded me of the old mousetrap board game.    Weirdly fun and stretches things out nicely.

 My parents were with a retired teachers group, so they were off socializing.    We had plenty of chat time at lunch, and it was fun to hang out with my sister.   We don't do that very much.

anyhoo, a photo dump of the trolls.   Remember the trick on my blog, click on a photo to start a slideshow, on a computer you can use the arrow keys on the keyboard to scroll through the photos.  On a phone/tablet it doesn't work as well.   you have to tap on the tiny picture icons to advance.   I should look for code so swiping works.  sorry.

 

Adirondack Rail Trail Tupper Lake to Lake Placid

 Wednesday Morning sept 24th

I woke up after 6, but stayed in bed until 7a.m. so I didn't wake the neighbors.    They didn't keep me up, so I wanted to be respectful and not make any noise before 7.

At 7a.m., I did the walk of shame to the bathroom.   Remembering to lock the truck first and I threw my tablet and phone into the safe in the back of the truck before going to the bathroom.   I feel like it's those "I'll only be gone a minute" moments where you get robbed.   

Anyhoo, at the bathroom, I dumped the contents of my 1.25 gallon/4.7liter waste water jug down the toilet and did my business.    I have a large funnel for the jug so after doing dishes I pour the dirty water into that, and if needed, I'll empty my 1 liter pee jug into the bigger jug to avoid an extra trip to the bathroom.    I usually only have to dump the big jug once a day, pretty convenient.    Camping is easier for guys in that respect.  Sorry ladies.    I don't have to walk into the woods or to the bathroom every time I need to pee.  Nice!

 For breakfast, as mentioned in the previous blog,  I reheated some peanut protein oatmeal, and drank a protein shake.    Then it was time to add the bags to the bike and ride up rt 30 to the rail trail from the campground.

 Following the route on my bike computer it was ~7 miles up rt 30 before I could get on the rail trail, but rt 30 is marked as a bike route per NYS.   the shoulder narrows to just 1 foot wide a lot and the shoulder is pretty rough at times too.   Thankfully, it wasn't too long for the temps to get above 50F/10C so I could start taking layers off, but it was chilly for the first hour or two of pedaling.   I had my wool cycling cap that covers my ears and a short brim to keep the sun out of my eyes.  I also had my cold weather, full fingered biking gloves too; they're for cool temps, not freezing.

 It wasn't full leaf season yet, but close to peak.   The leaves along the trail were pretty.  There were so many old farts out biking though.    Like a lot.

The ratio was easily 10:1 ,   over 50 somethings vs 20-30 year olds .     Normally when I go biking, it's the opposite.

I have to admit, I find rail trails kind of boring after awhile.    The quiet is nice, but rail trails are flat,  straight, and there were a ton of other riders.   Still, the scenery was nice.   I have so many photos of pretty lakes and ponds I didn't take any shots of that.     Just a few interesting trail shots.    I took a couple shots of the olympics buildings in Lake Placid too, because there's an ironman Rouvy route I ride on my indoor bike trainer that goes by those buildings; fun to see them in person. 

 I got a beer and burger in Lake Placid  (I still indulge in meat 1-2 times a month).    I did have to bike up a steep hill or two to get to the little brewpub to get to downtown Lake Placid, but it was worth the effort for better food options.    I also liked the lane markers on the lake in town.   For scull racing I'm guessing; you'll have to enlarge the photo see the markers.

 

 Some of the bridges were impressive on the rail trail too.     Snowmobilers pay for it all.  I bet at some point they'll have to charge cyclists too.   Seems fair.

 After getting back to my truck camper at Fish Creek, I had the same evening routine I described in my previous blog, but before dinner and a campfire, I biked down to the showers building while wearing my ugly bright green crocs.   Got a few odd looks but some smiles and waves too.   Life is more fun when you stop caring what other people think.

 

Thursday... 

Slept better.

I was quicker getting ready to make sure I had enough time to bike to the Wild Center in Tupper Lake to meet my parents and older sister.     I left at 8:30 almost an hour earlier than the day before. 

In the morning it was foggy on rt 30, but it cleared up after getting away from the ponds.   On Rt30 and Rt3, it was about 10 miles to get to the big i at the bottom of the map.  Took me about an hour.   The i is the Wild Center at Tupper Lake.

 

After my sister and I saw all the Trolls at the Wild Center, I biked over to Raquette River Brewing, while my sister went off to find my parents to drive them over.     They'd only need 5 minutes to drive there, but I needed at least 20 minutes to bike, so I needed the head start.   We timed it well.   I got there before them, ordered a beer, and I sat for maybe 5 minutes at most before they arrived.   We had a nice lunch together, said our goodbyes, and I biked to the nearby rail trail to bike back to Fish Creek Ponds Campground.   

On the map above, the red/white trail is the rail trail, looping back to Fish Creek 

 Sadly you do have to go a little out of the way to get back to the campground, there's no way to cut across the water when you get far enough North.   C'est La Vie.   More biking, not complaining!   But it did add another 6 miles of road biking.      I only did 36 miles total Thursday.   16 on the trail, 20 on the road.

 Having done all the rail trail, I will say the first day's ride was more scenic, and had more food options.   So if you don't have time to do it all.  I'd recommend just doing between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid if time is limited.     Also, I think heading from Saranac to Lake Placid, you're going up hill more, but wind is usually coming from the West.   Balances things out.

Plenty of food options along the way, I can see why it's so popular with people.   Very safe to ride, good road crossings.    Very little road noise most of the ride.

Photos from day 2  

 

2026 late September Fish Creek Ponds camping

I drove up to Fish Creek Ponds Campground after getting my semi-annual skin check Tuesday morning at the dermatologist.   All clear, yay!   My dorky sun hat and arm sleeves ftw!   I think after one more year, I can just get a skin check annually, if I don't have any more skin cancer spots found.   I do use Sunscreen on my face, but I keep covered otherwise.   Lightweight upf coverings work better than sunscreen imho,  sunscreen sweats off too easy, and it makes cleaning up at the end of the day harder.   From my VTXL rides, if you remember my filthy leg photos, I'm pretty sure the dirt stuck to my legs because of the sunscreen I put on.  

Anyway, back to camping.

As expected, lots of us old farts camping at Fish Creek.    Reminded me of the old Simpson's episode, "Wild Barts Can't be Broken".   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3-Nm7mXg2I

It's the episode where the old folks in the retirement home get annoyed with the noise in town waking them up all the time, so they somehow win a ballot initiative to put a ridiculously early curfew on everyone < 70.   With the curfew in place,  the old farts have a great time partying in town while everyone else was stuck at home.    Not a huge Simpsons fan, but that episode just stuck in my mind.   Anyway, that's what Fish Creek feels like after kids go back to school, especially Monday-Friday.

I picked site 109, which during the Summer would be a horrible campsite because it's right by the playground area, but I took a guess that with kids in school it would be quiet and give me more space to myself.  I was correct!    I also didn't bother getting a waterfront site.  I knew I'd be off biking/hiking during the day, so why waste the money for a more expensive site that's just colder at night anyway.

I've developed a good dinner/evening routine when camping solo with the truck.    Before heating up dinner, I setup the solo stove, pour in some wood pellets, spritz some charcoal lighter fluid on the pellets, light it, and put the UFO, heat deflector dish on top.   I don't have to mess with it again, the fire builds on its own.  

Also, I've learned adding less pellets works far better.   Make a ski slope of pellets inside the solostove leaving some of the bottom vent plate uncovered, and the pellets burn great!   Nice big flames and you can add more pellets/wood later.   Just keep some of the bottom air vents uncovered.

It only takes a couple minutes to start the fire, and because it's all self-contained, I can just walk off to the truck to fish out food from the fridge, reheat it, and set up my camp chair by the stove to eat dinner.     It usually takes about 20-30 minutes for the fire to really start throwing heat, but I eat early, around 5-5:30, so it's not that cold out yet.   I usually have plenty of time to eat and do dishes before having to mess with the fire again.   I often eat by the tailgate, because the solostove is a little smoky at first.

I also bought some bags of firewood from the nearby store across the road from the campground.  Be Warned.  they charge a lot  Nearly $10/bag.  Almost twice what everyone else charges, but with gas prices I didn't feel it was worth driving around to find cheaper firewood.

I also brought my 42" long fire tongs for tending the fire and I've figured out a way to use them for lifting the UFO dish off the top when I need to move things around inside the fire.   I'll have to make a short video someday to show off my technique.   It's very safe IMHO.   I put the tongs under the lid parallel to the ground, holding the tongs' metal lengths halfway down each bar, squat down, keep the tongs in an open X shape and carefully stand up, lifting up the UFO as I stand up.    As I lift the UFO, the ends of the tong handles push up under my forearms, counterbalancing the UFO lid.   Like I said, a video is probably needed.   You do need to be able to squat though, so my technique won't work for everyone.    They make a handle you can attach to the middle of the UFO dish, but it must get super hot.   I'd rather not risk lifting it that way

 

Anyhoo, after dinner and dishes, I just tend the fire until 8-9p.m. while I sit in my camp chair reading or watching tv/movies on my tablet.    I have a little folding camp stool to put my legs up on too.   The heat from the fire keeps my feet and lower legs toasty.   

Before bed,  I remove the UFO dish one last time via my squat technique, add an ember shield over the top of the stove, and put the heat deflector back on.     With the ember shield in place, I can safely let the fire burn itself out overnight.     There's so little ash left the next day just letting it burn everything down inside.      Also, you CANNOT pour water into the solo stove to put the fire out.   it would shatter/warp the metal.   I'd have to somehow dump the fire/coals out of the stove before dousing the burning wood/coals with water.    DANGEROUS.     

Anyway.    I flossed, used my portable water pik, and brushed my teeth and off to bed.  I also had my dental cleaning the day before (monday).   The hygienist was very happy, so my nighttime routine is worth it, but I don't bring the waterpik bikepacking.    When I'm cleaning my teeth before bed, I often wonder if nearby campers wonder what the weird noises are (electric toothbrush and waterpik).  LOL    Away from the fire, standing by the tailgate it felt chilly for September.    It got down to 33F just before dawn, but most of the evening was in the 40's, 1-6C for my european friends.    40's makes for good sleeping weather.

First night I tried wearing just my thick flannel over a T shirt with my separate synthetic down hat/hoodie, but it was a tad chilly if I'm honest.      This hoodie  

 

Usually,  I sort of sleep on my stomach or side but I often push one arm above my head as I sleep.  I refer to it as sleeping "superman style", like I'm flying.    

 

 So my one arm sticking out from under the quilt with just the flannel covering my arm would get too cold and wake me up.   After waking up, I'd pull my arm back under the toasty quilt (the quilt is comfort rated down to 20F/-6.6C), but as I slept, I'd move an arm back up to the  Superman flight pose and I'd wake up in an hour or two.   I don't push the arm straight out, it sort of wraps around the top of my head, but you get the idea.  I also wear wool gloves when I sleep, so my hands stay warm; it was just the arm getting cold.

 I brought a cheap down jacket too, so the next 2 nights I wore that over the flannel and slept much better.     The downside of the down jacket's hood is that it's quite loose, and because it's a cheap jacket, it doesn't have cinch cords to tighten up the hood around my face/head.     The hood doesn't stay in place well while sleeping.   Slips right off my head making it useless.    But I also brought my new, home made ear muff cover gadget.    I used some parts from making duffel bags and some 1" wide elastic webbing I got off Amazon that has silicone grip material on it.    I sewed the d rings to some black webbing.    Riveted the strap assembly to the ear muff, and sewed on the elastic webbing to keep it on my head.

 

It was far more comfortable to wear the single ear muff while I slept.    I normally don't toss/turn much after I fall asleep.    So leaving it over my left ear wasn't an issue.   Sometimes I wake up just before dawn feeling the need to roll to my other side, so I just move the ear muff to the other ear.   I usually have to add an eye mask at that point due to the dawn waking me up too.  If I'm lucky I get 1 more hour of sleep.

I fully admit, it sort of looks like I made a weird jock strap for my head, but it's far more comfy than the original metal head band it came with.   Combined with some soft foam ear plugs, I fell asleep super easy.   There were some noisy loons on the pond, and the added ear muff completely blocked out the racket they were making; it also kept the loose hood of the down jacket on my head too, so my head was kept warm.   Win Win.    For cool weather bike touring, I think i'm bringing the down jacket now and leaving the separate hoodie at home.   The down jacket is loose now that I've lost so much weight, but it packs small and keeps me warm down to 32F/0C with another layer or two under it.

 

The white straps were so much more comfortable than the original metal head band.   When I used it with the headband, I'd always wake up having pushed the ear muff off while sleeping.   The metal band did kind of squeeze my skull, not enough to prevent falling asleep, but uncomfortable enough I'm sure that's why I'd push it off while sleeping.

 

 

In the morning, I got up and made myself a protein smoothie (with a NutriBullet I keep in the truck), and I reheated some pre-made oatmeal I had in the Dometic fridge.   The last day, I splurged and made some pancakes before my hike up blue mt.   More on that later.

At home, I made oatmeal per this recipe before heading out.    Also the day before leaving for Fish Creek, I cooked some indian red lentil dal, mexican lentil soup, and Italian lentil meatballs with carbe diem pasta.   A lentil bonanza!.      Lentils are great sources of potassium and magnesium.   Good source of fiber, carbs and proteins too.    

It's nice being able to go hike or bike all day knowing I have yummy food ready at the truck and I just have to zap it 3-4 minutes before I can pig out.   I know lentils don't sound appetizing to most people, but I spice the bejeezus out of my food, to the point I find normal recipes kind of blah.    Very bland.   Sadly, I think that's a Vegan thing.     I'm not vegan, mostly vegetarian.   But you start to crave plant based food by spicing it more, if that makes sense.   And I don't necessarily mean hot spicy, I mean flavor spice.    I often add 2x the suggested amounts on recipes.

Anyway, I'm going to do separate posts on the biking, hiking, and Tupper Wild Center Trolls.