Setting Out: June 26, 1880

Today is a very exciting day, as I will be setting out on an adventure in the Adirondack Mountains. I will be making my journey largely on foot, but will take a horse-drawn cart until the roads run out, and may be forced to transfer to a canoe at some waypoint in the forest. Today we will be setting out from the Lake George area, in the southern foothills of the Adirondacks and heading up to the Schroon Lake area, to a town called Moriah. We will be travelling primarily by steamboat today, as we are not yet exploring the depths of the Adirondacks and will just be staying near the outskirts. We plan on finding a family living somewhere in that region, and depending on the weather we may be travelling well into the night. I will be sure to write once we arrive, but now it is time for us to embark on our adventure!

Getting Started: June 27, 1880

Boy, am I tired today! We didn’t arrive at our nice host’s homestead until nearly midnight! However our host was extraordinarily nice, even though we woke him up in the middle of the night in order to let him know that we wanted to spend the night. In the morning we were roused by the smell of sizzling bacon and fried potatoes. After eating a hearty breakfast we set out further into the depths of the Adirondack wilderness on what the locals refer to as a “buckboard”. It is simply a horse drawn wagon, except that instead of the typical wagon benches and floorboards it is simply one large but springy plank covered with a buffalo skin. It is springy enough to absorb the worst of the jolts on the rough forest roads and paths but solid enough not to break, and riding on it was certainly tiring. After riding for many miles through the forest we made it to a clearing on the side of a lake where we found another settler’s home. After sharing a meal with them and catching them up on the latest news, they pointed us in the direction of another settler’s home a few miles west of us. We set out immediately and were able to make it to the next cabin just before nightfall. These folks were very nice to us as well and fed us and gave us plenty of room to sleep as well as a nice layer of hay covered with animal pelts.

Time to Canoe:June 28, 1880

Our journey thus far has largely been powered by animal or machine, but today we will begin to take matters into our own hands as we need to cross a lake and there are no steamboats available this far into the wilderness. After transferring our supplies from the buckboard into the canoes, we set out through the marshy lowlands, heading upstream towards the lake. At several points, the water became so shallow that we could not pass through the water without running aground, and we had to carry our boats and supplies for several hundred tiring feet. Eventually, however, we hit an open stretch of stream and in the distance we could see a great big blue expanse of water in the distance; finally, we had reached the lake. If you have never traveled by canoe on a large lake before then you are surely missing out. While paddling through the calm waters along the shore, you see all manner of wild animals from tiny squirrels to large deer off in the woods, and looking to the other side you see graceful gulls swooping above the water and magnificent loons diving underwater only to come up fifty feet away with small fish in their beaks. Unfortunately, the lighting would not last forever and we had to make a camp at the end of one of the lakes for the night.

Some Real Hiking: June 29, 1880

Today is a day for excitement and nervousness, because today we will be going out on foot for the rest of our journey. The horses we had to leave behind to cross the water, and now that we are over the water we have no use for the boats anymore, so we must carry everything ourselves. Now, when we say that we will be carrying everything ourselves, I mean that the few men that we hired will be carrying a large amount of weight, but we will still be carrying plenty and it will certainly slow us down. Now, today was quite eventful because even though we did not climb any peaks along the way, we did have to travel through a deep ravine with boulders the size of small boulders littered throughout it! Luckily for us, like most of the Adirondacks, even this gorge was densely forested and we were able to make it over some of the larger gaps by walking along the roots of trees that spanned the spaces between the rocks. Upon reaching the end of this ravine we had to make camp for the night. From here on out on our trip I expect much of the travel to be the same, and since I am running out of room in my journal I will not be writing again until I am nearly home.

Homeward Bound: July 15, 1880

This has truly been the most marvelous trip through the mountains, but I am most certainly glad that I went while I am still rather young, as this is not a trip for the faint of heart. Eventually we were forced to return back to civilization as our food sources were becoming scarce and our clothing and gear was quite worn. We truly had the full taste of the Adirondacks, hiking over difficult and thickly forested terrain, canoeing and portaging through lakes and swampy streams, and riding the “buckboard” through the more civilized portions of the Adirondacks where there are roads to take. As I write this I am on a steamboat traveling down Lake Champlain. I will stay at a friend’s house near Lake George tonight, and tomorrow morning I will head home to downstate New York by railroad. This was a wonderful trip for everyone involved, and I am very glad to be able to share it with you through these journals of mine.

Going on an Adventure: July 1, 1893

After hearing about my friend’s adventures in the Adirondack Mountains, I decided that a nice guided hunting and camping trip would make an excellent addition to my summer. After spending some time talking with him, I decided that I would make my way up to a village near the heart of the Adirondacks and find and hire a guide to take me hiking and hunting. I will be taking the rail from southern New York where I live and traveling to the Saranac Lake area. I have heard that there are a few guides that live in the surrounding area and it is with them that I will go on my trip. I am currently packing for my adventure and I will be leaving in a few days. I am so excited!

Welcome to the Adirondacks: July 4, 1893

After a long day on the rails, I arrived at Saranac Lake yesterday evening. Today I traveled by horse and foot to find a guide two towns over from Saranac Lake. This guide is a local hunter and trapper that knows the region very well. Over the next few days he will be taking us on a tour of some prime hunting and fishing locations in the surrounding area. Today, we had to spend some time picking up the supplies necessary to spend the next few days out in the wilderness with no human contact. We had to make sure that we had enough food, proper bedding, and proper shelter to set up in the middle of the woods.

Setting Up Camp: July 5, 1893

At the start of my adventure I was excited to be going with a guide so that he would be able to do most of the work and I would be able to simply enjoy the wilderness, but I did not realize how much work it takes to just walk through the woods! I consider myself a sportsman—I go hunting fairly regularly back home—but I never realized how much more it takes to hike as you go. As I am writing this my guide is preparing a fire to cook our dinner on, and will be setting up a tent as well. Despite how grueling our journey was, it was more beautiful than anything I had ever seen before. Walking for hours on end through the unbroken and untamed wilderness is an experience that I will not soon forget. Well, the guide has the fire lit now and the smell of cooking meat is reaching my nose so I’m going to wrap up this entry for the day.

Waterworks: July 6, 1893

Today was a very long but fantastic day. Little to my knowledge, the camp we set up last night was hardly a few hundred feet from the edge of a lake where the guide had moored an Adirondack Guide Boat. By the time my guide awakened me, he had already packed the majority of our equipment into the boat and had cooked some fresh fish that he caught this morning. Over breakfast he informed me that we would be spending most of the day fishing on the lake, and that on the far side was a good spot for setting up camp and would not be too far from one of his favorite hunting sites. The guideboat experience was something I will never forget. Akin to the common rowboat, my guide manned two oars and paddled us across the lake, however the ride in this boat was much smoother than any rowboat and the boat moved much faster and much more gracefully. Once again, I am writing this as my guide prepares dinner and my empty stomach cannot handle the tempting odors any longer.

Heading Home: July 10, 1893

What a fantastic journey this has been. I started this journey almost a week ago by getting on a train in southern New York and riding it all the way up to Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks. On the next day I took a horse a few towns over and made all of the necessary preparations for the trip. On the following day, we traveled by foot into the Adirondack wilderness where we set up our base camp. Then, after a good night’s sleep we traveled by Adirondack Guide Boat across a lake and set up a base camp for hunting. We spent the next few days hunting and fishing before heading back the same way. I am writing this while riding home on the train. This has been a wonderful trip and I advise anyone that loves the outdoors to take a trip to the Adirondacks.

We’re Going North: June 3, 1912

My parents just told me that we will be going to the Adirondack Mountains for a vacation this summer! The say that we will be going to a large house in the mountains where we will be staying with a few other families! We are packing now and will be leaving in about a week, I am so excited!

Leaving Home: June 10, 1912

It’s finally time to go! I have been saying goodbye to all of my friends this week, I am sad because I won’t be able to see them again until school starts again in the fall, but I am happy to be able to make new friends once we get to the hotel in the mountains. I am also excited for the trip. We will be taking a couple days on the railroad and we have the nicest train car! It looks like a small house all contained in one little box, it’s incredible. Even though the bathroom is much smaller than the one at home, I’m told that I should consider myself very lucky to have a bathroom at all!

At The House: June 11, 1912

We arrived at the house this morning and it is gorgeous! It has its own rustic charm and the people are incredibly kind. We were welcomed with big smiles and shown to our rooms immediately. After that we sat down for a nice lunch with the few other families that will be staying here for a while. There are fun things to do here such as explore the woods, play games like croquet with the other families, and play other games like tag with the other kids here. Even though I’m going to miss my friends from home, this is still going to be a fun and relaxing summer.

Heading Home: August 12, 1912

This has been a really wonderful trip and I had a lot of fun this summer. I can’t wait to see my friends from home but I will miss the new friends I made here. Mother says that we will probably come back next year, though, so I am not too sad to be leaving them. We’ll be taking a ferry to the train station, and then the train all the way home. It will be just as nice as the way up, and I’m looking forward to traveling again. Even though I am ready to go home, this summer in the Adirondacks was one of the best summers of my life!

Heading Upstate: July 2, 1923

This is exciting; today we will be traveling to the Adirondacks with some family for the Fourth of July. We will be taking father’s new automobile and driving up. He says it will take most of the day depending on how many times we stop at interesting towns and locations, but I don’t mind, it will be so cool to travel by car! Father just bought his car a few months ago, and it seems like since then more and more people have been buying cars. Oh dear, mother is calling me. She says we have to eat lunch before we leave, I’ll write again tomorrow.

Meeting up with Family: July 3, 1923

Boy, am I sore! The roads back home are nice and smooth, but as we got closer to the place we are staying the roads got worse and worse. At one point it was just planks laid across a path cleared through the trees. It was made better by the fact that we had nice beds to sleep in once we got to the hotel. It was also nice to see our family, who had traveled to the hotel as well. We are going to be exploring the nearby area today, and tomorrow we will have a big lunch to celebrate the holiday.

Independence Day: July 4, 1923

Today I had such a wonderful time! We started off with a lovely breakfast, and then we started playing yard games like horseshoes and croquet. After a few hours of fun we had a nice lunch with our family and everyone else staying at the hotel. There was more food than I could eat! The best part was at night. We celebrated with fireworks! I couldn’t believe how beautiful they were! The colors lit up the sky above us in a way that really reminded us of how much we had on this day.

Heading Home: July 5, 1923

This was such a fun excursion! It was great to see our family and celebrate Independence Day with them. Today we will be heading home the way we came. I am not looking forward to traveling on the rural bumpy roads in the beginning, but I am looking forward to stopping at some of the same places we stopped on the way up. We will stop at a nice diner for dinner, and then some of us might sleep for the final portion of the drive. This has been such a nice little vacation and I look forward to doing it again!

Leaving Home: June 20th, 1935

I’m so excited right now. We are finally leaving for our long awaited journey to the Adirondack Mountains. My family has been going for many years now, but this will be the first time that we will travel up north in our vehicle! Father says the trip will be much faster since we will not have to wait for the trains in various areas in the Adirondacks. Another new event in our trip is that my cousin will be coming along as well! It seems like I never get to visit her much, but over the next few weeks, I’m sure we are going to have a wonderful time. She’s even mentioned that she’s never been to the Adirondacks, so I’ll have to teach her everything I learned from my father. Well, everything is all packed now. Time to get started!

Arrival: June 21st, 1935

Although the ride was much more bumpy than I’m used to, it was a nice change from having to spend the whole trip traveling with a crowd. Father is such a superb driver. My cousin was fascinated with the scenery as we headed north. Upon reaching Saranac Lake, my cousin was yet again amazed that in such an untouched land, there could actually be people living here all the time. We are staying in the same hostel that we have been in for as long as I can remember. The rooms are small, but very comfortable and the food delicious. But regardless, I’ve always loved coming up here. There’s always a sense of tranquility about this place. I’m looking forward to the next few days.

The Wilderness: June 28th, 1935

It seems like the one place that I can forget about everything is here in the wild. Nothing is disturbed, everything is natural. I very much prefer it over living in the suburbs. I never did understand why my father would want to leave a place like this. He actually used to be a trail guide. I guess during one trip, he met my mother and loved her so much after being her guide for nearly 3 months that he left the mountains in order to marry her. It’s sweet, yet almost sad that my father did that. But he’s always different in the wilderness. It’s like he becomes younger by 30 years. Oh, bother, here I am, rambling on about my parents. My father led a hike into the depths of the forest and my cousin loved every minute. We are now going to camp at this spot for a couple more days, then head back to Saranac Lake. But while we are here, my father plans on taking us fishing, hiking, and even canoeing. With all that’s going on, I probably won’t have much time to write anything down.

The Journey Home: July 10th, 1935

Time seems to pass by so quickly. It seems like we just got here, and now we must head home. My cousin loved every minute here. She worked just as hard as we did, and had just as much fun. She even caught the largest fish that I have ever seen. Even my father was very impressed, and that can sometimes be difficult to accomplish. Because my father saw how much fun my cousin had, he suggested that she should become a permanent addition to our traveling group. I was so happy, and I already can’t wait for next summer. But leaving here always leaves a certain sadness in me. Every time we journey up here, I always look at the beauty surrounding me, and I think of my mother. She must have been a true adventurer if she came up here every year with my father before I was born to explore the wilderness and watch the trees change color. I wish I could see her right now. But I know that this beauty will always be here, and every year I will always return to it.

Leaving Home: August 1, 2008

My family has been planning a trip to the Adirondacks for a few weeks now, and I can’t wait to go. They say we’ll be doing all sorts of fun things and seeing all kinds of historical places. We are packing up the car right now, and it will take us about four hours or so to drive up to where we’ll be spending our first night. My dad says that we have to get the full experience so we’ll be camping out tonight. We will drive to the campground and set up our tent at a spot reserved for us, and then we’ll cook dinner on a gas powered stove that my dad is bringing. He said that if we all behave on the ride up we might be able to make s’mores on a real campfire! Well, it’s time for us to go, but I’ll make sure that I write again tomorrow night!

Take a Hike: August 2, 2008

Today was so much fun! We woke up in the morning and had breakfast cooked on the camping stove, and then we drove out to a trail so that we could hike up a mountain. We got to the trailhead around midmorning and started hiking. The night before my family made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and filled up our water bottles so that we could eat lunch at the top of the mountain. Once we started hiking it was like we went into another world! There was green everywhere around us and we could hear different birds calling too, we even saw a couple deer! Once we got to the top, the views were AMAZING! I could see for miles and miles and there were mountains all around us! The hike was very fun, but I was happy to get back to the car because my legs were tired! We’re staying at the campground again tonight, but mom says that she won’t spend another night without a bed so we’ll be going to a hotel for the rest of the trip.

Exploring History: August 3, 2008

Today we went to visit Fort Ticonderoga which was used in the revolutionary war! It was really cool; we drove over there from the campground this morning and spent all morning there. Everyone was dressed up like it was still the revolutionary war and there were all sorts of cool old items that they used back then. After lunch we got back into the car so that we could go visit other places. We went to Lake Placid in the afternoon to see where they held the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. There were ski jumps that were taller than most buildings! Tonight we are staying in a hotel in town so that mom is happy.

Exploring Nature: August 4, 2008

This was a fun day! We spent the day exploring some of the wildlife ‘museums’. I don’t want to call them museums because half of the time we were outside exploring, but we went to the Visitor Interpretive Center near Paul Smith’s College, The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, and tomorrow we will be visiting the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake on our way out. These places were so much fun to go to! There was so much to do and you could touch almost everything, there was even a butterfly house at the Visitor Interpretive Center. This has been such a busy day!

Heading Home: August 5, 2008

I’m sad we have to leave today, but we did stop at the Adirondack Museum on our way home. It was really cool to see how people used to live and vacation in the Adirondacks. If mom couldn’t survive two nights without a bed she never would have been able to vacation before houses and hostels became popular. And my sore legs after the hike would have been nothing compared to what early hunters and trappers would have had to deal with! There’s also no way we would have been able to see as much as we did in such a short amount of time, the methods of transportation—trains, steamboats, and old cars on old roads—never would have been able to go as far as we did. I’m very glad we were able to come to the Adirondacks and I’m glad we were able to see so much of them! If you’re ever in the area I recommend that you take some time to explore because I haven’t seen any place more beautiful than this.