We had a great time. 

Scott [Keller] brought Nate [his son] who celebrated his

15th birthday with us on Sunday.  He was quite the trooper, paddling right along with us, even in some serious wind and waves on the lake. Tom Doo came down from Toronto and Ruth [Miller] from Burlington.  Alan [Lovgren] came up from Philadelphia on Friday, once again with his Cetus [kayak] mounted on top of his hardtop convertible (I

Scott Keller

think its a Renault). He and I caught up with Scott and Nate at Exit 9 of the Northway (that

park and ride we used before) and met Ruth and Tom up at Huletts Landing at 10 AM on Saturday.  We launched from the Huletts Island

Nate Keller

View Marina.

It was a quick paddle the 2 plus miles to St. Sacrament Island, staying at the same campsite we used the year we paddled the length of Lake George.  The other sites just don't

Ruth Miller

have a decent place to drag up a bunch of kayaks. That afternoon we paddled down to Black

Mountain Point where Nate and Tom took a swim (no one copied Karl and swam in the buff).  It wasn't 80 but it was pretty nice.  It wasn't warm enough to entice me into the water but it certainly wasn't cold enough for a wet suit.

Saturday night Alan made scallops (with mac and cheese instead of linguini), with stewed tomatoes.  The Cetus isn't as big as his old

Alan Lovgren

boat so he had to cut back on how much crap he brings.  He still managed to bring a full size can opener, pruning shears, two stoves, full size condiments and too many other things to mention.  The night was clear, the moon was almost full, it was certainly not anywhere cold as Wood Island.  And no insects, the mosquitoes have been really bad this fall (all that rain) and it was nice to camp without them.

There was the usual snoring, though everyone denied being the culprit.  We didn't see as many of the French & Indian re-enactors this year but every so often we heard the boom of their small cannon and the village of Lake George probably had fireworks.  We could just hear the rumble but didn't see any flash.  There was a lot more powerboat traffic than Columbus Day weekends in the past.  After weeks of rain everyone wanted to get out one last time on the lake.  Some of them came way too close.  I'm glad we weren't in canoes.

Sunday we paddled down to the end of Tongue Mountain and then over to Bolton Landing.  Ruth and I ate lunch in the town park while Alan and Tom went into the village and of course, bought more food.  On the way in I met a kayaker from Burlington who was heading over to Black Mountain Point to climb Black Mountain.  Scott and Nate had pealed off to head over there instead of making the longer trip down to Bolton.  Later Scott told us they were on the beach at the point when the guy from Burlington paddled up.  When he got out of his boat Scott claims all he had on was a shirt.  Is there something going on in Burlington?  First Karl, now this guy?  Isn't it cold up there?  Don't they need clothes?

Anyway, it had been a little rough when we started out but by the time we got to the narrows the wind died off and it was really pleasant for the rest of the paddle.  When we got back Ruth had to head home so she packed up and Tom and I paddled back with her to the launch.  He and I had a great paddle in the dusk, really quiet, the lake was still and almost all of the powerboats were gone.  When we got back, Alan had Linguini with clam sauce and Scott had made burritos.  Tom managed to eat enough of both for three people.

Everyone had things to do Monday and Tom had a long drive back to Toronto so we make a quick job of breakfast, packed up and headed back.  Once we got into the boats though, it was such a great fall day that no one wanted to hurry home (except Nate who was heading to a birthday party and expecting presents).  We took our time and paddled over to that little Island chapel and wound our way though those little islands to Vicar Island before heading back to Huletts.

All in all one of the best Columbus Day paddles we've had on Lake George.  Except you were not there!

Photos by B. Romanchak & R. Miller