I think we can all agree that the weather as of late has been rubbish. Isn't the old saying, "April showers brings May flowers?" NOT, "May snowstorms bring great skiing on theToll Road!" I know I, as well as many of you want warm weather to come and stay for a bit. But, I just can't sit around and wait for the sunshine, I need to seek out my own rays of hope and play outside anyhow. There have been days where there have been breaks in the torrential and I looked for them, not really knowing exactly what to look for, but I did manage to get lucky for an hour or so during a short hike in the woods.
I tried to think of a trail that wouldn't be completely under water, maybe well drained, higher in elevation with no real deep depressed sections of bog - no major water crossings. I came up with a woods path that leads to Lower Saranac Lake. This path gets a bit more use than what would be expected from a path with no real trail maintenance or markings. This path leaves from Forest Home Road and works its way through the open forest tothe Shore of Lower Saranac Lake.
Leaving from the obscure trailhead parking I quickly came toa mild torrent near the parking area that I somehow crossed without getting wet; only to step in a puddle about 100 feet further along the trail. It hadn't rained in the area for about 2-hours I estimated by the dryness of the trail, I use dryness very lightly. As I made my way through the open woods, some of the songbirds had started to come out, which I thought, odd, it's kind of cool out for them to be all cheery like that.
Part of me wanted to trail run back to the lake, but the angel on the other should thought I should take it slow, seeing as how it was a bit slippery and all. So I decided to do a brisk walk with a little attitude to maybe have the best of both worlds; luckily no one was around with a camera, trust me, it's not what you think.
As the trail slightly meandered through the woods I crested the height-of-land in good fashion and started a bit of a long descent. As the trail leveled out and a couple rolling hills later I was at the Shore of LowerSaranac Lake. An amazing boulder sits on the shore, giving the reward of open vistas across the water and the remnants of an old camp linger under the cedars giving a slight glimpse into the past.
The clouds still dark overhead, screaming "RAIN" quickly talked me into a retreat and an occasion droplet justified it. I did run the course back over most sections, but only to lose to Mother Nature's next wave of liquid sunshine. You know you're wet when you can't tell where your skin stops and your shirt starts. The odd part is I still found myself from time to time jumping over the puddles.
Do you need a place to dry off as well, maybe get a hot cup of coffee to warm the bones, Saranac Lake has some great spots for you too.
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