24 August Tuesday Raquette Lake, NY – Blue Ridge, NY

Starting Point: Raquette Lake, NY
Ending Point: Blue Ridge, NY
Via: Blue Mountain Lake and Newcomb
Mileage: 55.9   
Time: 6:09   
Mph: 9.1
Terrain: mountainous
Vertical climbing: 2,964
Temperature High: 75
Temperature Low: 44
Lunch: veggie wrap, turkey/cheese sandwich
Dinner: rice w/veggies, kielbasa, strawberry/rhubarb pie
Weather: sunny, breezy, cool in the shade
Lodging: Blue Ridge Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 3,897
Miles to Go: 303 (adjustment)
Projected Distance: 4,200 (adjustment)
Days completed: 79 (including 8 rest days)
Distance Completed: 93%
Days to Go: 8

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     Today was very much like a fall day: clear skies, bright sun, crisp air, cooler temperatures, sharp distinct lines to see on everything. Even though there was significant climbing, the beauty of the landscape was more than enough recompense for any sore muscles.

Clear Adirondack Sky. View is to the East Towards Vermont

     On the way to and through Newcomb the high peaks of the Adirondacks were often visible in the distance. This made me somewhat nostalgic for hiking some more.
     It’s very exciting and distracting to be just about to enter Vermont – New England! Again, it feels like a homecoming and it’s hard not to envision all things Maine as I’m riding along rather than focusing on what cars, trucks, RVs or construction vehicles are approaching.
     Several people drove by as they gave me a thumbs-up sign. One even yelled out his pickup truck windows wanting to know what I was up to.
     Early in the day a rider was approaching me from the other direction. He came over to my side of the road to chat. He had just ridden from Seattle to Portland, ME and was now on his way BACK to Seattle. I did not envy him one bit. One way is just fine for me.

View from Blue Ridge Campground

-- Mystery Bird Solved -- The Willet

     For dinner, Joe put a special dessert on the table: a Hostess Snowball cut into 8 pieces. This was to emphasize just how lucky we were to have any dinner at all. Joe and Andrew found a store of sorts in Newcomb, but they had only 5 minutes to shop before it closed. They discovered, by serendipity, a general store at the American Buffalo Company farm near Blue Ridge. Our real dessert was pie, but it was hidden until the last possible second before there was mutiny.
Thanks to Laura from Capac, MI for her intensive search to solve the problem I had back on June 30th with a bird I saw and was accosted by in Malta, MT!