LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk Spring 2015 LOCALadk Magazine 35 Located on the Stillwater Reservoir 13 miles north of Big Moose Lake. 7 rooms, serving Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, 7 days a week in season. (315) 376-6470 www.stillwateradirondacks.com Stillwater Hotel 5 Star Rated on Trip Advisor! TWIGS RUSTIC GALLERY "The Best Value in Adirondack Furnishings" 5730 Cascade Rd, Rt 73, Lake Placid 518-523-5361 Daily 10am-6pm TRADITIONS RUSTIC FURNITURE "Antiques, One-Of-A-Kind, and Traditional Adirondack Decorations" 1975 Saranac Ave, Lake Placid 518-523-3047 Daily 10am-5:30pm May-December Stage 10 La Flégère, France to Chamonix, France Distance: 4.5 mi (taking the cable car really cut down on our time) Trail time: 2 hrs Our last day on the trail was a very short one. We packed all our gear, we hopped into a cable car that took us from La Flégère to Chamonix, where we caught up with the TMB trail and walked about 20 minutes into the main village. Walking around town was bittersweet. In some ways, we were ready to be back in a more civilized area where we could expect to sleep on an actual mattress in a private room with a reliably hot shower. In many ways though, we realized we would miss the trail. From the quiet moments hiking in one of the most grand landscapes to the laughs at the refuge dinner table, the TMB offers social and creature comforts as well as the best of the natural world. The scenery is unforgettable and the social atmosphere adds a unique aspect to the whole experience. Dinner at the refuges was always a social occasion, a time for hikers to relax and share trail stories from the day and from home. On some occasions, it was even an opportunity for us to expand our French vocabulary! We found ourselves looking forward to dinner each night, not only for the great food (the taste only partially amplified by our ravenous hunger from a tough day of hiking), but for the meeting of new people from all corners of the world. Throughout our TMB adventure we met and shared genuine conversations with people from England, Canada, Germany, Israel, Australia, and New Zealand, just to name a few. We came away from each dinner with our hearts and minds a little richer. Ten days, seven valleys, five cols, 85 miles, and 2,650 meters (just over 8,690 feet) in elevation at our highest point equaled one grand adventure. But even after exploring some of the most beautiful places on Earth, the Adirondacks hold a special place in our hearts and they will forever be home. Staring at those stunning and forbidding European Alps in the face made us nostalgic for our charismatic Adirondacks. While I don't think our appetite for travel will ever be satiated and we look forward to our next grand adventure, we will always feel a sense of comfort knowing that we will be returning to the Adirondacks. Pure Adirondacks It is because of our desire for adventure and our passion for the area that we are driven to create a way to share our love of the Adirondack Park and all that it has to offer with others. Out of our adventures and motivation to become ambassadors of the Park, Pure Adirondacks, or PureADK.com, was born. By documenting our discoveries through photos, videos, and personalized posts, we hope that PureADK will not only act as an educational and informational resource, but also as an entertaining way to get a unique view on all that the Adirondack Park has to offer.

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