LOCALadk Magazine

Fall 2015 LOCALadk Magazine 33 LOCALadk Most adventures have humble beginnings. Somebody has this crazy idea to try some trip, and like a ball rolling downhill, it builds momen- tum. Before long, you're planning, writing itineraries and gear lists and picking dates. In this case, the adventure was to be The Northern Forest Canoe Trail. The adventurers, The ADK Ski to Smile, a burly bunch of backcountry skiers, young and old, who continue to kick and glide. We launched in canoes from Old Forge, New York on May 1, one week after ice out. We were hoping for high water and to minimize bug time. Also, like most modern-day adventurers, we had real-life schedules and commitments back home, so our time for the NFCT was limited. Jim Sausville and Mike Peabody would team up to paddle a Wenonah Minnesota II canoe. Chris Burnham and Nick Gowens paddled a Bell Northwoods model, which had been crushed in an accident involving roof ice. We replaced the shattered wooden gunwales with alumi- num, did major structural repairs inside and colorful patches on the outside. When done, we named her the Phoenix. Both the Minnesota II and the Northwoods are 18.5 feet long, made of lightweight kevlar, and built for hauling loads at speed. That made them the perfect match for our goal: to traverse the Northern For- est Canoe Trail as quickly and as efficiently as possible without killing ourselves. As veterans of the Adirondack 90 Miler canoe race, we were familiar with "race pace", with keeping our boats on plane on the water and heels a-clicking while on land, and not wasting time at the transitions. That was our plan in the approach to the NFCT. Like marathoners, we set paces that were maintainable, efficient, and focused on moving forward at a good clip. But we also stopped often enough to eat, drink, and enjoy the scenery; staying hydrated and fueled was manda- tory for this kind of continual output, and the scenery was definitely worth stopping for. The Northern Forest Canoe Trail links not only the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York and the Province of Quebec; it traverses different geologic, geographic, varying types of landscapes and economies, weaving together the historic, cultural and economic stories of the region. We planned to paddle, carry, wheel, drag, push, pull, pole, track and line our boats the 740 miles from Old Forge, New York to Fort Kent, Maine. We would traverse a total of 56 lakes and ponds, some huge, some small; over a dozen rivers, some big, and some small; streams, forests, swamps, trails, gravel roads, secondary roads and highways. We broke the trip into four sections: the Adirondacks; ascending in Vermont; traversing the Northeast Kingdom and New Hampshire; and the Great North Woods of Maine. We pre- set food caches in Newport, Vermont and Jackman, Maine. Our menu was based on simplicity; all we needed to do was boil water on a jet boil portable stove in order to cook. Breakfast was mocha, granola, or oatmeal and some power bars. Dinners were freeze dried backpacker meals with ramen. Lunch- es came from the mini marts we passed in towns. We quickly fell into our daily routine: wake with the birds, rise just after sunrise, eat and pack gear, be under way by 7 or 8 each morning. Paddle, when deep enough; line, track or drag in shallow water; carry the boat and the kit on trails, and wheel the boats on hard surfaces till dinner time or dusk. Then set up camp, sleep like a baby, and repeat. It wasn't long into the first section of the trip when we began to learn valuable lessons, like we were carrying way to much gear. The light- weight set of wheels didn't even make it through the first day. We formulated some lists of things that break and things that sink—for- tunately, they were all minor. At the end of day one, our first thirty-plus mile day, we pulled into camp at dusk, exhausted and well aware of the changes we would need to make as we passed through Saranac Lake. I always enjoy paddling north from Old Forge. The Adirondacks have a unique combination of lakes, mountains, and forests that allow you to have a very intimate feeling of connection to the landscape. The "forever wild" protection of the Adirondack park shows in the quality of the mature forests and undeveloped back country, and the scenery gets better and better as you go. Two and a half days of travel brought us to Saranac Lake, where we took time to repair or customize boats, replace the broken wheels, and jettison unwanted gear. Then it was time to take on the Saranac River, the biggest whitewater of the whole trip. The Saranac is my home river, and I know it very well. We planned on paddling as much of it as possible, generally preferring to run the rapids rather than haul our gear around them on portages. With the help of my wife Jennie, we transported our camping gear so we could paddle empty boats. We paddled from Saranac Lake to Union Falls in our original canoes; the stretch is mostly flat water, except for Perma- nent Rapids, which is Class II or higher. After camping at the dam, we traded our lightweight touring boats for Royalex canoes, more suited for whitewater. We owned one, and the other was borrowed from Ad- irondack Lakes and Trails Outfitters (thank you Steve, very trusting!). We portaged 50 or 100 feet each time around the three major Class IV and Class V obstacles, and paddled every mile of Class II and Class III rapids, including the Separator Rapid, between Union Falls and the Caddyville Dam. From there down we portaged around the dams: some old, broken down crib dams, some big, operating dams, and some slated for eventual removal. We carried our canoes across the old, now-closed bridges of the olden days. Between the dams are

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