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Rain, rain, and more rain. 4 days (3 on the river and one in a campsite preparing to launch) and we never saw the sun. Rained on and off the entire first day on the water and down right poured each night. Low temperatures in the low 40s and high temps in the upper 50s. With all these handicaps we still managed to have a great time. Why? Preparation and proper planning.
This trip is the culmination and reward each year for those scouts who are at least a 2nd class in rank and participated in Troop activities and planning throughout the year. The experiences gained helping our new scouts and planning our smaller activities carry over into this big event and provide the basis for succesfully carrying on under difficult circumstances. The gear needed was planned meticulously (first time ever they didn't forget anything) and we remained dry and prepared for all Mother Nature had to throw at us. The food was planned in great detail with an eye toward easy, fast, and minimal clean ups and we all had enough to eat and not much work to do.
The highlight of the trip was our visit to High Falls. After canoeing in upstream over 9 miles in the rain the first day, we headed upstream another 4 miles pulling the canoes over beaver dams as we went to get to High Falls, an absolutely gorgeous spot which we spent hours exploring.
High Rock for lunch on our first and third day was also a highlight as was the peace and quite and knowing that we shared the 107,000 acres of the Five Ponds Wilderness Area in the Adirondack Mountains
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/34719.html with no more than a couple of dozen other human beings.
Total mileage - 26 miles. Memories to last a lifetime.
For a complete photographic record of our trip check out our Troop 4 photo album:
