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Fall in the Adirondacks - Blue Skies and Brookies, Part 1

NYS Gazetteer Pages 74 - 79, 86, 87

   Fall Stream at Piseco Lake

 It didn’t seem possible, but the time for our annual Fall Foliage Tour in the Adirondacks had arrived.  Summer flew by and suddenly it was time to load up “all the toys”...bikes, canoe, wee tin boat, cameras, binoculars, books, laptop, and everything from warm fleece clothing to hiking sandals.  We never know what conditions we’ll encounter.

This year’s trip was a radical departure from our usual routine:  we were doing our “mountain loop” in reverse!   Good Heavens…such a break from tradition!  We usually begin our trip by touring through Crogan, then stay a few days in Stillwater and travel south through Inlet, Blue Mountain and Indian Lakes, with Speculator as our final destination.    So what on Earth would prompt such an alteration to tradition?  My brother Eddie.   Known as Ed to the rest of the world, he’ll always be Eddie to me.  He would be bear hunting in the Piseco Lake area during the week of September 16, out of his favorite mountain home base: the Piseco Lake Lodge, about 15 miles west of Speculator.  My brother and I haven’t shared time together in our beloved Adirondacks since our youth.   Making some hasty phone calls, Ethan and I secured the “Deer Room” at the Lodge for two nights while Eddie would be there.   Our subsequent accommodations in Speculator and Stillwater just fell into place; it was meant to be.  We did experience quite a revelation during our planning process.    Over the course of a lifetime employed by Big Business, you find yourself conditioned into planning a vacation from weekend-to-weekend, the typical “week off”.   We were really hung up on how to schedule our time to accommodate the mid-week visit with Eddie.  Wait a minute…we didn’t have those jobs anymore.   A weekend wasn’t any different than a week day.  We looked at each other and shared a good laugh; we were finally beginning to adjust to our new lifestyle.

And so, with a blessed break from the summer’s heat, we began our annual odyssey.  Some traditions DO have to be followed, and we enjoyed our usual vacation take-off breakfast at Sodus  Bay Tackle and Marina’s restaurant followed by a stop for gas, beer, and ice at Shirtz’s Grocery.  Full and fueled and ready to hit the road!  We’ve wandered some very obscure routes in the past, and have found a fairly direct, but nicely scenic route. Following Route 104, we picked up Route 3 just east of Hannibal, then picked up Route 49, heading east at Farley Corners (don’t blink...you’ll miss it!).  Route 49 follows the north shore of Oneida Lake, and we love the small lakeside towns that we pass through.  This time, we followed Route 49 all the way into Rome, passing the Fort Rickey Children’s Discovery Zoo.  Some day we’ll have to stop and check it out...it sounds really neat.  You can find more information at www.fortrickey.com.

Our strategic timing was perfect; we arrived in Rome just in time for lunch at The Savoy.  It’s been a favorite since my days of downhill skiing at Snow Ridge 25+ years ago.  Ethan selected an “appetizer” of clams, mussels, shrimp, and calamari in a marinara sauce.  I had a wonderful salad with baby spinach, sautéed mushrooms, and warm honey bacon dressing.  They serve never-ending baskets of homemade bread, topped with olive oil, garlic, and herbs and just slipped under the broiler.  It’s definitely worth the trip to Rome to visit The Savoy!

Back on the road, Route 365 rapidly took us out of “civilization”.    Holland Patent, Barneveld, Prospect, and Hinckley passed by, bringing back old memories.  Traveling to the mountains as a child, the “old road” took my family through all of these small towns.   Today, the “new road” bypasses the small, but once prosperous business districts.  The Hinckley Hotel has long since closed; you can almost feel the ghosts of the “old timers” swapping stories and enjoying a beer or two there.  Many new summer communities have sprung up along Hinckley Reservoir; it’s a popular boating destination...although this time of year the low level gives it a kind of spooky aura, with extensive mud flats and exposed stumps.

Preparing to head northeast on Route 8 at Nobleboro, there’s a rest area where we always love to stop to take in the view.   The backdrop is West Canada Creek, and you can see the remains of a log dam that was used to control the flow of millions of tons of logs as lumbermen of years sent them downstream to the mills.  The creek is wide and its deep blue waters reflect the colors of the mountains before it narrows under the bridge and begins to skip over and around rocks for many more miles downstream.

We arrived in Hoffmeister around 3:30…just in time to stop at the Bear Path Inn and visit our friend, owner Rolley Ford.  The Bear Path is a classic Adirondack pub; the food is uncomplicated, good, and priced right.  The beer is cold, and no one is ever a stranger.  Local patrons treat everyone as an old friend, and Rolley always fills everyone in with the latest news.   The Fords are also sponsors of our young friend, Alex Mosher, former Sodus Microd champ who has moved up into the Sprint car world.  Alex’s grandparents, MaryAnn and Wes Mosher live just down the road from the Bear Path, on Mountain Home Road….more about that later! There’s something about the people in the north country; once you get to know someone, you’re a friend for life.

My brother’s extraordinary smile greeted us as we pulled into the Piseco Lake Lodge, and after emotional hugs we spent some time admiring our mutual firearms while he provided an account of the superb hiking trails he had discovered.  We share a love of the privacy and peace of the wilderness.  “Home” again in the mountains...it was going to be a special vacation.

Next time...fly fishing and exploring the interior of the Moose River Plains!

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