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Our 5th annual trip
is in the books, I can't believe it's been 5 years
already! This year was full of adventure, that's for
sure. I'll try my best to capture it here, but you
really had to be there to appreciate it. The weather
started out great, the first day was sunny and calm. The
sky was cloudless and the water like glass . When we
reached Middle Saranac Lake we noticed 3 or 4 boats tied
up on our island! How can this be? Well, it
turned out to be an extension of the original group that
I used to go with. How ironic. I guess it's their
island, they've been going for something like 20 years.
Anyway, they were there a week later than their normal
time which is why we haven't seen them all these years.
So we began our search for another island to call home
for the weekend. After trying several times to anchor
near a smaller island we decided on another island
directly across the Lake from our normal spot. It had a
nice camping spot and we anchored easy enough so all was
well. This did cause us to be behind schedule quite a
bit and we didn't get fishing until well after 3 pm that
first day. Just prior to that, we happened upon a
stranded boat (transmission failure). We towed them to
their island (you guessed it, our island), which
is when we found out who they were. So after a bit of
short reminiscing about the old days, we parted ways
leaving them at the island, still stranded by the way. |
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| That afternoon
we tried a spot near a smaller pond off of Saranac and
the lift mechanism failed on the boat. Guess who came to
our rescue, you got it, another boat from the former
party who now found out that there buddies were stranded
back on the island. They pulled us out of shallow water
and went on their way as Jon began to troubleshoot a
problem that would plague us the rest of the trip. When
we finally did get fishing, the Pike were very
accommodating. That afternoon we all caught something
and Jon was on a tear (making up for past years
performances I think). We saw a Bald Eagle that first
afternoon as well. All in all a good day, even with the
minor inconveniences. If we only knew what was in store
for us. |
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That night at
about 1 am, we were all awaken by what sounded like a
747 coming into the tent. The wind had started blowing
so hard that the tarp we had over the tent was flapping
like a broken sail. It was so loud that no one could
sleep. In addition, Jon went to check on the boat and
found that it was being tossed just as violently and was
whacking some rocks (not good). After re-tying the boat,
he sat there in the wind watching it for over an hour to
make sure it was not going to get tossed by the waves.
The tent was taking a beating from the wind and from the
tarp beating against the poles continually. The
tent poles fell numerous times and by morning the tarp
had ripped off (actually broke a bungee cord). After a
restless night, morning finally came and it was sunny,
but the wind did not let up. We decided to move the tent
to another spot on the island that seemed to be a little
bit more sheltered from the wind. After setting it all
up, we noticed a tree that was literally being ripped
from the ground by the wind that could possibly land on
the tent if it fell. After hours of trying to tie the
tree off and even help it fall, it was evident that it
wasn't going anywhere soon. We finally went fishing in
the afternoon, fighting the wind and the whitecaps to
get to calmer water and shelter from the wind. Again,
the fish were very cooperative.
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| We returned to
camp in time to make some dinner on the other side of
the island because there was no way we could cook in the
wind. We opted not to put up the tarp over the tent
based on the previous nights experience (we would pay
for that decision). That night as darkness fell, the
wind continued and the sound of light rain began to fall
on the tent. In the distance, the sound of thunder
became evident and I began to wonder what kind of night
it was going to be. I wouldn't have to wonder long as
waves of storms began to pound our island like freight
trains. A few times lightning struck very close and the
wind was causing the rain to hit so hard it sounded like
small rocks at times. I don't know how much help a tarp
would have been by this time. It became apparent that a
few years of use and the previous days wind had caused
many of the tent seams to be compromised. You guessed
it, it leaked like a sieve. Before we knew it we had
puddles in the tent and the water was dripping on all of
us. I think Jon got the short end of the stick that
night. Serves him right for catching all those fish.
Another sleepless night passed and morning brought
continued moderate rain, but finally the wind had
stopped. Normally we would do a bit of fishing on the
last day but I think we were ready to clean up, pack up,
and head out. This proved to be a long, messy process as
much of our stuff was wet. Now, don't get me wrong here,
this is all part of camping and should be expected from
time to time so I'm not really complaining...... yet. |
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| Jon went to
check on the boat which we tied up on another side of
the island to keep it from blowing into the rocks again
and found a scary sight. It was sinking! Could it have
rained that hard? After bailing out A LOT of water, Jon
was able to get the motor started and the bilge pump
going. So, it turned out OK after all but by this time I
was pretty stressed as was Jon and we were ready to head
home. I know, I can't believe I said it either. |
| Well, with all
of the weather related problems, the fishing was the
best yet and we still had a good time. Oh, by the way,
do you remember back in 2001 when we first brought Roger
along and I stated that we had the worst weather
possible. I stand corrected, this year was much worse.
You guessed it, Roger came along! I'm not saying he's
the cause but you have to admit, it's kind of weird. |
Back to
Saranac Home
(part 1)
jump ahead to part 2 |
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