Canoe Camping

July 17, 2020 / adkjoe / 1 Comment

Over the past month we’ve had some really beautiful weather along with a few real scorchers thrown in. Back in mid June I had the opportunity to go canoe camping in one of my favorite places in the Adirondacks with my friends Gary and Amy.

Amy had gotten there on Thursday in order to secure a campsite. With the State Campgrounds shutdown the back country sites were filling up fast. She was able to get one of the last two sites on Follensby Clear Pond. Gary arrived early Friday morning and I got to the launch around 12:30 that afternoon.

I’ve read the stories, seen the pictures and dreamed of one day being here myself. My canoe loaded with the hope I didn’t forget anything, the register signed, my map spread out I was off on my 1.75 mile journey to our campsite at the northern end of Follensby.

Once at camp I set up so I would not have to do it in the dark later. Afterwards the three of us did a short paddle and carry over to Green Pond paddling under marshmallow skies above reflecting in crystal clear green waters below.

Back at our campsite and dinner cooking I was really eyeing Amy’s solo canoe. Most of my experience has been with kayaks and pack canoes. So as the fire in the sky flickered I asked Amy if I could take her canoe for a test drive. Amy paddles a 16′ 6″ Wenonah Prism ultra light kevlar that weighs 32#’s. From the first strokes of my paddle I fell In love with it. (I plan on adding this or something similar to my collection come fall)

Later that evening as we sat around the campfire the loons were pretty much at it all night. I retired to my tent around 12:30AM and was woken around 3:30AM just as a chorus of owls had joined the loons, their voices echoing through the stillness. Thankfully I was able to fall back asleep finally stirring around 7:00AM.

Gary was awake and boiling water for his coffee. I walked down to the lake scooped some water fired up my Jetboil and a few minutes later I was relaxing with a hot cup of Joe myself. Not too long after Amy would emerge from her tent as well.

Today’s plan would have us paddling a loop from Follensby Clear Pond to Horseshoe Pond, Little Polliwog Pond, Polliwog Pond and back to Follensby. This would be a very nice relaxing 7.15 mile adventure according to my GPS. We got back to our campsite shortly before a thunderstorm rolled through. Once the stormed blew over we had a wonderful evening again by the fire.

My original plan was to paddle out of camp on Monday morning and make the long drive home then. But it was Sunday morning (Father’s Day) and I was missing my boys. I decided to break camp, paddle out that morning and get home to have dinner as a family and hang with my sons, I made the right decision. Amy and Gary did the same as well.

This was a fun adventure with some great friends. With so many more places to explore I hope to get back there soon.

Cheers!

Getting off the North Way at exit 30 making my way towards the Saranac Lake area. © Joe Geronimo

Rolling along route 73 and Lower Cascade lake. © Joe Geronimo

All signed in at Follensby Clear Pond. @ Joe Geronimo

Loaded up and ready to head for camp. © Joe Geronimo

Making my way along Follensby Clear Pond headed for camp. © Joe Geronimo

Arriving at our campsite. © Joe Geronimo

Canoe carry from Follensby Clear Pond to Green Pond. © Joe Geronimo (Check all that pollen on the water)

Marshmallow skies on Green Pond. © Joe Geronimo

Gary, Amy and Amy’s dog Pungo on Green Pond. © Joe Geronimo

At the canoe carry from Green Pond back to Follensby Clear Pond. © Joe Geronimo

Standing at the shore of our campsite the sun begins to set over Follensby Clear Pond. © Joe Geronimo

Paddling Amy’s Wenonah Prism under stunning skies.

Gary takes the Prism for a spin. © Joe Geronimo

The next day Gary setting off for our adventure. © Joe Geronimo

Amy making her way along Follensby Clear for the Horseshoe Pond carry. © Joe Geronimo

At the canoe carry to Horseshoe Pond. © Joe Geronimo

Gary on Horseshoe Pond. © Joe Geronimo

Amy and Pungo paddling on Horseshoe Pond. © Joe Geronimo

My view of Horseshoe Pond. © Joe Geronimo

Gary carrying from Horseshoe Pond to Little Polliwog Pond. © Joe Geronimo

Amy’s turn to carry from Horseshoe Pond to Little Polliwog Pond. © Joe Geronimo

Amy & Gary putting in on Little Polliwog Pond. And yes Little Polliwog lives up to its name. © Joe Geronimo

Gary & Amy Polliwog Pond. © Joe Geronimo

Amy & I exploring Polliwog Pond. © Joe Geronimo

Exploring Polliwog Pond. © Joe Geronimo

Finally the canoe carry from Polliwog Pond back to Follensby Clear Pond.

After the thunderstorm moved out I took another spin in Amy’s Wenonah Prism. © Joe Geronimo

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A Brief Update

June 4, 2020June 3, 2020 / adkjoe / 3 Comments

It has been a while since I’ve written so I figured I’d give you all a brief update. On May 16th I traveled to the Adirondacks to pick up a new canoe I had made. I purchased a Hornbeck Boats New Tricks, this pack canoe is 14 feet long and weighs 24 pounds.

I cannot express enough how fortunate I feel to own two beautiful canoes handcrafted right here in New York. Some people collect cars, me I have begun to collect canoes. I’m Looking forward to this years adventures, however I’m not sure what they might be as our world is different now and I plan to adapt accordingly.

Paddling Jabe Pond in the Adirondack Park with my brand new Hornbeck Boats “New Tricks” 14′ pack canoe May 16th 2020.

Paddling my Adirondack Canoe Company 14′ 24# “Boreas” on Little Colby Pond in Saranac Lake, NY August 2019.

Camp Meal

April 9, 2020April 8, 2020 / adkjoe / 1 Comment

I really do not like dehydrating food, I find it to be more hassle than worth. However since I have a lot of free time these days I decided to dehydrate some food to pass the time.

Packing light weight is an integral part of my canoe camping adventures. Some of my trips require carrying distances between ponds and lakes. One way to keep things light are dehydrated meals.

I did some experimenting with pasta and sauce. It rehydrates really easy and packs a caloric punch after a long day.

I started with one pound of cooked rotini pasta, a 16oz jar of pasta sauce plus 4 more ounces, one can sliced mushrooms drained and 1 cup frozen peas. I used rotini because a lot of the research I’ve done shows that it holds the sauce better. After cooking, draining and letting the pasta completely cool I combined all ingredients in a bowl covered it with plastic wrap and placed in the fridge overnight.

The next morning I spread the pasta over my dehydrator trays and let it go for 9 hours. Once dehydrated I put it into a ziplock bag and weighed it. It weighed in at 18 ounces.

Yesterday afternoon I weighed out 8 ounces and began the rehydration process. Once the water was boiled I covered the pasta leaving just a little exposed, covered it and let sit exactly 20 minutes. The rehydration time was just about perfect and the taste was great. My wife even enjoyed tasting it as well.

Maybe this dehydrating food isn’t so bad!

Buffalo Wing Sweet Potato Wedges

February 5, 2020February 5, 2020 / adkjoe / 1 Comment

One of my favorite foods are sweet potatoes with a drizzle of maple syrup, oh man my mouth is watering now.

So I decided to combine my love of sweet potatoes, wing sauce and make some homemade buffalo sweet potato wedges that are out of this world good. I mean these are cosmic!

First I began with two medium potatoes washed and the ends trimmed off. Then I cut them lengthwise into wedges, placing these babies in a bowl. I followed with 1 tsp olive oil, kosher salt and smoked paprika. Now things are starting to get happy.

I then placed the seasoned wedges on a wire backing rack into a 425 degree pre-heated oven, set my kitchen timer for 25 minutes and BAM, these babies are even happier now.

Once baked I put them back in the bowl, tossed them with 2 Tbsp of Frank’s wing sauce and placed some buffalo wing heaven on a plate. Now I use Frank’s wing sauce because I like it but also it is a vinegar based sauce and does not have any added sugar. However feel free to use whatever sauce makes you happy.

Cheers!

Delish in a Dish

January 28, 2020January 28, 2020 / adkjoe / 2 Comments

Grilled veggies over rice, delish in a dish. ©Joe Geronimo

I’ve been having fun plotting and planning healthy dishes over the past several weeks. Last nights dinner was really yummy so I thought I would share.

However there are just a few minor changes that I would make. First off I would omit the eggplant. Not that I don’t like it I thought it threw the texture of the dish off a little. And the other change I would make is go easier on the amount of rice I cooked.

With that said I will post the recipe exactly how I made it.

1 green bell pepper (chopped or sliced)

1 red sweet bell pepper (chopped or sliced)

1 sweet Italian pepper (chopped or sliced)

Half of a medium vanilla onion sliced

3 cloves garlic

1 small package Bella button mushrooms

1 small package Bella sliced mushrooms

Half of a medium eggplant (Cubed)

2 TBSP olive oil

Salt & Pepper

1.5 cups rice

I prepped my vegetables and put them in a ziplock bag with the 2 TBSP of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Made sure everything was coated and put in the fridge for a few hours.

This evening I decided to grill the veggies but you can do them either on the stove or in the oven, the choice is yours.

While the veggies were cooking I cooked my rice. Now I used just water but you can use any stock you like for added flavor. Once everything was done I plated the dish.

I really enjoyed this and definitely would make it again. This made two large servings but hey I was hungry anyway.

Cheers!

The Lap of Luxury

September 10, 2019September 10, 2019 / adkjoe / 5 Comments

This past week my friend Gary and I had planned to canoe camp 3 days in the St. Regis Canoe Area of the Adirondacks. The first day was a bust as it rained cats and dogs all day. By 6PM that evening the rain finally stopped, the clouds parted and the sun shined. However it was to late to get started so we spent the night in Lake Placid beer tasting..

The weather report for the remainder of our time looked sketchy but early Tuesday morning we set out on our adventure under beautiful clear skies. Peering at our paddlers map it was determined we had wanted a lean-to instead of tent camping. Launching off of Keese Mill Rd. in Paul Smith’s we passed two lean-to’s that were in decent locations but didn’t have the esthetics we had envisioned. Shortly we entered Lower St. Regis Lake rounding a point where the Peter’s Rock lean-to stood with it’s panoramic view of the lake. This was it! The downside it wasn’t nearly remote as we had hoped with its view of Paul Smith’s College across the lake. That said it was picture perfect and as it was vacant. Dropping our gear and staking our claim we were back in our canoes and off on the day’s adventure.

We would paddle just a little over 15 miles through some amazing scenery, carry our canoes between several ponds meeting other paddlers on their adventure as well. During the middle of the night the weather would start to change. The winds kicked up and the pitter patter of rain on the lean-to roof was a soothing sound. Lightning flickered in the nights sky like a candle with the soft rumbles of thunder in the distance. It took more than an hour for the first of two storms to finally reach us.

Laying in our sleeping bags we had an amazing view of the show. The rain and storms would be gone by 8Am but the wind was relentless. We waited the wind out until about 1-1:30 that afternoon before calling it as the weather wasn’t going to improve. We packed up our canoes and fought the wind for several miles attempting to reach the launch. Some of the gusts I would say exceeded 20MPH with a steady 15MPH head wind taking us a good 2 hours to get back.

This was my first time camping in a lean-to and I’ll admit it has spoiled me. And although the weather dashed our grand plans we still had a really fun trip and look forward to the next adventure.

This is a collage of the short carry from Upper St. Regis Lake to Bog Pond, St. Regis Canoe Area September 3rd 2019. © Joe Geronimo

This had to be one of my favorites! Bear Pond to Bog Pond carry on our return, St. Regis Canoe Area September 3rd 2019. ©Joe Geronimo

I absolutely loved this beautiful boathouse along Spitfire Lake in the St. Regis Canoe Area September 3rd 2019. © Joe Geronimo

Gary keeping the campfire going during the storms at Peter’s Rock lean-To Paul Smith’s, NY September 4th 2019. © Joe Geronimo

The Rehydration Test

March 15, 2019March 15, 2019 / adkjoe / 3 Comments

Last week I posted about my first attempt at dehydrating meals for backpacking and canoe camping. I went out this afternoon in order to test the meal. I wanted to see if I could gauge how much water and time I would need to properly rehydrate the 6 ounces of sausage vegetable stew.

You can check out the results in a short video below! Give my blog a follow, you can also find me “Adirondack Joe” on Facebook & Instagram as well.

If you like what you see you can find the recipe in the link to my original post here: https://adirondackjoe.com/2019/03/08/this-is-a-test-and-only-a-test/

Review: Überleben Stöker Flatpack Stove

January 6, 2019January 6, 2019 / adkjoe / 6 Comments

It is no secret that I love gear, so when I came across this Uberleben Stoker flatpack stove I knew I had to give it a try. I already own a Solostove Lite which I love. In my opinion you can’t have too many twig stoves.

This afternoon I headed to my local State Park to get it’s fire burning and have some food. Conditions out on the trail aren’t always perfect and today’s weather I feel was a good representative of that. The temperature a balmy 38 degrees in addition to 15-17MPH winds and snow flurries thrown in for good measure. It has been very damp and wet here lately so in order to get the fire going I decided to bring some dryer lint and two small pieces of fat wood and in no time the belly of this beast had come alive.

I filled my pot with 12 ounces of cold water and placed it on top. I continued to feed the fire a steady diet of leaves, twigs and sticks. The one thing I have noticed with these twigs stoves is they are constantly hungry. In these conditions it took 15 minutes for the 12 ounces of water to boil which I felt was reasonable. On a warm day with light wind I’m confident boiling time would be around 8-9 minutes.

I poured the water into a Goodto-Go single serve dehydrated meal (Chicken Gumbo) stirred and sealed and let rehydrate for 15 minutes. I put another 12 ounces of water back into my pot in order to boil for coffee.

The Stove: A little on the heavy side (14.5 ounces with canvas sleeve), this extremely compact and simple 5 panel stove assembles in about a minute or so. The first time I put it together it felt a little clumsy to me and I was skeptical that it would be as sturdy as I have read. All the pieces fit snug together giving it a solid base. This stove is made from heavy duty 304 grade stainless steel which is anti-corrosive. After I had it assembled I truly liked its feel, solid as a tank. You will have no issue what so ever placing a heavy cast iron skillet or pot on this stove. Another great feature about this product was the large opening to feed the fire and the nicely placed holes for consistent airflow.

What I Liked:

Ease of assembly, compact, large opening to feed the fire, Sturdiness, airflow and lastly the price.

What I Didn’t Like:

A little heavier than I would like and extremely sooty during disassembly.

I believe that the positives outweigh the negatives and highly recommend this compact, affordable twig stove. I hope this review of the Uberleben Stoker Flatpack Stove was helpful and if you have a product that you would like me to review please feel free to contact me.

Cheers!