Left Brooklyn for ACA cabin at 11:30 PM on Friday. Light traffic. Get to cabin at 12:30 to find broken key inside lock on cabin door. Take 30 minutes to pry broken key out to find that lock is busted so key don’t work anymore. Scott and a couple of other guys try to get it open with no luck. Scott offered to cut a hole with chainsaw. I called Peter, catching him before he left Brooklyn clubhouse but he did not have any tool with him. Scott offer me Overlook cabin to spend the night so I did that instead of cutting the door down. Mike B. busted the lock open when he get to the clubhouse in the morning.
I went for a short paddle and did a couple of roll on Friday evening, then take a hike down a trail that I usually goes when I want to go for a 30 minutes hike. Get back before 7 PM. Don’t remember what I have for dinner…hot dogs, that what I have for dinner. 2 hot dogs boil in the stove at Overlook. Watch first 2 disks of Buffy season 2 then went to sleep at 9 PM.
Saturday, June 14
Wake up at 8 AM on Saturday, ran into Peter, Linda, and their two youngest kids as they were going to breakfast and asked me if I want to come with them. Ran backs into Overlook to get my wallet and hopped into their minivan. Went to our usual breakfast place in Tuxedo, Orange Top. I ordered my usual, Western omelets. As we were wrap breakfast, Stevie and Adele work up to our table. We hanged around to talk to Stevie and Adele while they get their breakfast. After they finished, we are drive to the local Green Market, Pete and his family in the minivan, and me with Stevie and Adele in Stevie car. I did not know that Linda and Pete were going to the Green Market also so I get a ride with Stevie. Stevie end up getting a couple bunches of radishes, garlic stems and pickle green tomatoes. Adele also gets breads. On the way back Stevie stop by the only local “super” market to get some meat (steak and sausages), water and some other necessities.
Get back to the cabin to put the food away then went with Stevie and Pete to AKT. I was happy to bum a ride from Stevie because I really hate the drive over to AKT, too many tight turns. Less then half a mile to AKT, traffic stopped. Pete and I get out and walk up around the corner to see an ambulance, and a fire truck blocking both lane. The medics were putting a motorcyclist onto the ambulance. Apparently he missed the last turn. We waited for 15 minutes for them to take the victim out. They did no take the motocycle away.
I did not get anything at AKT personally. Pete got an Oval hatch and a day hatch for the new club boats – I don’t have my club credit card so I asked him to use his. Pete gets a neoprene pad to fit out his new boat. Stevie gets a compass and a small light that fit in it. We spend some time talking with Chuck about the new BCU requirement and test. It do not look like there will be any assessments this season using the new system since none of the instruction are qualify yet to access. We drive back to the cabin at around 12:30 PM.
When we get there, we find Adele and a paddler waiting on the front porch. Find out his name is Bob. He gets a homemade strip kayak on the dock. Bob was waiting for us to come back because he wanted to paddle with us. We were still full from breakfast so we decide to have a fast paddle before a late lunch. We did some rolls while Stevie try out his new video camera. I always missed my roll when there are spectators or camera. I did a couple of roll without any problem thought. Paddle over to Scotty’s dock to play around with the English gate and did more rolling. We get back for lunch. I cooked some hot dogs I brought, and the radishes that Stevie bought in the morning. We cooked the radish with all the stems and leaves, coating it with salt and pepper with a bit of vegetable oil. I have never cook radishes before so I was surprise to find I really like it. I like the texture of the green, and the sweetness of the radish meats themselves.
After lunch I planned to relaxed to let the food settle down but when I get down to the dock I find Mike with one of his kid on the dock – he was trying to get him into the kid racing kayak, and Pete’s girl Tiff on a scoba sit on top. She asked me to go paddling with her since she is not allowed on the water without adult supervision. When I change back into my swimming trunk and get back to the dock Mike’s kid was riding on the front of Tiff S-on-T, and Beth was keeping a watch on them on her racing kayak.
The kid did not stay on the kayak long. When we get to Scotty’s dock, Mike’s kid want to dive off the back, and then Tiff wants to dive off also and climb back on. That is the beauty of sit-on-tops kids doesn’t have to be on the kayak to have fun. They get tire of that after a while and went to the dock. Beth paddle back to our dock while I keep an eye on the kids. Tiff begged me to let her jumped off the dock. I really shouldn’t let her but I could never say no to her. Of course then Mike’s kid wanted to do it too. I finally get both of them to stay on the dock. One of the ladies on the other dock near by was yelling something about my friend in the canoe.
I did not remember having any friends in a canoe. I did talk to two guys on a canoe when I paddled over to Scotty’s dock. I meet them at the parking lot when I went to use the restroom. They were asking if we have any boat rental. I told him know, that you have to be ACA member to use the ACA boat and that they should speak to the camp director. I was surprised when I paddled over to Scotty’s dock that they were on a canoe. It was obvious that they have no idea what they are doing. They have the heaver guy in the front, and by heavy I mean at least 300 pounds. The stern was lifting off the water. It was a capsize waiting to happen and neither have a life jacket one. I paddled over to asked them if they have ever paddle before. The guy in the back say he paddles some. I told him that is weight distribution is wrong. I left it at that because I really don’t want to be the enforcer of the camp’s rule and paddle away to keep an eye on the kids.
As I feared, they capsized and were abandoning the canoe about 500 yards from the dock. I see the fat guy swimming away from the boat with his friend not far behind him. I get out to them and told them to get back to their boat. It is impossible to empty out a doublewide canoe full of water. I try a couple of time but just do not have the weigh or leverage to turn the boat up side down and pull it up on my kayak. (Thinking back I could have asked boat “canoeists” to hang on the opposite side of my kayak to counter balance as I pull it up.) I end up trying to tow, with two big guys hanging off the back of the canoe. It was impossible. Luckily I ran into a canoe with a single person in it, and asked him to empty out the boat. He made a short job of it, emptying out the canoe, and getting one of the guys back on the boat. I give him my Greenland paddle.
I expect the fat guy to get in while we braced the canoe but he doesn’t want to get in. Instead he hanged on the side while his buddy tries to paddle the canoe with a Greenland paddle (a small piece of shaped wood). The canoe wasn’t going anywhere. By that time the canoe that did the rescue was gone so I have to decide what to do with the guy on the water. The simplest thing was to have him straddle me bow and I paddle him back to the dock. It was hard going with 300 lbs hanging on to my bow; sometime letting his legs drags on the water. I was not going to make it all the way back to the dock so I paddle to the nearest support I can find, the diving platform with rope running out from the swimming dock. I told him to his the ring to pull himself to the swimming dock. I told boat of them that I would have to report them to the camp official.
I told Pete about the incident when I get back to Sebago dock, simplest way to get the information back to Linda, his wife and Camp Assistant Director. (Linda latter told me that she confronted them at the swimming dock and they told her that they paid the camp fee to a Filipino. I am assuming that they meant me. That’s gratitude for you. I don’t believe that they actually hang around after I tell them I would file a report of the canoe incident.)
We end up having dinner at a tent platform of two of the people that we meet during the day. It was an enjoyable dinner with new friends and I don’t have to stand in front of a open smoky fire since we cooked in a gas grill. I don’t know if I should be disappointed or not. I do look forward to a open woods fire when I get up to the cabin.
Sunday June 15
Sunday is a blur. Adele sister and husband (Jay) stopped by. Stevie, Cody, Jay and I paddled all the way to Sebago Beach. Not bad for Jay first paddle. We landed new the beach, sit on a picnic table talking then head back for lunch.
We did no return to the water after lunch. Stevie and Adele went to take their “before the drive home nap”. Stevie usually drive home at 10 PM at night so he and Adele would nape a couple of hours in the evening before the trip. I wandering around, and end up hanging around the swimming area. Spend two hours trying to get my unhealthy shade of yellow body tan to match my hands and a face. Take my first swim out the to the diving platform. I need to work on my swimming. I was winded by the time I get to the platform, and only make it half way back before I have to pull my self by the swimming area line to get to the dock.
It was 4 or 5 o’clock when I get back to the cabin. Jay and his wife left while I swimming and Stevie and Adele were still napping. Stevie get up after I get back to the cabin. Stevie was waiting for Bob A to come by for a paddle. We were sitting commenting that Bob usually stop by at 3 pm when Bob worked by from the Yonker cabin direction with his paddle and other equipment. It turn out that Bob did come by at 3 PM and went out paddling while I was at the swimming dock, and Stevie napping.
Stevie went back to napping, and did not get up till 10 PM. I watched Buffy DVD and try to write the first part of the blog entry. I waved Stevie and Adele off when they drive off sometime after 10 PM.
Monday June 16, 2008
Wake up later then I wanted, 8 AM. It was clouding and threatening to rain. I have a quick breakfast of toast and coffee. I decided to devote Monday to a real hike. My plan was to go on the red trail that started near the ACA camp and follow it west till it meet up at a blue trail on top of a high scenic ridge. From there I will follow the blue trail to it meet up with the Blue Victoria trail which lead up to the next lake north of Sebago, then follow a yellow trail all the way back to ADT camp, then onto the road back to ACA camp. I estimate it would take no more then 2 hours.
I started out with my bottle of water, and a sling backpack with two trail mix bars, and my DSL camera.
When I get to the Dutch Doctor shelter, I can’t find the red trail. I have to back track and get off the mining trail to finally locate the continuation of the Red trail. (It is ironic because the last time I was on the Red trail pass this point was because I missed the turn off to the white trail and end up following the Red trail for an hour.) It take me about 45 minutes to get to where Red trail meet Blue trail.
I take a couple of picture of the surrounding hills and a big house on a hill.
I followed the blue trail east, connecting the blue dot painted on the rock over crops.
Whoever lay out this trail really like to goes from one dome to the next, with narrow path connect each. I was tire by the time I get to the 3rd of 4th rock dome.
Someone have way too much time here. There were two small pile of rock on top of the rock dome
I am going to make this less word intensive and show some pictures I had taken along the way.
Trying to find the hidden water fall, it is somewhere inside this crap in the rock over crop.
This is the picture of the tip of Lake Skenomlo. The picture do it no justice whatsoever.
Ran into this baby deer on my final leg of the hike, on the Yellow Trail. He was not shy. He let me get real close before retreating a couple of step, turn around and stare at me. He finally take flight when I come in for a close up shoot.
Also spotted what look like a turkey. Actually I did not spotted the turkey so much as it flew right in front of me as I was walking on the trail along Sebago lake. I chased it around those rocks and bushes for a while in an effort to get a good picture. Just wasn't fast enough
Can anyone spot her/him?
Made back to the cabin by 2 PM. Have lunch and decided to pack up for the drive home.
1 comment:
Great trip report and pictures.
You laways bring too little or no food on your trips. No wonder you are so skinny:-)
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