Excited!

To the casual reader, it would appear that I have gone into hibernation mode with regard to this corner of cyberspace. While I have in fact been dormant here, life has been keeping us busy on other fronts over the past several weeks. One thing is true however, I have never been to the Adirondacks in winter. The latest time of the year that I have been to date was during the glorious fall foliage season. I have yet to see a single snowflake in the Adirondacks. And, several sources confirm that the Paul Smiths corner of the Adirondacks occasionally manages to record the coldest temperatures anywhere in the contiguous United States. As I write this, the temperature at Paul Smiths is reading -13°F/-25°C (at 6AM Eastern Standard Time).

Our lack of experience in the Adirondacks during this time of year is about to change. Our long planned trip to White Pine Camp - the subject of this blog - is scheduled for this summer, but our updated travel plans also bring us to New York State earlier this year, and we couldn't resist taking a peek at the north country during our travels this time as well. We are not quite sure what to expect.

Ed Kanze tells me that we could either see plenty of snow or spring like conditions. His book describes four to five feet of packed snow on ground just before the date of our arrival, and the first signs of spring while we will be at camp, including wet weather. The Innkeeper at White Pine Camp says that it is not uncommon to be greeted with three feet of snow. Both say that it is a very beautiful time of year to spend at camp.

Everything that we have been considering doing up until now is based on the premise that we will have mild summer weather to do it in. Many of the attractions that I have mentioned before are closed for the season. The Wild Center is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10AM to 5PM, so we will just miss that opportunity. Ausable Chasm is indeed open all year, but I am not sure if that will make it onto our agenda. There are also all kinds of activities on Whiteface Mountain and the Olympic Complex but it appears that the Whiteface Memorial Highway is closed for the season. I am curious if our favorite area restaurant will be open while we are there.

At any rate, most of the activities that we have in mind for this early trip are closer to camp. These include cross country skiing or snowshoeing at the Paul Smiths VIC.

Image from Paul Smiths VIC website

I am skeptical as to whether we will be in sufficiently good physical condition, have the proper gear / clothing or if the weather conditions will permit our exploring to take us into higher elevations. If they do, then Baker Mountain, Mt. St. Regis, and Mt. Jo are among the candidates that we might consider. If we get a really mild streak, we might consider Porter Mountain (wiki) as well. In all likelihood however, I fully expect that we will stay in the lower elevations.

Summit of Mt. St. Regis on 22 Feb 2015, Photo posted by Brian Gordon to the Saranac Lake 6er Facebook Page

Mysteries abound as to what will be waiting for us at White Pine Camp this time of year. Will the pond still be covered by a solid sheet of ice that will let us walk across? What wildlife will we encounter? Will we experience the tail end of a long, cold, crisp white winter landscape, or will it be damp and dreary (similar to our entire winter here in Nürnberg this year)?

Regardless, we are looking forward to several nights in front of a fire in a romantic open fireplace. We will do a little research for our upcoming summer gathering, but mostly we will enjoy some time alone together and well away from cellphones, the interwebs and daily agendas.

We are excited!

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