Bud3010
07-05-2011, 08:09 PM
What a wonderful weekend in the Adirondacks !! I arrived at the Loj parking area Thursday evening ( 6/30 ) at about 9 P M. I saw a couple standing in a little rain having a celebration drink so I went over to say hello. The woman immediately asked if I was Bud. Naturelovr had been reading my TR's and recognized me when I told her which peak I was doing and that I was camping. After chatting quite a while they departed and I went back to the car for a bedtime snack and went to sleep.
I was tired and the night went by fast. I wanted to be at the trailhead by 6 or 6:30 even though I was only going as far as MacEntire Falls to pitch my tent. I was all set to go and when I put my new backpack on, I discovered the clip for the sternum strap was missing. I could find no other strap on the pack to use to replace it so my only option was to try and tie it or wait for the Lake Placid EMS to open. I chose the latter as I really had all day to get to the campsite. The clerk really didn't want to deal with rigging up a strap for me and kept saying he had to wait on another customer behind me. After three times of this ( one very lengthy as the man needed help picking out his food and then had to rent a cannister). Those of us in the EMS Fayetteville area don't know how good our service is until we face something like this!! Finally I told the clerk I would buy a whole new pack..take the clip off that and put it on mine..then go to the Fayetteville EMS and deal with it later . He thought that was a great idea..waited on another customer and then completed my sale. Good thing I had all day !!
So back to the Loj parking lot and off by 11:30. The hike as everyone knows the first mile is a piece of cake. I knew my pack was very heavy but I was fresh and I went on. Upon returning home, I stopped at the Fayetteville EMS and weighed the pack. It was an embarrassing 56 pounds !! Believe me I really noticed it when I hit the Algonquin trail. After dozens of rests I got to the campsite at 6:30. No speed record there and yes a HUGE lesson learned. I had even piggy backed my day pack to the back pack and the space was there so I filled that too!!
Day 2 went just as planned. I headed out quite late (10:30) for Wright. On the way I met two couples. The first man, (even though I never met him) I knew immediately. PaRidgerunner and Muddy Bottom along with Snickers and Bushwhacker were on their way out. We chatted a while and then we both were on our way. There really were no big surprises as far as the hike except the big wind at the summit and the lack of people there. The views were fantastic. I looked over at Algonquin and decided right there that was going to be for another day. I was hiking my own hike and enjoying myself ( not peak bagging ) so I headed back to the campsite. Boy did it rain hard that night !
I had planned to just hang out at the falls all of Day 3 and just relax and talk to all the hikers passing through but the weather was not good so I packed up and headed out. Everything went fine til the first 100 feet. I decided to drag the pack down that first decline and the clip again came off and got lost. When at the bottom I put the pack on and had to hold the straps together . The first hiker I met gave me a hand. I came up with the idea of using my GPS string to tie the two straps together. Not the most desirable fit but 4 hours later I was at the parking area. ..both me and the 56 pound pack.
I know this is NOT how you all hike but this really works for me. I have no intentions of ever doing all 46.. What I do intend to do is just keep doing one at a time ..one step at a time at my own happy pace. If its that I am only doing the "easy" ones thats ok with me. There were a few posts to my last TR that implied ( or came right out and said ) to hang it up . I'm not ready for that quite yet. I will just keep moving to the side and let the real hikers pass and have fun. Next up is Giant... camping at Wash Bowl.. If you see a short chubby guy just barely moving along , just say Hi Bud3010. I love to chat.
No trip report would be complete without saying a special thank you to a man that has helped me out so much in making my hikes both fun and safe. ..(No he was not responsible for the 56 pounds in the pack..) Thank you ADK JACK !
Bud
I was tired and the night went by fast. I wanted to be at the trailhead by 6 or 6:30 even though I was only going as far as MacEntire Falls to pitch my tent. I was all set to go and when I put my new backpack on, I discovered the clip for the sternum strap was missing. I could find no other strap on the pack to use to replace it so my only option was to try and tie it or wait for the Lake Placid EMS to open. I chose the latter as I really had all day to get to the campsite. The clerk really didn't want to deal with rigging up a strap for me and kept saying he had to wait on another customer behind me. After three times of this ( one very lengthy as the man needed help picking out his food and then had to rent a cannister). Those of us in the EMS Fayetteville area don't know how good our service is until we face something like this!! Finally I told the clerk I would buy a whole new pack..take the clip off that and put it on mine..then go to the Fayetteville EMS and deal with it later . He thought that was a great idea..waited on another customer and then completed my sale. Good thing I had all day !!
So back to the Loj parking lot and off by 11:30. The hike as everyone knows the first mile is a piece of cake. I knew my pack was very heavy but I was fresh and I went on. Upon returning home, I stopped at the Fayetteville EMS and weighed the pack. It was an embarrassing 56 pounds !! Believe me I really noticed it when I hit the Algonquin trail. After dozens of rests I got to the campsite at 6:30. No speed record there and yes a HUGE lesson learned. I had even piggy backed my day pack to the back pack and the space was there so I filled that too!!
Day 2 went just as planned. I headed out quite late (10:30) for Wright. On the way I met two couples. The first man, (even though I never met him) I knew immediately. PaRidgerunner and Muddy Bottom along with Snickers and Bushwhacker were on their way out. We chatted a while and then we both were on our way. There really were no big surprises as far as the hike except the big wind at the summit and the lack of people there. The views were fantastic. I looked over at Algonquin and decided right there that was going to be for another day. I was hiking my own hike and enjoying myself ( not peak bagging ) so I headed back to the campsite. Boy did it rain hard that night !
I had planned to just hang out at the falls all of Day 3 and just relax and talk to all the hikers passing through but the weather was not good so I packed up and headed out. Everything went fine til the first 100 feet. I decided to drag the pack down that first decline and the clip again came off and got lost. When at the bottom I put the pack on and had to hold the straps together . The first hiker I met gave me a hand. I came up with the idea of using my GPS string to tie the two straps together. Not the most desirable fit but 4 hours later I was at the parking area. ..both me and the 56 pound pack.
I know this is NOT how you all hike but this really works for me. I have no intentions of ever doing all 46.. What I do intend to do is just keep doing one at a time ..one step at a time at my own happy pace. If its that I am only doing the "easy" ones thats ok with me. There were a few posts to my last TR that implied ( or came right out and said ) to hang it up . I'm not ready for that quite yet. I will just keep moving to the side and let the real hikers pass and have fun. Next up is Giant... camping at Wash Bowl.. If you see a short chubby guy just barely moving along , just say Hi Bud3010. I love to chat.
No trip report would be complete without saying a special thank you to a man that has helped me out so much in making my hikes both fun and safe. ..(No he was not responsible for the 56 pounds in the pack..) Thank you ADK JACK !
Bud