July 9th, Monday – Hiking the Blue Line, Erica and Evin; Birthday Time

It still amazes me the people God brings into our lives.  I was walking back up to Graybeard when two hikers came around the corner of the old mine shaft building.  I thought to myself how in the world did they get here?  More to the point who were they?and What in the world were they looking for?  Meet Erica and Evan

They are currently hiking what is known as the Trans Adirondack Route also  known as the Blue Line (shown in the picture below) and were looking for a place to rest for a while.   So I gave them a couple of chairs and struck up a conversation.

Being the curious type, I of course, asked them, Why do something like this?  Erica stated that she likes the physical challenge, the sense of accomplishment when the trip is done, and discovering the beauty of the world around her.  Evan stated that he too likes the physical challenge, but also the idea of carrying your whole life in a knapsack on your back, and he too stated that he enjoys discovering the beauty of the world around him.  Another interesting fact about Erica is that she owns a 15 year old Nissan Pathfinder that is just a few miles short of 200,000 miles and which has been driven to all the lower 49 states – just recently she came back from a trip to Alaska.

Back to the current route that they are on.  The Trans Adirondack Route, I discovered, is 236 miles long, running from the northern boundary of the Adirondack Park near the Canadian border to its southern boundary just outside of Albany.   Overall, the Trans Adirondack Route uses approximately 185 miles of trails, 50 miles of roads, and five miles of trackless woods to get from one end of the park to the other. Yet, it encounters only three small settlements. Five life zones, scores of picturesque campsites, more than fifty bodies of water, and hundreds of streams and mountains are passed along the way. The route is designed for long-distance hikers seeking an extended walk on the wild side, though most sections can be covered via a series of day hikes.

Also, if you’re not familiar with the Adirondack Park – I know I wasn’t – here are a few facts about it that are amazing.

• it’s the largest state park in the lower 48 with an area of 6.1 million acres, roughly the size of Vermont, and greater in size than Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier, and Great Smoky Mountain National Park combined.
• there are more than 3,000 lakes in the park with 30,000 miles of streams and rivers, including 2,000 miles of hiking trails comprising the largest park trail system in the United States.
• the park has 130,000 people who live within its boundaries scattered in small towns and hamlets
• about 1 million acres of the park are designated as Wilderness, while another 1.7 million acres are managed as Wild Forest. The remaining 3.4 million acres are privately owned but very sparsely developed.

Now, I also discovered that this is not their first in terms of wilderness hikes.     They are also proudly known as Adirondack Forty-Sixers.  During the past two years they have climbed the forty-six traditionally recognized High Peaks in the Adirondack Mountains.  Again, doing some research, I found out that this accomplishment is no small feat.  I discovered that with the exception of Whiteface Mountain, which you could summit by walking up its awe-inspiring scenic road to the top, I discovered that the majority of the routes to the tops of these peaks are remote, rocky, and downright nasty. The trails are not walk-up, jog-up pathways with packed dirt or pine needles beneath your feet. Rather, the paths to the summits of the 46 are overwhelmingly directed over and around pure granite that has been arranged in a beautifully sadistic manner, just navigable enough for you to keep telling yourself that it’s not going to kill you. The majority of the routes are comprised of some combination of rocky creek bed staircases, wooden ladders, muddy bogs, sheer rock faces, river crossings, and vertical scrambles over giant ledges and boulders.  Erica and Evan, I salute you, what you’ve accomplished and what you are doing now is not something I would ever even think of doing!

That was the first part of the day.  The second part was just as great.  We all gathered at Graybeard for  the evening meal – Barbara’s contest winning chili and cornbread.   We ate until we could eat to more.  It was another fantastic meal with family, another one of those precious moments I’m so thankful for.

Since the family was here I took some more pictures of everyone.  First of all here is a picture of the two builders of the Lake House, my sister Cindy, and her husband Charlie.

And here is a picture of my mom who is flying back to North Carolina tomorrow.  I miss her already.  She continues to amaze all of us, at 92 years young she is still traveling and doing just great.  She keeps reminding us Don’t forget I want a party when I turn 100.

Here is Barb, myself, and mom on the living room couch.

After supper it was my turn to be surprised.  Though my birthday is not until July 18th, my mom didn’t want to leave without celebrating it.  So out came the birthday cake which did indeed catch me completely off guard.  Thanks one and all!

Then, of course, I had to blow the candles out.  Yes, I got them all on the first try!

It was in all respects another wonderful day.  A chance to meet two of God’s beautiful people and an opportunity to again be with family.  Life doesn’t get much better than this.  I thank the good Lord each and every day for the wonderful life He has blessed us with.

Time now to call it a wrap.  Thanks again for coming along with us on our journey.  We hope your day was just as wonderful, that you also had a chance to make some fantastic memories that will last a lifetime.  In closing, a thought for all of us to ponder:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before