Kokanee- One of the top things on my Bucket List

 

  Some bucket list items can be done just by doing it. For instance, getting a slice of pie in Key West or a drink in a bar that Hemingway went to. Some bucket list items are just seeing something, like Lady Liberty, Independence Hall, or Mt. Rushmore.

    Then there are those that are a challenge. Not only do they require the travel to get to, but there are no guarantees when you get there. These things have the highest risk but when they are accomplished, also the greatest reward. Yesterday, I went fishing for Kokanee in Connecticut, a fish I have wanted to catch for years. 

   Kokanee are a landlocked version of Sockeye Salmon. Sockeye are Red Salmon. The state of Connecticut stocks fingerling salmon in a few lakes in the state. The salmon are caught as adults in nets set out by Fish and Wildlife. The state strips the females of eggs and fertilizes them from the male's milt. They wait for the eggs to hatch then put them back in the lakes as fry and fingerlings. After a few years growing in the lake they try to spawn at the outlets and inlets. Of course, they are unsuccessful but they try none the less. They are wild fish in all ways except for their place of birth. Since they are landlocked and only have a short lifespan they don't get very big. The males reach about fifteen inches and based on the hundreds I saw yesterday, the females an inch less.

  Red Salmon are plankton eaters and while spawning they do not eat. As with all Pacific salmon they die after spawn. When they strike a lure it is out of aggression. They are not trying to eat it. They get annoyed and strike out of anger.

Three years ago I went to catch Kokanee but it was an epic fail. I drove two and a half hours the first week of November to a Kokanee pond. I knew before I stepped out of my car that I wasted my time. The lake was drawn down about six feet. The spawn was over.  I did drive over to the Farmington River and catch a Brown Trout, but overall it was a bad experience.  I wanted to go back the next two years, but birds got in the way.

   Yesterday I went to the same lake to try again for Kokanee. I got there about 9:30 am. I purposely went the last week of October instead of November to avoid the drawdown. Still, I knew very little about Kokanee and just hoped the spawn wasn't over.

  Luckily, when I got out my CRV the water level was high. Also, I saw some dead rotting salmon in the water. I took this as a sign that fish were around as opposed to them all being dead. I put on my waders and made some casts. I know enough about Kokanee to know they are hard to catch. I didn't expect to catch a whole lot. I would have been thrilled to catch one. After making a bunch of casts without any luck, I walked to the other side of the cove to where there is an outlet. I looked in the water and a hundred fish were stacked up right next to the outflow. All of them were bright red in beautiful spawning colors. I had seen a video where a fisherman caught Kokanee from this lake using a countdown Rapala. That's what I had on the line. Swimming it through these fish fifty times produced one snagged Kokanee but no hits. 

  A note about snagging. I knew before I left how hard it is to get Kokanee to bite. I also know that when they are stacked up, there is a good chance of snagging them. I also know that people purposely snag salmon because it is much easier than trying to fool them into biting. On my way down, I made a decision that if I snagged one  I wasn't going to count it as a "caught fish". I wouldn't get any joy out of snagging one. This was a moral decision that I was going to stick to even if I was alone. I really wanted to fool one and catch it the right way. So when I snagged the first Kokanee, it annoyed me more than excited me.

   After fifty casts into a hundred fish, I switched to my fly rod. I put on a bright pink Wooly Bugger hoping the gaudy color would fire them up. Still no luck. I wondered if any of these fish would be "aggressive" enough to take a lure.  About an hour after I started fishing the outlet, another fisherman showed up. He fished near me and caught two Kokanee in the mouth. He was using a tiny Kastmaster and it seemed to be working. He offered me one and I accepted. However my luck didn't change. He caught another while I stayed skunked. 

   It turned out that this fisherman was New England fishing legend Roy Levya. This guy has caught everything under the sun and trophy fish of many varieties. I thought it was Roy while we were fishing. When we finally introduced ourselves it was confirmed. We talked a lot and I asked some questions about the Salmon River in NY. 

   After another thirty minutes of blanking with the Kastmaster I tried a small Pheasant Tail fly on my fly rod. After about ten minutes a Kokanee came up and hit it. Luckily for me it didn't fall off the hook. I netted it with Roy's net. As you can imagine, I was really excited to have caught one and even more so to have gotten it on a fly. Roy was kind enough to take a bunch of photos for me. I took some more of the fish in the net and water. Roy was jealous I got one on the fly rod.

   I didn't catch any more on the fly rod. But I did catch two more on the small Kastmaster. One of them was a beautiful hook-jawed male. I did snag a few others. I tried to shake them off, but a couple I did have to reel in and pull the hook out and release. 

  Thirty minutes before I left two young guys came down fishing for trout. When they saw all the Kokanee they wanted to catch them of course. They had no chance of catching them on Powerbait. So I gave one of them a nymph to use. Before I left, I paid it forward and gave the Kastmaster that Roy gave me to them. Hopefully they got some fish.

  Catching a Kokanee has been something I have wanted to do since I was a little kid. After my first failed attempt three years ago, it has been on my mind. However, it was so much easier the last couple of years to go birding with my friends the last week of October instead of making the five hour round trip drive. Even when I got up yesterday I puttered around for an hour before committing to such a long drive. However, this year I was going to go no matter what. I am glad I did.

   

 

Owl Banding

 Last night I was very fortunate to go to an owl banding. My friend Barbara Seith won an auction to attend an Audubon Society of RI owl banding and a dinner at a wildlife sanctuary normally off limits to the public. She was allowed to include seven other guests. Somehow, I was very fortunate to make the cut. 

   The dinner started at 6:30 but before we ate we checked the nets. The plan if all went well, was to have migrating Saw Whet Owls fly into nets as they migrate south. They are taken out of the nets, measured, banded, and sexed. After a couple of minutes they are released back into the wild. Of course, the purpose of all of this is scientific study and to track their movements. 

   The dinner was delicious consisting of salad, rolls, pasta, and chicken marsala. However, as you can imagine, the hope of all of us was to see an owl up close. The leader, Ornithologist, URI professor Peter Paton was in charge of the banding. I could tell that he was hoping to see an owl. As in one. One owl would be a successful night. He seemed as though chances were better of a getting shut out.

   Every half hour we would take a walk to the nets. Luckily, in one of our very first trips we had a Saw Whet. He untangled it and brought it in to be measured, weighed, and banded. As you can imagine all of us birders were just giddy to be looking at this adorable little owl. 

   I learned so much last night. First, most of the owls caught in RI are yearlings. The more experienced ones migrate further inland away from the cost. Also, most of them are females, over 90%. Many of the males stay on their breeding grounds in northern New England and Canada. However, the further inland you go, the higher the percentage of males. As with many birds of prey, the females are bigger. 

  My favorite fact of the night was that Saw Whets do not necessarily  south in a straight line from N-S. Many of them will fly from west of Lake Superior towards New England and may even winter here. The map of where banded birds were recaptured looked like it had a pound of uncooked spaghetti dropped on it. The lines were all over the place. There was no specific flyway or route. 

 

Northern Saw Whet Owls are tiny as you can 
see by this photo

 Unbelievably the nets caught five Saw Whet Owls. All of them, following statistics, were females, though not all were first year birds. Four of the five birds were very calm. One of them was very angry. It kept biting and clawing at Peter. When it comes to owls, the talons are worse than the beak. That owl got its talon into Professor Paton and drew blood. 

   The other four birds were calm. Even after being released, three of them just flew into the nearest tree and perched for a few minutes. We all took photos of the scientific work and had the owls pose near our shoulder. When they were being released Peter put them on our arm and let it fly off. I volunteered for one of the owls. It sat on my arm for five seconds before flying up to a tree. What a feeling!

   The dinner concluded with excellent slide show by Peter. This is actually where I learned most of the stuff. Another example of interesting info, Saw Whets eat mostly mice and voles, but will add insects and birds to their diet. He had some fantastic photos of hunting Saw Whets and babies in nests (they are cavity nesters like wood ducks). Though as he said, the photos weren't his. He had multiple charts with data that truthfully mesmerized me. 

 

Peter Paton taking measurements

Obviously, I had a great night. I am friends with all but one of the participants and she was also very nice. I got to see science up close along with five owls. I got to carry one of the owls to be weighed and had one fly off of my arm. I got to do something the majority of people including birders can never do. The food was awesome. I learned a ton of new facts. Many of my friends were also there. One last thank you to Barbara for bidding on the owl banding and inviting me. All of us are very grateful.

Oh ya, we also heard a pair of resident Barred Owls and coyotes!!

A pretty busy weekend

I did all sorts of fun things on my two days off this week. I'm going to write about them here in case they give anyone inspiration to do any of these things. Photos from each thing below text.

Trustom Pond

   Friday morning I met up with my friend Sue. The plan was to go to the Charlestown Breachway and look for shorebirds. However, low tide wasn't until noon so we went to Trustom Pond first. We didn't see a lot of  birds other than Yellow Rumps. We did see some cool snails and a beautiful Leaf Hopper insect

Look at the colors on the Red Banded Leafhopper
The snail is a White Lipped Snail. 

Bullfrog

Grove Snail

Charlestown Breachway 

We kayaked to the mudflats. There were very few birds on the mudflats however, before we left, Sue spotted the continuing Hudsonian Godwit across the channel. We watched it feed for half an hour and got some fantastic photo upgrades. I had only seen about four Hudsonian Godwits in my life and they were always far away. 

Hudsonian Godwit

Sadly, Sue and I found this dead skate

Newport Ghost Tour

I had to be home early so I could meet Laurie. We had reservations for the Newport Ghost Tour. This is not like a Haunted House or Corn Maze. A guide dressed in 1800's attire goes to different parts of town and tells you stories about ghosts that haunt the buildings or graveyards. The tour is very historic. Our guide, Brian, knows all of Newport's history. We went to the oldest tavern in America, a church where Washington attended services, and the site where much of the movie Amistad was filmed. Even if you are like me and don't believe in ghosts, it's worth the time because of the history, and the stories are good. The cost is $20/adult. The tour left at 8 pm from the Marriot near the harbor. It was supposed to last until 9:30, but Brian talked until almost ten o'clock. Well worth the money.

This is a photo of an old fire house

Above I cropped it to the left window. Do you see the
ghost of a man looking down on us?

  Cape Ann Whale Watch

    We got home in time to watch the Sox lose Game one to the Astros. However we had to get up early because we had reservations for a whale watch out of Cape Ann (the whale watch is in Gloucester, MA). The trip was scheduled for 8:30 am. They are running whale watches until Halloween. The Captain took us out to Jeffreys Ledge. The trip lasted 3.5 hours. We were back in port about 11:30. The cost is $50 but you can get tickets significantly cheaper on Groupon. 

   Our trip was not spectacular compared to others I've been on.  They can't all be great. Today we saw one Humpback Whale. It was deep feeding so it came up every five to ten minutes to breathe then would dive again. We spent about an hour seeing the whale about five times for a minute before it would arch its back and dive again. There were a lot of Northern Gannets around but other than gulls, no other pelagic birds like shearwaters.

Northern Gannet

After the whale watch we came home and made sausage, peppers, and onions in a Slow Cooker and enjoyed them while watching the Sox go up 8-0 in the second inning. A great weekend to sat the least. 

Lake George

    I had wanted to go to the Revolutionary War battlefield at Saratoga for years. I couldn't justify a three and a half drive each way to see a battlefield for a couple of hours. So it stayed on my bucket list for a long time. Normally, Laurie and I go to New Hampshire the week before Columbus Day. Laurie really didn't want o hike so I suggested Saratoga, but again, it wasn't worth going to for a day trip. So we started researching and found out Lake George is only about 45 minutes north of the battlefield. A little more research revealed a few fun things to do in the area. Instead of going the first week of October, we planned it for the last week in September.

   Make no mistake about it, Lake George is on the map for one reason, it is a tourist town. It is one of the first vacation destinations in America. I can see why, it is beautiful. In fact, Thomas Jefferson called Lake George the most beautiful lake in America. The lake is thirty two miles long and surrounded by the foothills of the Adirondacks. The town of Lake George is at the southern end of the lake. From North Attleboro it is a three and a half hour ride.

   We arrived in Lake George at 3:30 after our morning spent at Saratoga National Historic Park. There is no shortage of motels. We stayed at a little motel called The Admiral. Laurie picks out the motels and I just give her half the money. Since I really don't care where I sleep, its just easier for her to be happy. The Admiral got the best reviews in Lake George according to some website. It was a quaint little place that was spotlessly clean. The owner who was working the front desk, Darrell was a really nice guy. The motel was within easy walking distance to downtown. The price was very affordable, especially for a tourist town. The Admiral does have a pool and it is heated. The sign said it was open until 9 pm, however when we went for a swim on Friday night after Jeopardy (8pm) the gate was locked. That is my only complaint.

   After we checked in, we went for a walk around town. As you would expect, there were restaurants, gift shops, more motels, and t-shirt stores. The lake is in view to the left while walking down the main street. At the bottom of the hill in town is traffic light. If you are heading south, you take a left to go to the port. There is a marina for small boats including police boats with 500 hp motors. There are also large docks for large passenger vessels. There are two companies that have what are basically small cruise ships. Lake George Steamboat Company and Shoreline Cruises. More on them later on. 

   We stayed in Lake George for two nights. As I said, we arrived at 3 pm Thursday and left Saturday morning. We already had our itinerary planned long before we left home.  The first thing we did on Friday was to head north about forty five minutes to a place called Natural Stone Bridge and Caves. This is in Pottersville, NY. It is a pretty cool natural attraction. The cost is about $18/adult. The main attraction is cave with a huge mouth, possibly the largest in the east. The mouth of the cave is roughly sixty feet high and one hundred fifty feet wide. There is also a waterfall on a river. The river goes through the cave and disappears for a short while. There are also other smaller caves that you can look into. All in all, it was a neat place. It was Laurie's favorite thing we did on the trip. The walk takes about an hour, but we went back and sat by the waterfall another twenty minutes or so. The gift shop has a huge mineral collection. One of the biggest I've ever seen. Included were petrified wood pieces the size of laundry baskets. 

To give you an idea about the size of the mouth, there are people in the bottom right of the photo

An opening to a smaller cave and also the photo below

After our walk in the woods, we went back to Lake George. We had a reservation on one of the "cruise ships" scheduled at 2pm.. Lake George is 32 miles long. The boat we took, the Mohican goes 16-17 miles up the lake before turning around.The trip lasts two and a half hours. There is a narrator who points out interesting spots on the lake. The Lake George Steamboat Company has three ships and multiple tours ranging from a one hour sightseeing tour to a six hour foliage tour with happy hour, brunch cruises and cocktail cruises in-between.  Our tour was perfect, other than some cloud cover the weather was great. The narrator was amusing and only talked when there was something worthy of talking about. The trip was over before we knew it. I was saddened when I could see the dock was only a few minutes away, More text after the photos

Views from our cruise

Notice how the boat house is designed to look like the house

To the north the sky was blue with some puffy clouds, to the south it looked like this

   There were many interesting points on our journey. For one, Georgia O'Keefe had a house on the lake and did many paintings from there. A minority owner of the Red Sox has a house on an island. Many of the islands can be reserved for tent camping for tent camping. We saw a few loons as we went past. There were many other intriguing points of interest.  There are multiple marinas and boat ramps on Lake George. It is no exaggeration to believe that during the summer there are a thousand boats cruising the lake. We saw hundreds of docked and moored boats on our cruise. This boat cruise was my favorite thing to do on our mini-vacation. 

   That evening we went to a sub shop. As with choosing a motel, its just easier to let Laurie pick the place. I'm not picky and will eat just about anything that doesn't have beans. Laurie does research and usually (always) finds a place with good reviews. This night we went to a place called Pizza Jerks. I was in the mood for a sausage, peppers, and onions sub. Laurie got a specialty sub. We were both pretty disappointed. Since Covid began, I no longer expect good customer service. I understand how hard it is to get help. However, I do expect the food to be good. My sub was at best "food". Laurie didn't like hers at all. So if you go to Lake George and want a cheap meal, my advice is to pick one of the other half dozen pizza places. 

   Saturday morning we woke a little sad knowing we were going home that day. However, we still had one more fun thing planned. We had reservations for another boat trip. This one was on an authentic riverboat named the Mini Ha-Ha. As I learned, there are only twelve genuine riverboats in America. This was the thing I most wanted to do on the trip.  The riverboat trip is only an hour ride. It goes three miles up Lake George before turning around. It was really cool to see the paddle wheel propel the boat. The boat was converted to diesel a few years back, but the diesel heats the water to steam and the steam really does propel the boat. As one would imagine, the one hour tour on our last day went by much too quickly.

The Mini Ha-ha

   After we got off the boat it was noon time. We could have went home, but our plan was to stop at Golden Corral in Springfield on our way home for supper. This meant we had to kill two hours. We took the auto road up to Prospect Mountain. Prospect Mountain is a hill that overlooks Lake George. The auto road goes most of the way up the mountain to a large parking lot. From there you have to walk to the summit. The view is great looking at the lake and the town of Lake George. We stayed up there about an hour before heading home. We did stop at Golden Corral and we were not disappointed. 

View from Prospect Mountain

Things you should know-

  We didn't know it at the time but we went at an in-between time. The weekend before we went there was a hot air balloon festival. The weekend after was Columbus Day and fall foliage. Thursday was dead and Friday was slightly busier. We could hardly believe Lake George was a tourist town on Thursday as it looked like we should see tumbleweeds. Saturday we could tell the population doubled. During a summer weekend or a three day weekend like Labor Day and Columbus Day, it doesn't take much imagination to see how crowded it can get. There is one main road in, and I'm sure it can get backed up for miles. Though we had no trouble during our stay. 

   I would certainly make motel reservations if you go.

   There are plenty of places to eat from sub shops to fine dining. It is a tourist town so expect to pay a little more.

   I can't say enough good things about the Lake George Steamboat Company cruises

   There is a fort, Fort William Henry, right across the street from the docks that was used during the French and Indian War. We didn't go there but I'm sure it is interesting. Cost $20/ adult. Tour is only 45 minutes long. 

Statue and sign (below)
 at the Battle of Lake George Park

   There is also a battlefield park two blocks down with statues and interpretive signs. We went there for half an hour Friday evening. It was a nice spot. Lots of picnic tables.

   Once you get a motel, Lake George is a walking town. From one end to  the other is only a mile or so. We walked most of the time. There is street parking and parking meters. 

   

Rogers Ledge Backpacking Trip

 

Sunset on Rogers Ledge

     I have to start this post with a confession. I've gotten soft. Not weight wise, but in terms of toughness. I am not proud of this fact. Over the years I've spent hundreds of hours fishing in the rain. I've slept in uncomfortable  places. And I've never let the cold bother me. I've fished until very late in the night knowing I had to work the next day. 

   Since I started birding, much of that has changed. Since birding is almost pointless in the rain, when it's raining I usually stay inside. I'm home at a reasonable hour so I can relax a bit before I retire to bed. Worse than that, I have only gotten one bag night this year and one last year. A "bag night" is a night sleeping in your sleeping bag/tent. However, I've done quite a few trips this year and all but my Pondicherry trip found me sleeping in motel beds. I haven't hiked once this year, and I knew I was not in hiking shape. What better way to "toughen up" than a trip to New Hampshire during peak foliage and seventy degree days?

   Okay, that last sentence was made to be funny. I went to NH Wednesday night and came home Friday afternoon. The weather was amazing. I didn't see a cloud for two straight days. The daytime highs were around seventy and the morning low Friday morning (when I got out of my warm sleeping bag) was fifty degrees. I didn't even need to put on a jacket while packing my tent.

  I left for New Hampshire at 8:30 Wednesday night after work. I arrived at the rest area ten miles north of Concord about 10:45. I parked as far as I could from the lights of the vending machines and went to sleep.  I fell asleep about midnight and slept surprisingly well. I woke up just before 7 am.  I used the bathroom and continued my journey. Yes, it felt good to sleep in my CRV instead of a motel room. 

   It was still a two hour ride to my trailhead. The trailhead for Rogers Ledge is at the South Pond Recreation Area. This unmarked road is off of Rt 110 in the town of Groveton. When I arrived, I packed my big backpack. I put my tent, pad, and sleeping bag inside. I carried my food in a dry bag on the outside. The only other things I brought besides Gatorade were raincoat, sweatpants, water filter, butter knife, and my book.  I did pack four Gatorades and a liter of water. The liquids weighed nine pounds and I could feel it on my back. In my pockets I brought my little point and shoot camera, keys, phone, and TP.  I kept my phone off most of the trip to conserve my battery power. 

   The trail to Rogers Ledge is to the west side of the pond. It was tough to find. Before I put my pack on, I forced myself to down a liter of water so I could carry it in my belly and not my pack. This turned out to be a good idea since I didn't need a drink for a couple of hours.  Once I found the trailhead, I started with a pleasant walk along the water's edge.

The rocks in the
Devils's Hopyard

   There is a side trail about .4 from the car that leads to a small geological area known as Devil's Hopyard. This area is a small canyon with a lot of jagged rocks to climb up and around. I took the right knowing at the end of my trip I'd be tired and sore. It is about .3 miles to the Hopyard from the main trail. Once I got close to the rocks I dropped my 40 pound pack and climbed up the canyon packless. The area was worth the side trip though not spectacular. The canyon wall was about 50 feet high. The rocks were covered with moss and very slippery. It would have been hell to try to negotiate them with my pack on. It takes about fifteen minutes to get to the end. I turned around, found my pack and made it back to the main trail.

   The trail to Rogers Ledge is 4.1 miles. The elevation gain is roughly 1900 feet. As trails go, this was one of the gentlest. The grade is gradual in all but a few spots. Most of the trail is dirt with a few places where you climb rocks and roots. There are three stream crossings but I managed to keep my feet dry. The middle section is full of muck and mud. It took a lot of time rock hopping to not sink ankle deep. But all in all, the trail would be considered easy. I on the other hand, am not really in hiking shape. So you can imagine I was not in backpacking shape (hiking shape + a forty pound pack). So I took it slow and tried to pace myself.

Mother Nature laid out a red 
carpet this week

   Once at the top I was pretty tired. However, the view was awesome. The view from the top of the ledge is 180 degrees looking south. The predominant features are the Northern Presidentials, and the Carter Range. To the SW The Horn and The Bulge are close in the Kilkenny Range. As I said, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was seventy degrees, it was magnificent. 

The colors were awesome 

   My peace was destroyed about three minutes after I reached the ledge. Three hikers in their mid twenties came up the trail. They ended up being from Southie (South Boston). They may as well have been extras in Good Will Hunting. They all had the Southie accent. They found a way to work the f-word into every sentence somehow even turning it into an adverb a few times. None the less, they were good guys and we all took photos for each other. They still had a long way to go to make camp at Unknown Pond which was still a couple hours away.

There should be, but there isn't an apostrophe 
in the name Rogers Ledge

   My original plan was to go to the Rogers Ledge Campsite. That was until I found out that it was another half mile away and a 550 foot vertical drop. I didn't have it in me (or my knees) to drop five hundred feet into the valley. I especially did not want to make that climb Friday morning. So I looked for a spot near the ledge to stealth camp. I couldn't find any out of site of the trail. So I started down the trail towards the campsite

   As I was working my way around the ledge a hiker making his way to the Rogers Ledge Campsite came down the trail. He was an older guy and asked me if I knew if there was water at the site. I told him I had never been there. He hadn't brought any water hoping there would be some at the campsite. He also thought my load was too big and told me he was only carrying 20 pounds. To which I thought "but yeah, only one of us is thirsty right now and not in need of a drink." I knew I had extra Gatorade, so I gave him one. This quenched his thirst and lightened my load by two pounds. He also told me that if I slept by the ledge no one was going to care. 

Plenty of evidence of moose, but no moose 
were seen by this hiker

  So I headed back up the trail (I'd only gone down about fifty vertical feet) and enjoyed the view. It is technically illegal to sleep within 200 feet of a trail and within sight of one. So I waited until dark to set up my tent for the night. In the meantime two other hikers came up to the ledge from the campsite. They were going to take photos of the Milky Way. Needless to say, it didn't thrill me that they would be there until well after dark.  It ended up working out in my favor. They didn't give a shit  that I was going to camp by the ledge. They also were good company and it forced me to stay awake and enjoy the stars. Besides the Milky Way, Venus was so bright I thought it was a plane until I realized it wasn't moving. I also had a great look at the Great Square of Pegasus and the Summer Triangle. 

My not so hidden tent

   I excused myself about 8:30 and they kept taking photos for another hour. I read about the adventures of Tom, Huckleberry, and Becky Thatcher before rolling over and closing my eyes. I barely heard the two guys walk by on their way back to their camp. I was tired and slept solid. I only woke up once.  I did wake up right before dawn. I packed my tent and was ready to go before 7 am. I may not have been stealthy by my tent's location but by packing up, early no morning hikers ever knew I was there.

   It was warm (for October) when I got up. I didn't even need to put on my jacket or sweatpants when I broke camp. A quick look at the ledge showed that fog had settled into one of the valleys below. The fog was so thick and flat it looked like a lake had formed overnight. It was beautiful.

   The hike back was anticlimactic which is a good thing. I didn't fall or twist an ankle. My pack was now seven pounds lighter and I could feel the difference. When I got back to the car I got out some food for breakfast. I heated up a can of soup to go along with some cheese and crackers. I ate it at a picnic table while looking at the view of South Pond. 

Lakes of fog covered the valleys at sunrise

   I had a long ride back to Lincoln. I stopped at a couple places to take photos of the scenery. I planned on stopping at Lincoln to go to the book store and the grocery store. From there I was going to do a short hike just because it was so nice out. When I got off the highway the traffic was backed up all the way to the ramp. So I turned back around and decided to come home. I got home thirty minutes later than I planned thanks to traffic on I-495.  However, this was nothing compared to the traffic heading north. From the Mass Pike exit almost to the NH border traffic was backed up. That is a distance of forty miles. Those folks were going to be stuck in traffic for hours. Considering it was only 3 pm it was only going to get worse when the commuters got out of work. 

South  Pond

   All in all, I had a fantastic trip. Weather was great. Foliage was amazing. I slept solid at the rest area and was happy not to be on a motel bed. I slept great in my tent and got to enjoy the Milky Way before I did. I am in better shape than I thought. I expected the hike to be harder with my big pack. I'm  a little sore now which is what I wanted. It was a great trip.

Things I learned- I always try to learn something each time I go to NH. I learned a lot this trip

Drinking a liter of water before the hike really helps

Remember how to use your water filter BEFORE you leave the house. I brought it with me, but didn't remember how to use it so it was dead weight

If you put a can of soup in your bag, bring a spoon. More dead weight.

   

Saratoga National Historic Park

 

  For a very long time, a bucket list destination of mine has been the Saratoga National Historic Park. Saratoga is the site of two battles roughly two weeks apart where the Americans beat the British during the Revolutionary War. Because of the American victories, France believing the Americans could win, helped us with manpower and supplies. The battles at Saratoga was the turning point in the war for independence.

   Laurie and I spent much of Thursday at Saratoga Historic Park. The battlefield has been on my East Bucket List for a decade. We normally go to see the foliage in New Hampshire in early October. This year we went to Upstate New York to visit Saratoga and Lake George. If you think you've noticed a pattern of me going to places on my East Bucket List this year, you may be on to something. 

   I knew beforehand that the Visitor Center, Schuyler House, and Saratoga Monument were closed "for renovations". So I was just hoping to find a brochure with a map so I could find my way around the battlefield. I had done my homework and read two accounts of the battle. I knew the name of famous sites such as Bemis Heights and Freeman's Farm, but knowing the names and  understanding their importance at the battlefield were two totally different things. 

   Luckily I did find brochures behind the Visitor Center. There is a map on the back that highlights the auto road. There are ten numbered stops where important events happened. There are also a couple other monuments and viewpoints along the way. It is very well organized and easy to follow your way as events unfolded. 

    The two battles happened on Sept 19 and Oct 7, 1777. During the in-between time the two armies were only a few hundred yards apart in large encampments.  Unlike some Revolutionary War battles, this one had thousands of men on both sides. By the beginning of the second battle the Colonists had eleven thousand men. The Brits started the campaign with over six thousand men. 

   The battle road loop starts at the Visitor Center and loops around the battlefield for ten miles. The road is a one way until you get to the very end near the Visitor Center. There are plenty of pulloffs and is quite relaxing. There are a couple hiking trails that crisscross the battlefield also. The road takes you to all of the important sites. Though the land is absolutely gorgeous we only did the short spurs near the car. The plan was to cover the entire battlefield without rushing while also trying to get to Lake George in early afternoon. A delicate balance indeed. 

 

Ranger Bob on the left

   While we were on our journey, we kept running into Ranger Bob. He didn't just stay at one of the numbered numbered locations. We moved around to many of the important sites. Every time I ran into him I learned something new about either the battle or weapons. It is amazing how much knowledge people have. 

  We got to the battlefield around 9:30 am and left around 2 pm after going to Saratoga Monument and Schuyler House which are about eight miles north of the main battlefield. The cost is free.  I suspect if the Visitor Center were open and their was a short video to watch and rangers to talk to, I would have added another thirty minutes to my 4.5 hours there. If you walk the 4 mile trail obviously that would add a couple hours. However, unless you just want to look at the beauty of the area, it doesn't add to understanding the battle. If I wanted to rush through the loop road I could have easily cut off an hour or two, but I didn't drive all the way there to rush.

   Google says it takes three hours and ten minutes to reach the battlefield from North Attleboro. That seems right, though we stopped at a couple rest areas to use the water closet adding to our drive time.

From the heights over the Hudson
this canon commanded both the river and the road

   All in all, Saratoga National Historic Park exceeded my expectations. Knowing that the Visitor Center was closed worried me. Visitor Centers are the place to ask questions and learn about the surrounding area. The rangers have so much free info. Without the Visitor Center and rangers to tell me where to go and what to see I feared the battlefield would be nothing more than open fields and a few monuments. However, the battle road loop is well marked. The brochure explains the important developments at each numbered stop. 

   

   If you have any interest in going to the Revolutionary War battle that turned the tide in the war against Brittan then you will not be disappointed.

Eastern Milk Snake near a canon. I moved it to 
safety after this photo

Schuyler House

Saratoga Monument and a dreary
sky.