Desecration Boulevard

Posted On July 20, 2025

Why do some people think defacing our beloved Adirondack lean-tos is acceptable?

For many folks out there; hunters, hikers, campers, explorers, outdoorsmen and other Adirondack souls of like ilk, these lean-tos are more than just cedar log structures providing a convenient stopping point on our trek through life’s wood. They are special. I daresay sacred. For many of us, they constitute hallowed ground. They give us refuge, safe harbor, an escape from society. They embody the rugged nature of the Adirondack lifestyle. Their rustic power transports & transforms us. They are iconic multi-generational monuments. I can’t imagine how anyone experiencing a night in a lean-to can’t feel, appreciate and respect their true glory.

Our family has camped on Middle Saranac Lake’s site 63 (now known as Bull Rush Bay, but once known as Middle Saranac 1) each summer for well over half a century. We are now enjoying the 3rd generation of Middle Saranac Lake’s venerated Bull Rush Bay lean-to. It’s evolution through time is chronicled in 3 of my most widely read blog stories: “Middle Saranac 1”, “Those Cedar Logs” & “The Phoenix Rises”.

For me, these Adirondack lean-tos hold a lifetime of childlike daydream aspiration.

Whether camped alone, or with family & friends, in my mind’s eye I become Daniel Boone, Davey Crockett, Noah John Rondeau, Martha Reben, The Swiss Family Robinson and my father’s son all wrapped into one each and every time I am blessed to spend time in one.

So, when my brother Ray called to inform me that Middle Saranac Lake’s cherished Bull Rush Bay lean-to’s deacon’s log had once again been marred, we immediately formed a plan of action to dress its new wounds and confront this year’s desecration.

Ray and I had already confronted an episode of deacon’s log desecration at Bull Rush Bay the previous spring.

So when Ray informed me of this year’s freshly etched wounds, my reaction was less one of anger and more a frustrated

“WHAT!?! AGAIN?!?…WHY?!?”

Ray had just recently left the Bull Rush Bay lean-to July 2nd. The lean-to deacon’s log was free of any new graffiti carvings then. He pulled back in Wednesday, July 9th, to find nearly the entire length of the deacon’s log scarred with fresh wounds.

Middle Saranac Lake’s Bull Rush Bay is part of the NYSDEC’s Saranac Islands reservation site camping system, and is boat access only. So Ray & I agreed that in all likelihood someone who had been camped on that site between July 2, 2025 and July 9th was the most likely culprit & the DEC would have their information on file.

Ray assessed that these wounds weren’t nearly as deep as the ones someone named “DAVIES” made last year. He expressed confidence that these new etchings could likely be sanded out.

I asked Ray to email me some photos. He would notify the NYSDEC lock tender while I blasted out a quick Facebook post, hoping social media would get it to the eyes of DEC staff while I packed up my lean-to desecration triage kit and headed to camp via South Creek in my Zen Boat canoe the next morning, Thursday.

Ray sent me several pics of the damage.

I put together & broadcast a Facebook post later Wednesday afternoon, packed my gear, and the next morning, headed out.

Lo & behold, our plan worked!

Ray called me from camp Thursday morning whilst I was still enroute.

“Hey Dick. The DEC Caretaker is here. His name is Keith. He saw your Facebook post and came right in to fix it. He has a battery operated hand sander and a planer. He’s going to plane & sand this all out. Apparently he had planned to come in to fix last year’s gouges too, but we beat him to it. He thinks the Australian Timber Oil we used is a better lean-to wood match than the DEC stain that he has, so he’ll leave that part to us.”

So, by the time I loaded my Zen Boat canoe and rowed into camp, Caretaker Keith had already finished planing & sanding the deacon’s log. He was done and gone before I arrived.

As soon as I pulled into camp and unloaded my gear, Ray & I went to work.

The result:

Mission Success!

Good as new!

While it is not something I do or condone myself, I understand that some folks feel compelled to leave their initials, a short saying, or some record of their lean-to presence on the interior roof boards or side and rear lean-to walls.

(The message in photo #2 originally read “The HE man group was here”. Someone later added the “S”. Which I found hilarious.)

While it certainly is not for me to say what is or is not permissible in this regard, those do not particularly bother me. However, the huge gouges my brother Ray & I have encountered on Middle Saranac Lake’s deacon’s log each of the past two years are way over the line.

This is not simply “leaving one’s mark”. In my opinion, this lean-to desecration, plain & simple,

is vandalism.

While it’s also not for me to say what enforcement measures should be taken when this happens, as enforcement measures and penalties also fall beyond my purview (and believe you me, whoever was responsible for this should thank their lucky stars that it does), in my opinion, at the least, community service, suspension or loss of reservation camping privileges, or fines should all be on the table.

But that’s for the NYSDEC to decide. It’s all in their hands now. As I said earlier, this is a reservation site in the DEC’s Saranac Islands. The NYSDEC has the date range (July 3, 2025-July 8, 2025) and all the camping reservation information during that time period on file. I am confident they can and will have little difficulty determining & locating those who did this.

In the meantime, our beloved Bull Rush Bay’s lean-to legacy, now once again desecration free, lives on. This will be the 53rd year my brother Ray & I have enjoyed the privilege of camping there with family & friends.

God willing, we look forward to 53 more.

Without (knock on wood) ever again having to negotiate Desecration Boulevard.

And yes, for all of my fellow ’70s rock afficionados out there.

The title for this piece was inspired by the album title from one of my favorite ’70’s rock bands.

On vintage vinyl, of course!

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Until Our Trails Cross Again:

ADKO