Non-Comercial Locations in the Adirondacks

[ScAtTeRbOnE]

The trip up Sunrise Mtn should be about 3.5-4 miles RT or less and about 1500-1600 elevation gain, so probably 2.5-3hrs depending on stops, summit time etc.

The Buffalo Farm is just interesting to stop at and look/take pics of the animals in the mountain setting, if the gift shop/meat shop is open even better. (The owners live across the road.)

Time-frame for Mckenzie hike would depend on your pace. Could be anywhere from 5-8 hours.

As for the Rt 73 stops/waterfalls, they would be nice spots to check out also if you get a rainy/dreary day, waterfalls are awesome in that weather.

As for shoes, If your not used to technical/rocky/rooty/steep trails you'll probably want ankle support, the Adirondack trails can be ankle twisters.

[Christian]

Originally Posted by ScAtTeRbOnE

The trip up Sunrise Mtn should be about 3.5-4 miles RT or less and about 1500-1600 elevation gain, so probably 2.5-3hrs depending on stops, summit time etc.

The Buffalo Farm is just interesting to stop at and look/take pics of the animals in the mountain setting, if the gift shop/meat shop is open even better. (The owners live across the road.)

Time-frame for Mckenzie hike would depend on your pace. Could be anywhere from 5-8 hours.

As for the Rt 73 stops/waterfalls, they would be nice spots to check out also if you get a rainy/dreary day, waterfalls are awesome in that weather.

As for shoes, If your not used to technical/rocky/rooty/steep trails you'll probably want ankle support, the Adirondack trails can be ankle twisters.

As always, you rock! Thanks for the info! BTW buffalo is yummy, so I'd purchase some jerky or meat if they had it

[ScAtTeRbOnE]

Originally Posted by Christian

buffalo is yummy

I agree It's actually the only ground meat I eat. I'm hosting a Buffalo BBQ Bash this summer featuring mostly buffalo meat, maybe I can rent a Buffalo from the farm for the afternoon to hang out with at the party.

[Christian]

Originally Posted by ScAtTeRbOnE

I agree It's actually the only ground meat I eat. I'm hosting a Buffalo BBQ Bash this summer featuring mostly buffalo meat, maybe I can rent a Buffalo from the farm for the afternoon to hang out with at the party.

Hah! Wish I could be there! You may just have to buy the buffalo . BTW, I am looking into getting maps now and planning out my routes more concretely...

For a main map of the trails we are going to be traveling, will the map that you suggested previously cover them all? (http://www.natgeomaps.com/ti_746.html) If not, what other maps should I get?

Thanks!

[adkhikermom]

I'm going to toss out a whole new idea... If you really want to get away from any commercial parts of the Adirondacks, head to a more central area. In Newcomb you can hike Goodnow Mountain, rent kayaks at Cloudsplitter right on Route 28N and put in right there on the Hudson River and even rent a cabin they have. The owners are Ruth and Dave Olbert, who are also licensed guides. Very knowledgeable. Also in Newcomb is the Adirondack Interpretive Center, Lake Harris and Santanoni, the great camp that's only accessible on foot, by bike or horse drawn carriage. There's a small diner in town or you could drive about 15 miles to Long Lake for a few dining options. Good luck!

[ScAtTeRbOnE]

National Geographic Trails Illustrated #742 has Nun-Da Ga-O (Marked as Soda Range), all the Ausable Valley trails (Colvin/Indian Head etc.), shows the trailhead for Mckenzie, but the next map to the north (#746) is needed for the whole trail. It does show the road into and public trails around Elk Lake but not the private trail up Sunrise Mtn (although Sunrise Mtn is marked on the map.) Elk Lake Lodge will have info on that trail anyway. If you think you'll be hiking more in the High Peaks area you could purchase some guidebooks as well.

Guidebooks:
Adirondack Trails: High Peaks Region
Discover the Adirondack High Peaks

If you want to buy a mapping program for the computer to print out all the National Geographic maps and make your own map, you can get that HERE

[Christian]

Whoa that software sounds really neat. Would I be able to save routes and print from a library? I do not have a printer set up at the moment. Also, would it be unwise to only utilize this software/print my own maps from it and not purchase the 742/746 maps to bring with me? Which do you think is the all-around the best bet? I get excited over these things and will wind up buying everything and wasting money haha so let me know what will suffice for this trip.

[ScAtTeRbOnE]

The National Geo Maps are waterproof and have lasted me a couple years. That being said, they are larger fold out maps. I did not know about the software until after I bought the maps. The software is nice and you should be able to overlay your tracks/routes before printing but you'd have to purchase the Adventure Paper that goes with it so your maps hold up in bad weather.

[Christian]

Sorry this took so long everyone! Life got very busy. But as promised, here is how the proposal went!

Introduction:
Planning to propose to your best friend and high school sweetheart does not come easy. For the hopeless romantic it seems impossible to find the right words, the best location, and of course, the right ring. My story began with the pursuit of the ring. After much thought, I figured that the ring would be a sort of stepping stone that might lead me to a conjuring of words and down the path to a successful proposal. I’m not entirely sure that this plan worked, but nevertheless, everything came together wonderfully. In the end, it was the support and advice from over a dozen people and numerous communities that helped me make the proposal flawless. From personal friends and loved ones to online communities of strangers, the answers were all waiting to be discovered. The only wrong questions were the ones that I didn’t ask. So as a token of appreciation, I would like to recap the special moment that Maria and I shared and the process that led up to it. Thank you to everyone who helped to make my proposal unforgettable.

Finding the Ring:
Maria and I, like any young couple, often considered marriage. We would talk about the things we both wanted, and of course, her ideal engagement ring. I knew from the start that Maria’s favorite stone was the sapphire and that she valued elegant simplicity. Between my senior year of high school and my freshman year of college, I would often draw ideas of unique bands and settings for the ring. In fact, it was the summer before my freshman year of college that I contacted a local jeweler to have a custom band cast for a stone that Maria and I had found together.
To make a long story short, Maria and I took a small vacation together to visit Howe Caverns and Herkimer Diamond Mine the summer before I went to college. It was at Herkimer that we found a good-sized “Herkimer diamond” which I sent to Ohio to have cut into a 0.5 carat round stone to be set in the band that I designed (and had cast locally). One day I presented this ring (see the first image below) to Maria while she was visiting me at college along with a poem I had written for the occasion. It was a promise ring; one that was special to us, since we had found the stone together.
Coming back to the main story now, I had envisioned the engagement ring having a sapphire for the center stone and incorporating small pieces of Herkimer diamonds which I would have cut from other stones we found on our trip together. This way the unique “specialness” that I was able to give the promise ring could be carried on to the engagement ring. After speaking with many companies and working for months, I found that this would be very uneconomical and would void most warranties. I wound up working with a kind representative of JBR to have several bands and stones shipped to my local store to choose from, but none of them ever spoke to me. We did find a beautiful sapphire; however, the bands weren’t cutting it for me.
I was feeling pretty somber and running out of time because I wanted to propose over the summer when I could plan for a nice get-a-way. Then one day while I was searching online for rings, I came across Brilliant Earth. I read their mission statement and ethos and saw their incredible craftsmanship and was instantly sold. I absolutely cannot say enough about this company. They are not a large chain, but a small business. They insure that all of their products are 100% conflict free by only working with a few gem mines which they personally examine and certify. They track the progress of all of their work and insure that fair labor practices are strictly enforced through all steps of building the ring. They hand select their gems to insure incredible clarity and brilliant color. And to top it all off, they donate 5% of everything they make to help communities that have suffered from unethical practices in the jewelry industry. I was very ecstatic.
The rest was quick work. I spoke with a very knowledgeable and kind employee and was able to select which sapphire I preferred out of a line up (Maria wanted a deep dark blue sapphire with high clarity). The end result was phenomenal (see the second image below)! I had the ring in my hands in about a month and weeks before the trip I was planning.
Deciding Where to Propose:
Maria and I come from working middle class families. We are both college students at private institutions with loans in our names. There was no chance of proposing on a beach in the Caribbean. This wasn’t a problem since both Maria and I would both prefer the mountains over a beach any day. That being said, I had a great local opportunity for a fantastic proposal location: the Adirondacks. My decision was made however I would quickly learn how overwhelming it could be to try and plan a trip through the wilderness when you have never been there. I read books, and blogs. I stared at maps and used GPS software. None of it got me any closer to deciding where I wanted to stay or what I wanted to see in the ADK. All of it sounded fantastic. So, I did what any desperate person should do and I asked for help.
A quick Google search brought me to two outstanding forums: ADK High Peaks, and ADK Forums. Both of these forums are littered with wonderful people who possess limitless knowledge about the area. Unfortunately, I still found myself overwhelmed by the responses. In fact, the responses led me to even more questions. Should we camp or lodge? Where should we hike? What should we bring? Bugs? Bears? What about gear and food and and and…? The forum users were kind to not scare me away for being so pathetic. In the end, I was left with a plethora of knowledge to digest. I took ample time to process everything and then chose what options I thought would be best. I could not have done it without the help of all the amazing forum contributors. Thank you!

Here is how it all went:

The Proposal Adventure:
First, I should mention the preparations that needed to be made. I had to warn Maria that we would be going on an adventurous get-a-way. I did not tell her where but said that we would be hiking and would need some gear. We both went to multiple stores and tried on hiking shoes and backpacks, etc and then bargain shopped online. I was able to get us both hydropacks, hiking shoes, etc online for much cheaper. I made sure that we would have everything and still be packing light (daypacks).
The trip started early Monday morning on August 13, 2012. We had a hearty breakfast at a local truck stop with my dad, stepmom, and grandfather. We headed out at 07:00. After about a 3-3.5 hour drive and an unfortunate speeding ticket, we arrived at St. Regis Canoe Outfitters. We chose our kayaks and a 4 hour trek across Middle and Lower Saranac Lakes. From the start we were greeted by some friendly ducks and beautiful water lilies. The view when we came out of the channel and into the lake was indescribably beautiful. We enjoyed ourselves and took photos and decided to eat lunch on top of a 60 foot cliff on an island in the lake. On our way back to the kayaks I stepped in some dog poop and for the life of me couldn’t figure out from where the dreadful stink was coming. I figured it out and washed my shoe at the edge of the water and we were back on our way. After we got back to St. Regis Canoe Outfitters we headed out for the High Peaks Resort where I had booked us a luxurious King with balcony overlooking Lake Placid.
We checked into the resort, oohed and ahhed, and took a hot shower in a fancy tile/glass shower. I then made a phone call and reserved us dinner at the Chair 6 restaurant in Lake Placid while Maria got prettied-up. Upon arriving to Chair 6 we were a bit underwhelmed. It was a quaint little white house with lots of flowers. This didn’t shy us off, for we don’t judge great food by fancy lights and wallpaper. We were seated in a room not big enough for maybe 6 couples. We were alone too, no one else showed up. This made for a very special evening. We both chose the five-course meal with wine pairings. We were blown away! We had amazing wine and 5+ star exotic dishes from quail to wild boar. By the end of the night, we were dying to run into the kitchen and demand to see the chef. We did not need to, for he came to us while we were finishing our desert. A quiet and humble man with professional pose stood before our table and asked how our dinner was. We all but burst his ego with uncontrollable compliments. I then had to ask what his background was…which led to an incredible response: “I have no formal instruction in cooking.” He said this without shame or regret. “I am an economist,” he tells us. An economist with one serious passion/talent for cooking! We then traveled back to the resort happy and full and walked the Lake Placid strip. We bought some gourmet popcorn and headed back to the resort to get some rest before tomorrow’s adventures.
We got up at a reasonable time and had breakfast at 08:00 at the Dancing Bear restaurant on the resort. They gave us a ton of food and had flavorful organic coffee. We then set out to find the Raybrook trailhead for Mt. McKenzie and found it. We embarked on our first mountain trail (~11 miles and 2221 feet of elevation change). We met one trail runner early on and a father hiking with her daughter near the second false summit. Besides that, things were very quiet and peaceful. We ate lunch at the top and talked to the father/daughter about the area and headed back down after pictures. About half-way down, it started to downpour. We sealed our cameras, wallets, and phones in Ziplock bags and wound up getting drenched. It felt good and we even decided to pick up the pace and jog out. We got back to the car and realized that the hike took 2 hours longer than I had thought it would. It was at that moment that I remembered that I had booked a horseback tour of the Olympic Nordic Trails for Maria and I and we were late! I called them and explained and they said that they had another group leaving in 30 minutes with no signs of rain. We quickly drove over and had a blast (Maria used to train/ride horses when she was little, and LOVES them). Maria had the spunky, giant stallion, Johnny Cash, and I was paired with the timid, caboose, Dakota. At one point Johnny Cash scared Dakota and I was off at a hurried canter. Dakota was good and listened to my commands and we had a relaxing ride through the trails with a nice family (mom, dad, and two high school-aged kids) that provided some great comedic relief (it was their first time on horses). When we were done we headed off to the Elk Lake Lodge. The manager was incredibly accommodating and had saved us our dinner. He immediately guided us to the dining room before checking in. We were famished and he knew it, haha. He heated up our steak dinners and left us to enjoy. We then showered and went to bed.
The next morning the breakfast bell was rung and we headed downstairs for a wonderful breakfast with bagged lunches provided for the trail. We were both tired and sore from the day before and I decided that since the Elk Lake was so beautiful we would stay there instead of heading off to where I had planned (Nun-da-ga-o ridge). We took a canoe out onto the lake and heard the most beautiful sound echoing through the mountains (what we learned was a loon). We then saw the loon and attempted to paddle over to see him. He dipped under the water and we waited for what seemed like forever for him to come back up (we also learned that loons can dive underwater for longer than 10 minutes; however, most dive for 35-45 seconds at a time). He then popped up really far away, which shocked us. We continued to chase him around until we finally got some decent photos and continued on our way. We then saw a Herring, who wanted nothing to do with us. Later, we came across a Bald Eagle that was diving for fish. He flew off before we got close enough to really see him. When we got back we had lunch on the dock and then decided to take the private trail up to Sunrise Mountain. When we finally got to the steep parts we realized how beat our legs were. We would go up a little ways and stop to catch our breath and rest our legs. We did this for quite a while, and eventually made it to the top. The view was very pretty and there were tons of giant, blue dragonflies swarming around (my guess is that they hatched not too long before). When we came back down we enjoyed some nice sharp cheddar cheese and grapes provided by the staff.
I would like to note at this point that I still have not decided when I am going to propose and there is one day to go! I had made up my mind that the moment would present itself just as the ring had, and that I would let fate decide. Sure enough, everything did fall into place.
After we had finished cleaning up and the dinner bell was rung, we headed downstairs for our delicious dinner. We ordered a bottle of wine to go with dinner and decided that we would take a canoe out on the lake to watch the sunset. It was like getting hit in the head with a baseball bat. This was the perfect opportunity. So we ordered a bottle of wine to go along with some wine glasses. I grabbed a blanket and our gourmet popcorn and headed out (with ring hidden away). When we had rowed a good distance out, we stopped, anchored and nestled down under the blanket. I poured us some wine and starting itching for the words besides “this is nice,” and “it’s so beautiful.” For the first time in my entire life I was at a complete loss of words. I often premeditate conversations before engaging in them, but it was at this moment that I realized I hadn’t planned a damn word on how I was going to propose. No poem, nothing! To make matters more complicated, I still had to figure out how to get her promise ring out of the way. I used this to make my move. I brought up how long we had been together (this trip marked our 5 year anniversary together) and asked to look at her promise ring. I then jokingly pretended to throw it into the lake, much to her dismay. In her frenzied state, I then started to tell her how she wouldn’t need it and brought out the engagement ring to propose. I didn’t get the candid camera screaming in shock reaction but rather the deer in the headlights stare followed by a quick yes. It seems that Maria was also at a loss of words. She was happy, that much I could feel. She loved the ring and couldn’t get over how beautiful it was. We then shared the moment over a glass of wine and watched the sun finish setting. When we finally looked above where we were laying in the canoe we could see a massive swam of insects hovering…it was time to go back. I rowed us quickly in and Maria proceeded to run through the kitchen telling all of the cooks and helpers that she was engaged. We wound up sharing another bottle of wine late into the night with the two young lodge caretakers before finally settling in for the night.
The next morning was full of congratulations. The other families and the waitresses all wanted to see the ring. One older couple who was watching the sunset from the dock told us that they thought I might have been up to something when we headed out together last night. Another couple of middle-aged women asked us if they had missed the big proposal at dinner the night before, and I assured them that they hadn’t. It was a great community vibe and Maria and I were very happy. After breakfast we headed over to the Ausable Club to take on one last hike before heading home. After meeting a nice woman named Cindy in the parking lot, we chose to visit Indian Head Cliff over the Ausable Chasm together. We had originally planned to go all the way to the top of Mt. Colvin and back down, but decided we just wanted a pretty view without killing ourselves. So, we ate lunch atop Indian Head and then headed down to Rainbow Falls. Afterwards, we stopped at a small local restaurant for lunch and then headed home.

Afterward:
Maria and I now live happily in our apartment in Rochester, NY with our 6 month old Eclectus parrot, Dovahkiin (see picture below). Maria is in her second year at the Rochester Institute of Technology studying Packing Science with a co-op with Estée Lauder lined up for this coming summer. I (Christian) am currently finishing up my third and final year at RIT studying Biochemistry. I am graduating early and beginning United States Navy SEAL training shortly thereafter.

Acknowledgments:
Members of the ADK High Peaks forum
Members of the ADK Forums
Ryan Stauffer of Brilliant Earth
The Equine Center
High Peaks Resort
Chair 6 Restaurant
Elk Lake Lodge
And everyone who helped to make our stay in the ADK so special…
THANK YOU!

Photographs:




For an album of our trip go here: http://s200.beta.photobucket.com/use...roposal%20Trip

[DackerDan]

Congratulations. May your life together always be happy.

[ScAtTeRbOnE]

Christian,
Great Report! I'm glad you had a great trip and that you were able to get a good feel for a region that I'm sure you'll return to. Paddling, horseback ridging, hiking, dining etc. sounds like you kept busy too. Congrats on your engagement and wish a great future for you both.

[FlyingCow]

Any TR involving a Solomon's Island Eclectus is good in my book!

Congrats, and great job on the whole plan! Now you guys gotta keep coming back!

[whistlerbrk]

If the weather and skill level is appropriate I would suggest Big Slide. Big pay off in terms of view for the effort.