ADK: Extreme Hiking and Extreme Chillaxing

My first experience in The Adirondacks came totally by accident. And it was seriously the best accident to have happened. Steve and I were planning for our 5^th Anniversary and since I was so amazed that someone would choose to spend 5 years non-stop with me that we were planning a trip that was worth it. So we made plans to go to Colorado for a whole week. Camping, beer, hiking. What’s not to love? Oh except, that trip never happened. Flights were not cooperating, and after spending 2 days getting bumped from flight to flight, and having bags get lost twice, we just decided to call it a loss and do something else. So quickly made arrangements to head north and explore more of New York. It’s now one of my favorite things to drive over The Champlain Bridge from Vermont to New York (yes, we are back) to this picture-perfect vacation land.

And the three days we spent in The Adirondacks made me a fan for life. And this time we are experiencing all our new favorites and falling in love with what makes this region so amazing. We headed back to the same campground, Lake Durant. It’s still beautiful and we scored a sweet spot lake-side, but the influx of people makes it less than optimal. Last time it was the tail-end of the summer and the campsite was not as crowded. But 4^th of July weekend is a whole other scene. The Asian family of 12 next door to us definitely dampens the feel, but come on. When this is your view, it’s really hard to be annoyed.

Since we are here for a solid week, we are taking full advantage of all the excursions The ADK has to offer. If you too would like an awesome week in The Adirondacks, I’ll break it down for you in 5 simple steps:

Step One: Get an awesome campsite

There are a few ways you can do it up in The ADK. One, is by renting a lake house for that [hashtag: lakelife]. Haven’t done that yet, but I fully intend to take advantage of that. Another is getting an amazing campsite for the #camplife which is how we choose to experience the Adirondacks. And let me tell you, it is so worth it. Now before you cringe and tell me you could never live in a tent for a week, let me tell you: YOU CAN! The campsite we discovered last summer is right on Lake Durant, has clean water, and a shower house! They will even provide you with ice for your cooler and firewood too. There is nothing like washing lake water off your body then sitting around the campfire looking at this. We love Lake Durant as it’s perfectly situated from several smallish towns to make for perfect day trips. But we will get to that later.

Step Two: Paddle your own canoe (or if you have friends they can come too)

Whichever life you choose – camplife or lakelife – a part of both is the boatlife. And that is something that doesn’t discriminate. There is actually a Canoe Guy who drives to our campsite everyday delivering canoes for daily rental, which we happily paid $43 for. We were so excited about the prospect of spending the day on the water, with some snacks and our best puppy friend. Except for one little problem. Ella is not a fan of the canoe. Now, this dog of ours loves the water. I think it goes, humans, water, car rides, people food. Not in that order, but dragging her our of water is a chore. But not as much as trying to get her back in the canoe she very quickly jumped out of. We just didn’t think she could swim for 5 miles non-stop. She loves the water but she’s also very lazy. Exactly like me. So we left the puppy on shore and had a perfect nearly 10-mile trip. Except for the wind. But the sun was perfect. I’m a crew rower when I’m not going on cross-country road-trips so using my arms and going forwards was very strange for me. But I’m a trooper, so it didn’t ruin my day.

Step Three: Day Trips

The Adirondacks is pretty much made up of smallish towns and villages that you will probably drive through on your way to your selected destination. They cause me to deliver my line, “oh this is so cute! Let’s come here next year.” I’m pretty sure I state that every town we pass is the cutest town ever. It’s kind of hard to keep up. This year, we made a few days trips to some local towns and since none was more than an hour away, it was a fun way to break up camping and also explore more of The Adirondacks.

Saranac Lake & Lake Placid are a few of the larger towns we went to and if you are looking to explore a bit more of the lake life without #camplife these towns definitely fit the bill. We visited a few breweries (as we typically do) and enjoyed a perfect afternoon with our puppy. One thing that’s been a little difficult is finding places that will accomadate our other family member. Luckily we camp upon two breweries that were very welcoming to dogs. Sitting outside drinking tasty beer is a perfect summer activity. I never drank beer before I met Stephen. But exploring new craft breweries is one of our favorite activities. We have quite a collection of pint glasses, which is good because we don’t own any actual drinking glasses. We are responsible. Big Slide Brewery is definitely a new favorite. AThey are relatively new and have some delicious beer. Tater tot poutine — which my Poutine-purist brother quickly scoffed at — was also consumed and loved. Tasting flights are pretty much one of the best inventions and I love feeling lightheaded and happy from good beer. Sunshine, beer, and puppy times. Such a good day.

Our campsite was halfway between Schroon Lake and Long Lake and these towns are much smaller than Lake Placid and maintain more of a low-key lake life vibe. The downtown area is one street, full of camp souvenir stores and a gas station, and of course an ice cream shop — more on that later. Long Lake is apparently so busy it needs 2 ice cream shops. Right across the street from each other. I only went to one, but since I literally had S’MORES ICE CREAM I felt fulfilled in my ice cream endeavors.

Visiting Old Forge for The 4th of July was a good time. I’m always partial to walking around these towns, and Old Forge is perfect for that. We even got Ella a present in the form of a Bull Horn. It makes me feel less guilty when we leave her places. This puppy mom life is ruff. One of my favorite things is sugar. And Old Forge has probably my favorite candy store with unreal fudge. If you have not experienced the by-the-pound fudge shops, GO NOW. It’s a good one.

Step Four: Summertime Treats

Ice cream. Otherwise known as the definition of summer. Or life. I love ice cream. As in, never say no to it. Ever. If there is a surefire way to make me immediately stress-free it is ice cream, most definitely. Ice cream will always make a good day the best day. I have to say, I’m slightly disappointed in my ice cream consumption during this leg of the trip. We only had it once during our ADK adventures. But it’s early and this roadtrip is far from over. We adventured out from our campsite to Long Lake for ice cream cones. I have a really hard time choosing flavors because I basically love all of them. Since we hadn’t yet had s’mores I actually had that. Yes, toasty, spicy ice cream with marshmallow swirl and chocolate chips. It was a good decision. Custard’s Last Stand is a pretty good name for an ice cream store and I’m into puns that work. The lack of custard was disappointing though. But I know there will be room for that (Missouri, I’m looking at you).

Step Five: Have an adventure

The Adirondacks has a vast array of hiking adventures so there really is something for everyone. A word of warning though, The Adirondacks do not follow a typical difficulty scale. I suspect that locals are actually the original wilderness men and ladies. I’m pretty sure that they are born with hiking shoes out of the womb. I’m not an expert wilderness girl but I am fairly active and like a challenge. But and “easy” hike in ADK-speak means rocks and steep inclines and roots. So not easy. When we first arrived I had the urge to go on a hike since I’m kind of freaking out about the lack of working out I’m doing this summer. We knew it was supposed to rain, so we thought an easy hike would be perfect before we headed back to our campsite. Easy my butt. We hiked some altitude and then the thunder started. We made it back to our car just as the skies opened up and the buckets started falling. We then rushed into our tent — which I left open, of course — where we huddled with a scared puppy and waited for the rain to stop. Great first day.

But it’s The Adirondacks so I can’t stay mad forever. It’s so goddamn gorgeous. We also went on a “moderate” hike. A moderate hike with a solid straight incline over a rock scramble. Seriously, moderate is not the right word here. It was an incredible view at the top of the mountain and most hikes in our region have a restored fire tower to get an even better view from. I’m also thinking they have a different definition of “restored” also. If you’re thinking, Ooo shiny and new, you would be incorrect. Think rickety and shakey and terrifying. But anything for the perfect shot right?

The Adirondacks are a special place and while I know I’ll find amazing adventures on the West Coast, a piece of my heart will always be lost in The ADK.