LOCALadk Magazine

40 Spring 2019 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk DAY 3—WILMINGTON We awoke to light rain falling—the only precipitation we would see on the entire trip. I broke the news to Jeff and Courtney that although we were anxious to make our way to Wilmington for the amazing singletrack that awaited us, we still had one trail system to check off before leaving Lake Placid. The Peninsula Trails had not fit easily into our route from the day before, and it seemed unsatisf ying to leave a section of the BETA map entirely unridden. Our pre-break- fast tour of the Peninsula Trails included a brief stop along the shores of Lake Placid, before heading back to Mara's house to load up our bikes and finally head off toward Wilm- ington. One of the longest stretches of pavement required on our trip was the section from Lake Placid to Whiteface Mountain. However, this easy cruise through the stunning Wilmington Notch could not have been more pleasant. After stopping at Whiteface to view the summer scene, we headed into the Flume Trails via the Lower Connector. We arrived at Up A Creek restaurant in Wilmington for a late breakfast, and dropped bags at our friend Matt McNamara's house; he lives just a short pedal away in the center of town. We met up with our friend Chris—who we were thankful could join us again and give a perfect tour of the Flume Trails. The lower sec- tions were smooth and flowing, then we slowly climbed the more technical trails of Marble Mountain to ride the newly built Bear Claw, connecting over to the Poor Man's Downhill (PMD). After an exhilarating ride down the PMD, we only took a short break in Wilmington, as we knew there was still a good amount of riding to do before dark. We cruised through town to the start of the flowy Three Sisters Trail, which connects Wilmington to Hardy Road. We met up with my teenage son, Jonah, at the trailhead. At this point in the trip, my legs would have been more than satisfied with just a quick sampling of the Hardy Road Trails. However, Jonah's fresh legs motivated us to finish the day strong by riding all of the trails at Hardy. I may have complained a bit, yet it was worth it as we sat on the rocky outcrop on the top of All In just before dusk, feel- ing tired but accomplished. Happy we remembered to pack our bike lights, we pedaled back in the dark to Matt's house, where he was waiting for us with loads of amazing pizza and fresh greens. The evening on his porch sharing stories and beer was certainly one of the highlights of our trip. DAY 4 — ELIZABETHTOWN After a perfect night sleeping under the stars in Matt's yard, we took down our tents and enjoyed a cup of coffee on the porch. On our way out of Wilmington, we took a spin through the town's pump track, picked up supplies at the Little Super Market for the day, and stopped to peek at the wolves on our way past the Adirondack Wildlife Refuge. A fast section of downhill pavement on Springfield Road had us in Upper Jay in just minutes. A delicious breakfast at Ad- irondack Mountain Coffee delayed the inevitable for just a bit longer; the next leg of our trip included a seven-mile climb with fully loaded bikes over Jay Mountain Road. Due to our relaxing morning, we started the climb just be- fore noon, with the sun beating down and the heat of the day fully set in. We stopped for a break just over the halfway point at a small bridge that crosses Styles Brook. I scampered down the rocks to filter fresh water into my bottles. I could not resist the magic of the babbling brook, and soon found myself lying on my back, filtering ice-cold water directly into my mouth. Courtney and Jeff peered down at me from the bridge above with troubled looks— I am sure they were wor- ried they would never get me back on my bike. We were soon grinding up the dirt road; I will not forget the incredible feeling of cresting Jay Mountain Road, and enjoying the long downhill that followed, and the amazing views from the dirt roads that we took into Elizabethtown. However, that high quickly faded as we approached our home turf with the reality that it was mid-afternoon and we still had two significant trail networks to ride before we were finished. We dropped our packs outside a friends' home just near the entrance to Blueberr y Hill Trails and headed in for a circuitous route of the trail system that took us to the highest summit—the top of Joel's Trail, a rugged singletrack with magnificent views of the Giant Mountain Wilderness, Lake Champlain, and Vermont's Green Mountains. We fetched our bags and pedaled through Elizabethtown, where we came across a pleasant surprise — our friend Josh Bennett and his family left us a cooler with an ice-cold jug of water waiting on their front lawn, as they knew we would pass by on our route. As we rode the Lower Curr y Trail—a beautiful woods road that connects into Otis Mountain— I realized how fitting it was that we would finish our trip here. Otis is Jeff's own property that he generously shares with the community—a 1940s ski hill that includes over 600 -acres, including several summits, breathtaking views of the Giant Mountain Wilderness, and a large heron rooker y. Jeff still runs the rope tow in the winter, and the property has evolved into a challenging mountain bike, ski, and trail-running des- tination. While at Otis, we ran into our friend Kaley Basile and her dog Ordo, who were out for a ride. It was another perfect mo- ment of the trip as we enjoyed a final break at Dubious Point, one of the original and favorite overlooks at Otis. Cruising back down the trails that we know so well, we packed up our bikes for the final time and pedaled the long dirt road out of

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