I've just returned from a four day backpacking trip with my son's Boy Scout Troop to the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area in upstate New York. This area is north of Lake George and in the eastern reaches of the Adirondack Mountains. I'm pretty tired as my old bones aren't what they used to be after carrying around a 60 pound pack and sleeping on rocky ground for three nights, so I will be brief and just post a few photos. Had a great time as usual. No cell phone or email reception for four days was a blessing - You really don't understand how connected some of us (I'm one) have become to these devices. I was able to clear my head, relax, contemplate,....etc.. all while enjoying the beauty of nature, night skies full of stars not visible back in New Jersey with all the light wash from the cities and suburbia. It did snow the first day and it was cold for most of the trip, but that was expected, and we always had a nice warm campfire going.
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| The Journey Begins |
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View from my tent at dawn - Berry Mill Pond. This is one of my all time favorite places to camp. I have my own perfect spot - about 100 yards or so from the Lean-to and the rest of the group, in a small depression between two rock outcroppings, on a soft bed of pine needles, five feet from the edge of the lake, and about 50 feet from a decent sized waterfall that I listen to as I fall asleep.
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| Self portrait backpacking - Note the all purpose repair/first aid kit hanging from my pack - duct tape. |
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| Communing with my favorite reading(and sleeping) rock. This rock outcropping projects out into Clear Pond. It is a favorite of mine for reading or sleeping - Nature has left fairly comfortable seating arrangements on either side of this peninsula, which I take advantage of depending on the position of the sun in the sky. This trip I shared it with a particularly friendly snake. Jimmy caught me in a monastic pose, ensconced in a fleece blanket to ward off the chilling winds from the water. |
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