JK Wild Adventures: Recap of 2016 Part 1 – Adirondacks, Ausable Chasm, More Growing Pains

Following the installation of the solar panels we took a couple of test runs up to Hopkins Prairie, during late winter and early spring. The trailer was situated in partial shade both times and the batteries charged up properly each morning. We also did part of a Jeep trail for a couple of hours on our first visit, and got to see a Sherman’s Fox Squirrel, which is a special treat!

Turkey vulture

Sherman's Fox Squirrel

We decided to spend all of last summer up north, mostly around the Syracuse area and the Adirondacks. We chose more relaxing travel this time, staying at Hawe Creek Campground in South Carolina, and at North Creek Campground in Virginia. It was much more enjoyable and less stressful spending two nights on the road instead of pushing to spend only one night.

Our first camping reservations were for our favorite site at Cranberry Lake the first week of June. It was chilly and rainy when we got there and stayed chilly, so we didn’t put the canoe in the water. The second day while we were driving we saw a pair of strange birds, and Ken humored me by turning around so I could get pictures. I looked them up and found out they were Helmeted Guineafowl, native to Africa, but widely introduced to other parts of the world.

The following week we stayed at Limekiln Lake for a couple of days. Black fly season was in full swing and I ended up with several battle wounds from them, including a few on my face. The weather cooperated nicely, so we were able to get the canoe in the water. On one excursion we found a spider in the canoe, and I refused Ken’s request to throw it overboard. Ken really does not like or trust spiders, and quickly proceeded to tuck his pant legs into his socks while I laughed at him and took his picture. He responded with a rude gesture, which of course added to my amusement!

To me and the spider! Ha ha!

Ken’s brother Craig met us at Limekiln Lake the morning we were leaving, and we all headed into Moose River. Craig car camped, and we scouted the area for other large campsites and fishing spots for a couple of days before heading back to Syracuse.

At the end of June, we set out for Rollins Pond for a couple of nights. On our way through one of the small towns, a driver behind us was beeping his horn frantically. We pulled over and got out to discover the driver’s side wheel on the camper was smoking! Luckily we were about a tenth of a mile away from a mechanic, and a very nice State Trooper who passed us at the time escorted us to the shop. The wheel bearings had burned out and the heat from it damaged the brake as well. The mechanic was great; he ordered the parts and had us on our way in a couple of hours.

Grease spatter on the rim

Flattened bearing vs. normal bearing

Upon arriving at Rollins Pond we had a heck of a time backing into the campsite. It had a very narrow opening and was at a 90 degree angle to the road which was closely lined with trees and ditches. We were still really new to backing up a trailer, so this proved to be a very frustrating exercise, but we did finally manage. Just when we thought we were situated and ready to relax, we discovered that our camper batteries were draining quickly. After some testing and research, we decided that one of the batteries needed to be replaced. Since the igniter for the refrigerator is electric, this meant we had to buy a cooler and ice to put our food in until we got the batteries dealt with. Thankfully there was a general store just down the road from the campground entrance. That little store had everything you could think of, and even had free WiFi for their customers. The next day we went back to the mechanic who had fixed our camper wheel and ordered new batteries. Once the new batteries were in place, everything worked properly again.

After a couple of rainy but otherwise uneventful days, we set out for the North Pole Campground in Wilmington, NY, where we had reservations with Adam and Jacqui. The route we took was woodsy and very pretty, winding alongside a river for quite a while. It was very pleasant until we had to turn off of Route 18A onto Route 431. Shortly after getting on 431, the downhill grade of the road became much steeper and the speed limit was reduced. We kept the speed under control, but with great strain on the brakes. Fortunately we had upgraded to heavy duty brakes with this type of situation in mind. We put the Jeep in second gear, and managed to pull off to the side of the road part way down in order to let the brakes cool for a few minutes. Perhaps not knowing the nature of that road ahead of time was a novice mistake on our part, but is surely one that we will not repeat. Had we known, we would have started in second gear and at a much slower speed!

We finished settling in at the North Pole Campground just as Adam, Jacqui and Kaden arrived. The campground was very nice, well kept and had plenty of amenities such as restrooms, laundry facilities and free showers. The next day we all went to Ausable Chasm, which is quite a large and busy place. There are all kinds of activities available to spend lots of money on, including walking tours, photo tours, rafting & tubing, rock climbing, rappelling and nature trails. We chose the river raft ride, and combined with paying admission just to get in the park it cost us $30 each, but it is a beautiful and unique area and was worth it.

Kaden's getting his picture taken - twice.

There were tons of cairns everywhere.


It looks like the water's flowing uphill...

... an optical illusion created by the rock layers.

The end of the river raft ride.

The third day Ken and I drove to the top of Whiteface Mountain. Whiteface Castle is situated at the top of the mountain, and was constructed using granite acquired from excavating for the road construction. There is a parking lot from which you can take a foot trail to the summit. If you’d rather not climb, there is also a tunnel leading to a 27 story elevator to the top, which is what we did in order to get out of the freezing wind. The temperature was about 34 degrees with at least 30 mile per hour winds, and I was wearing shorts since it was in the upper 70s when we left camp. There were lots of very interesting informational displays inside the building, some of which you can see in this photo album. The view was pretty decent that day, but when the skies are very clear it is said that you can see Canada!