Here are pictures of some random bits of the scenery along the trail: https://photos.app.goo.gl/GjMgynGY4envnJZi8
Monday I took the day off from doing anything useful and biked from Piercefield into Tupper Lake, over the rail trail to Lake Placid and back. I left about 9:30 and got to Floodwood after 57 minutes of riding, though there was a short pause to contemplate trying to move a fallen tree, give up on that idea, and lift the bike over it. I continued east and got some close up views of three Canada jays on the part between Lake Clear and Lake Colby. The last one flew up and perched in a tree right above my head so I got a very good look, but I didn't have my camera in easy grabbing distance, and I figured by the time I stopped and got it the birdwould have flown. I've never gotten to see them before, so that was very exciting.
I stopped at Lake Colby for lunch, out on the causeway in one of the charming little compartments built off the sides of the trail. There were no black flies out there in the middle of the water, so it was a good place to stop. Otherwise this was a pretty buggy trip. I opted to do the rail trail instead of hiking to try to avoid them, and it worked, but only as long as I kept moving. The part of the trail through Saranac Lake was paved, which made it very smooth and quiet after the pea stone. There are nice views from the wetland just south of Route 3, and the waterway near the prisons is pretty too. I got to Lake Placid a bit after 1 and rode on till I came to the main road. The parking lot on that end is being worked on or in, and the museum wasn't open, but the building looked nice from the outside.
I felt tired on the last few miles into Lake Placid but felt better on the way back for some reason, even though I was riding into a quite brisk wind. I got tired again after Lake Colby and stayed more or less that way all the rest of the way home. I think I would have felt better again for longer if I had taken a break, but the bugs were too bad in most places to stop for long. It was hot, in the mid 80s, and the wind seemed hot and dry too. I drank 3/4 of a gallon of water, and 1-1/2 quarts after I got home. I was looking down and ahead and ran my head and right arm into a partially fallen tree that had not been there in the morning. The impact made it fall some more, and it blocked most of the trail, but I was able to break off the branches so it was mostly out of the way. I think it was red maple or something similar. The wood was fairly brittle and easy to snap, but one piece sprang back and gave me quite a scratch on my left leg just above the knee.
I stopped to swim for a minute at Hoel Pond, and the water was cold but pleasant, and got most of the blood off. Soon after I saw a huge boulder on a hill above the trail and on a closer look found that it was split into 3, and the middle piece was a wedge standing upright on the thin end. I don't know how that works. There were more glacial erratics in the area that I would like to check out, sometime when the bugs are fewer.
I stopped for a quick dip in Floodwood Pond and then came to a dead tree that had also fallen during the day and was on the ground and broken into sections. I was able to move all of the smaller ones, and the main trunk only stuck a little way into the trail. I saw some people on the trail at times, but not, I think, as many as in the fall of '24 when the middle part was newly opened. I got home about 5:40, having traveled 82 miles, mostly on the bicycle except for walking it up a couple of hills on the road on the way back to Piercefield. The rail trail is nice because of how flat it is, but that also means that in order not to stop I had to pedal almost all the time to avoid being bitten by bugs. It is more convenient than going up and down on the highways, but also sort of relentless. This was my longest trip since 2019, and I am now an officially middle-aged person, so I should probably have worked up to it a bit more gradually, but I hope that next time I ride my bike this trip's exercise will have made me in better condition. The rail trail is very nice, and I only found one spot where there was any irregularity in the surface, a very small dip between a pair of gates at one of the road crossings near Ray Brook.
Monday I took the day off from doing anything useful and biked from Piercefield into Tupper Lake, over the rail trail to Lake Placid and back. I left about 9:30 and got to Floodwood after 57 minutes of riding, though there was a short pause to contemplate trying to move a fallen tree, give up on that idea, and lift the bike over it. I continued east and got some close up views of three Canada jays on the part between Lake Clear and Lake Colby. The last one flew up and perched in a tree right above my head so I got a very good look, but I didn't have my camera in easy grabbing distance, and I figured by the time I stopped and got it the birdwould have flown. I've never gotten to see them before, so that was very exciting.
I stopped at Lake Colby for lunch, out on the causeway in one of the charming little compartments built off the sides of the trail. There were no black flies out there in the middle of the water, so it was a good place to stop. Otherwise this was a pretty buggy trip. I opted to do the rail trail instead of hiking to try to avoid them, and it worked, but only as long as I kept moving. The part of the trail through Saranac Lake was paved, which made it very smooth and quiet after the pea stone. There are nice views from the wetland just south of Route 3, and the waterway near the prisons is pretty too. I got to Lake Placid a bit after 1 and rode on till I came to the main road. The parking lot on that end is being worked on or in, and the museum wasn't open, but the building looked nice from the outside.
I felt tired on the last few miles into Lake Placid but felt better on the way back for some reason, even though I was riding into a quite brisk wind. I got tired again after Lake Colby and stayed more or less that way all the rest of the way home. I think I would have felt better again for longer if I had taken a break, but the bugs were too bad in most places to stop for long. It was hot, in the mid 80s, and the wind seemed hot and dry too. I drank 3/4 of a gallon of water, and 1-1/2 quarts after I got home. I was looking down and ahead and ran my head and right arm into a partially fallen tree that had not been there in the morning. The impact made it fall some more, and it blocked most of the trail, but I was able to break off the branches so it was mostly out of the way. I think it was red maple or something similar. The wood was fairly brittle and easy to snap, but one piece sprang back and gave me quite a scratch on my left leg just above the knee.
I stopped to swim for a minute at Hoel Pond, and the water was cold but pleasant, and got most of the blood off. Soon after I saw a huge boulder on a hill above the trail and on a closer look found that it was split into 3, and the middle piece was a wedge standing upright on the thin end. I don't know how that works. There were more glacial erratics in the area that I would like to check out, sometime when the bugs are fewer.
I stopped for a quick dip in Floodwood Pond and then came to a dead tree that had also fallen during the day and was on the ground and broken into sections. I was able to move all of the smaller ones, and the main trunk only stuck a little way into the trail. I saw some people on the trail at times, but not, I think, as many as in the fall of '24 when the middle part was newly opened. I got home about 5:40, having traveled 82 miles, mostly on the bicycle except for walking it up a couple of hills on the road on the way back to Piercefield. The rail trail is nice because of how flat it is, but that also means that in order not to stop I had to pedal almost all the time to avoid being bitten by bugs. It is more convenient than going up and down on the highways, but also sort of relentless. This was my longest trip since 2019, and I am now an officially middle-aged person, so I should probably have worked up to it a bit more gradually, but I hope that next time I ride my bike this trip's exercise will have made me in better condition. The rail trail is very nice, and I only found one spot where there was any irregularity in the surface, a very small dip between a pair of gates at one of the road crossings near Ray Brook.
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