Camping on Middle Saranac Lake

September 19 - 21st, 2008

We headed out about midday after a short pit stop to have our nearly flat tire fixed on Friday. Put in on South Creek was quite straightforward and we headed straight north across the lake. Shortly after getting out in the middle of the lake we were greeted at eye level by a beautiful bald eagle flying directly toward and passing right in front of us. We had site 81 which had a lean-to. It was nice to have the shelter to hang out and cook in because it was a tad windy and quite chilly the first night and early Saturday morning. We set the tent up next to the lean-to and all stayed quite toasty to our surprise! Claire of course had a blast regardless of chill factor! It warmed up significantly mid morning Saturday and stayed pretty warm for the remainder of the trip.

We explored Weller Pond Saturday. Checked out the lean-to on Weller which was sheltered and nestled in a forested cove and then went to a nice sunny campsite for a picnic lunch and some play time. We saw one small motor boat on Weller and a couple of groups of people as well as one couple camping on an island site. Some folks hiked the trail from Upper Saranac Lake to Weller and were admiring the nice views across the pond. This trail is right across from the lean-to so we thought that the lean-to site might not be a terribly secluded experience. Heading back from Weller toward our campsite on Middle Saranac we ran into the wonderful man who sold us our boat!!! It was very fun to see him, his dog Walker and the entire crew of students from UVM.

We enjoyed some hanging out time at the campsite in the late afternoon as well as some of the usual camp activities - i.e. firewood, food prep, swimming and washing up, and exploring the surrounding shore area and forest behind the site. Our campsite was on a little peninsula with nice views on nearly all sides. Loons were ever-present and wonderful to see and hear throughout our stay. We did see a handful more motor boats Saturday late afternoon/evening. Really decided we didn't so much like the motors even these smaller, less obnoxious boats were still so disruptive in such a wild and serene setting. Even looking at the buoys started to bother us.... wilderness snobs perhaps???

Sunday morning brought a calm and foggy lake. Claire says "it's a little soggy out there" instead of foggy which brings the right imagery to mind as well! Also have some pictures below and in a web album here: http://picasaweb.google.com/kseleen/MiddleSaranacPlusRaquette#

We had nice campfires which we don't often do during the summer so it was fun for Claire to get to zone out on the fire before heading into the tent (where she sleeps so soundly I'm tempted to put it up in the backyard!). On our last day I talked the girls into heading across route 3 to paddle on the Raquette River from Axton Landing down to the falls. We got a later start leaving Middle Saranac because some powderpuffs decided they couldn't paddle all the way back to the ranger station and wanted a ride from South Creek parking area. Ultimately we didn't make it all the way to the falls because of this little delay, but it was a nice paddle and we defintely got a sense of that section including the western shoreline that is part of a large tract just purchased by TNC. Claire was tuckered out by the time we arrived back at Axton!