Camp Coffee
There’s a spot on the deacon’s log Near the end of the lean-to Where I like to sit Soaking in the rising sun’s first warming rays Listening to our propane fueled pot percolate As I watch morning coffee’s slow drip Contemplating today’s yesterdays and tomorrows Breathing in that fresh...
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First Night
There’s always something magical about that first night in camp. Our family’s first foray into camp came a bit later than usual this year. That was in large part due to the upper locks rebuild, but also in part simply because of how our effort to make camp reservations...
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Locked or Unlocked?
An On-Site Saranac Lake Upper Locks Construction Project Update As I packed, planned and prepped for a weekend trip to Saranac Lake to undertake some personal agenda items and attend my best friend’s father’s funeral, the word on the street was that the NYSDEC’s tentative opening of Saranac Lake’s...
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MS in the Mountains
Safely navigating multiple sclerosis & disability’s challenges while living outdoors. Multiple Sclerosis. It’s not something I talk or write about much, but after the sudden onset of symptoms, including numbness in my lower legs and feet, headaches, nausea and vomiting, a series of medical exams, an excruciating battery of...
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Locked Up
The Saranac Lake Uppers Locks Construction Project An Adirondack Outlaw Scouting Report The NYSDEC announced in early September that the upper locks on the Saranac River between lower and Middle Saranac Lakes would be closed until further notice beginning September 18th due to a planned reconstruction upgrade of the...
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Cedar Log Surgery
Lean-to Life in the Adirondack Outback Those Cedar Logs Standing Silent and Strong My Refuge, My Sanctuary My Soul’s Sacred Home I Feel Your Wounds Bleeding Anguished Tears Scar My Heart ********** I had planned on staying Sunday night, June 25th, after my brother Ray & I rendezvoused at...
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Scarred Cedar Logs
Bull Rush Bay Lean-to Desecration! Discoveries, Musings, Encounters & Memories on My Journey to Zen I suppose folks could consider this the fourth in my ongoing series of Bull Rush Bay lean-to life stories. For the past fifty-one years I’ve been canoeing in to Middle Saranac Lake’s site 63...
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Baptized at Bull Rush Bay
Ari Rae Marra’s Adirondack Outlaw Christening Bull Rush Bay 2022 was not only our Monroe family’s 50th anniversary camp celebration, it was also an Adirondack Outlaw camp celebration as Ari Rae’s first. Plans and preparation for this big event began late last fall. The NYSDEC built a brand spanking...
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“Middle Saranac 1”
A Middle Saranac Lake lean-to look-back collection of memories, artifacts, legends and photos. My family first visited Middle Saranac Lake’s site 63 Bull Rush Bay in 1972. The photo above depicts the lean-to that was there by that time. It quickly became the cedar log summer home...
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What Defines “Adirondack”?
The original version of this story 1st appeared in the June 17, 2021 on-line edition of the Adirondack Almanack I had an interesting conversation with my brother a while back in camp. It began innocently enough, with an observation he made about the difficulties the Saranac Lake Elks...
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