Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
This
is the Rich Lake parking area. I think its 10,000 acres
this area that a university, (SUNY) uses for wildlife research which is really awesome
because its pristine. I was talking with one of the people I met that do that research
and they had reintroduced Canadian Lynx into this area because they can survive in this
habitat though when they logged it over 150 years ago, it wasn't the same habitat, obviously
a mature forest is way different. So the lynx were trapped out of existence or couldn't
survive on the altered landscape, so they're gone.
They trapped some in Canada, live, and brought them down here and put radio collars on them,
and the project didn't work. For some reason they didn't survive. They found, when they
could locate them, (but you see, the terrain, is so rough, like you see a little puddle
there, that's permanent). If you tried to walk through it, you couldn't do it. You could
do it if it was frozen solid, but otherwise, its a moggy, muddy boggy mess. You can sink
in this really sticky muck up to your hips, so you can imagine if you were trying to track
a Lynx, who are pretty darn agile, and that's the stuff they love. They hunt in there.
There's an old outhouse right here. We used to come, the boys and I, and park down here
and go straight out to the lake and we'd either fish all day and swim, or they would fish
and I would lay in my backpacking hammock on shore and watch them.
They'd paddle out to this island, its really just a rock surrounded by water about 60 feet
deep. Its pretty neat to see because they'd stay out there hooting and hollering and having
a ball all day, and I would get messages. The wind prevails this way, so from the rock
island, they would take like a plastic bottle with little messages in it, throw it in the
water and eventually it would make its way to me. They were juvenile, juvenile messages,
but it was fun.
Now the water level is a lot higher than the last time I was here but I haven't been here
in 10 years.
This is one of my favorite trees right over here because, its a White Pine, its huge,
and I don't think that when they logged this area they logged this one, I don't know why,
but its just gorgeous. You can see how the prevailing wind has just mangled the shape
of the branches. Its just beautiful. Kind of like that one, you can see how its facing
into the wind and the branches on the windward side are pushed out, pushed in.
I'm sorry. Its just beautiful, I love it!
Excuse me, I got to hug another tree.
I'm so happy to be back at Rich Lake, even if its just for an afternoon.
Aeromatic. Look at these roots, massive.
My fising M. O., (modus operandi, method of operation), was always: put my kayak in and
head straight over there, where the Pike hunt.
What a Pike does, is, waits in ambush for smaller fish...
Oh, look the water level is so high. All you can see of the rock island is that little
tiny rock, and this beach was continuous. I don't know why its so high. I bet you there's
a restriction over at this dam or something.
I don't know. I've never seen it so high.
Anyway, what a Pike does is, at night, under cover of darkness, they move way into the
shallows. So they might be hidden amongst the weeds or rocks or logs, in shallow water.
Later on when the sun comes up and the little fishy s are feeding along the shore, they're
sitting ducks for a Pike, because a Pike is long and thin and it can make really good
short bursts, (of speed when chasing prey). They're so lighting quick. That's why they're
so much fun to catch.
But if they're facing you, say you're a little fish, their profile is so much smaller.
Somebody was here. Not today. Its only 8 am.
I have an unusual track because, these are the shoes I got, specialty shoes, for walking
on a wet kitchen floor. I used to be a Cook.
There's a Beaver dam over here, or there was. And that has high water too. Look at this.
That's the Beaver dam. Its been here for 20 years or so, maybe longer. One of the researchers
told me that they trapped a 60 pound Beaver out of here. They tagged him. I don't know
if they relocated him or just gave him a physical.
Oh, yeah, you used to be able to walk along the beach, now there is no beach.
In this patch of forest and up this mountain there was a great camp called Camp Santanoni.
Or something like that.
Oh look! This is coming with me. This is Bullshiat. Especially since...
I mean, I've never seen this at Rich Lake. People keep it real nice.
But look, (at this track), this is a barefoot Human. So they were walking this way, with
their Dog. And here, man... Well, we've solved that problem, (by picking up the shard of
glass).
Anyway, so there are some mountains over here and they built this great camp and the guy
that built it, of course he enjoyed it and his family loved it, but his little boy got
lost.
See how thick that is? All the searchers they could muster, for however long they needed.
They never found him. They never found his body. So that just took the fun out of the
place. I don't know if they sold it or quit coming. Or what.
But this is dangerous country, just because its so rugged and rough. You've got to know
what you're doing or how to get help. There's a fire tower up this mountain and we're going
to go there. Then we get an almost aerial view of this beautiful, beautiful Rich Lake
in the Adirondack mountains.
Look at that. As trees mature, they get even more interesting for all the things they've
survived. All the storms they've weathered.
Its so beautiful.
You and me Baby!
And you! ;)
This
is where I used to stretch my hammock.
Now maybe you can see the rock, which when the water's much lower, is an island.
I was going to set you down because I was getting bugged by bugs. I want to slap them.
But nothing's biting, so I don't care.
Look at that! They must have had a heck of a storm. I've seen white caps on Rich Lake.
See how the surf line is?
I saw a Bear walking along the shore when I was in my kayak with my son Roger. He had
just caught a big, beautiful Smallmouth bass. It was as long as the minnow trap, (20 inches),
and we stuffed it in there to make sure that he had it to take home to dinner for the family.
He was so proud.
Anyway, he caught the bass. There was a Beaver, and we were following the Beaver, at a respectful
distance, but it was fun to see the Beaver swimming along. He slapped his tail. So I
guess we were hassling him. Anyway, we heard something on shore. We looked up and here
walking along the trail was a Bear, right along side the lake. And he didn't see us.
So I said, "Ho, Bear!"
And he stopped, looked around. Then he saw us and he went...
Then he put his head down and he kept walking.
So in the space of 5 minutes, Roger caught a big bass, we saw a Beaver, and we saw a
Bear!
And he hadn't caught a fish all week and we were about to pack up and head home. And I
said, "Get in the kayak with me, Roger, come on. We'll shake something loose."
Sure enough, we did!
There's just something so beautiful and natural about the little things, about being in Nature.
Look at this: the green on the logs, the bark. This tree fell so many, many years ago and
there it is, undisturbed.
And this remains, -I heard there used to be a house here. And think of what the beautiful
view was, 150 years ago. This is all that remains. You would think there would be a
chimney or something.
Now this is cool. I used to put my creel report in here. Don't let me forget this, that's important.
Okay...
Nothing?
There used to be a little log and you'd write in there, two twenty one inch Pike, 3 Smallmouth
bass. And it was fun because you might not see anybody here because its so seldom used,
except for swimming, some days in the summer when it's hot and nice, like yesterday, it
must have been, (nice weather, because) there was a barefoot girl on the beach, we saw her
tracks.
Its fun to be able to open this up and find the creel reports of other fishermen, people
that share your interests and love of Nature, and fishing, and see what they caught, and
a lot of times its: "caught this, released it".
My boys were juveniles at the time, and I wasn't supervising, I was out fishing I guess
and I checked the logbook the next day and they had written in it the day before, about
how they caught Moby *** and all other kinds of exaggerations.
In ink!
If it was pencil I would have made them erase it.
Chaos! But not Disorder.
Look at that...
There's the Outhouse. Pretty fancy!
I always worry that a Spider will bite my ***.
I could get it unlocked, but I don't want to drop my glass. Right here...
If I want you to decide to get out in Nature, (if you don't do it regularly), because of
this "connection aspect" there is to it where it just can be so BEAUTIFUL!
And I do want that. I want to show you, I mean, I could edit this stuff out, but its
important that that's part of my interaction. I don't get mad that somebody left something.
I just think, "This place can be a little bit better. I can do my part and pick up a
shard of broken glass and an old bag," and so can you. That's one of the ways to say
you love Nature, and the people that love it. So when they come, no little girl steps
on
a big hunk of glass.