Tom Rankin
Well-known member
Yes, acronym soup, it's just like I was at work! But I'm not! I have the whole week off! Bwahahahahah! 
Ok, we hiked Balsam Lake Saturday (BLM) from Mill Book Rd, and opened up the cabin and the tower in anticipation of meeting an ADK (ADirondacK mountain club ? ) group that was 'assaulting' the summit from the other 2 trails! Not really, they were camping at various places, and hiked up from Alder Lake and Beaver Kill. They were a great group of folks. They slowly emerged from time to time and we chatted with them, and of course gave tours of the cabin and pointed out the peaks from the tower. The weather was a little overcast, and it rained ever so briefly 5 or 6 times, but it was only 68 degrees and we had nice breezes. Cool!
The ADK group also mentioned that some members of the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) were using one of the lean-tos, but I don't think we met any of them. That covers the soup.
The job of maintaining the cabin and surrounding environs is never ending. We did some trail hardening, fixed the picnic table (again!), painted a little bit on the tower, etc., all while cooking lunch and welcoming about 25 people and 4 friendly canines. It was a special pleasure to welcome back Dave, who actually did some of the metal work on the tower about 10 years ago. He was very happy to see the tower was still in good shape!
We also saw Mr. Snowshoe Hare(s), as RoboHiker calls his friendly rabbit(s). Once everyone leaves, and we are quiet, he/she/they will come out and hop around for a while, sometimes up to 3 at a time. They keep the grounds very tidy for us!
As we hiked back, we saw a tiny bird, dark blue/black on top except for a white spot on each side near the back, dark throat and face, light gray undersides, and white edges on his wings. Any clues? Sorry, no pics, as Laurie's camera battery died in the morning.
We were down in time for an excellent meal and even better beer at Keegan's where they had the marvelous 'Jo Momma Coffee Stout' on tap! Mmmmmm!
Ok, we hiked Balsam Lake Saturday (BLM) from Mill Book Rd, and opened up the cabin and the tower in anticipation of meeting an ADK (ADirondacK mountain club ? ) group that was 'assaulting' the summit from the other 2 trails!
Not really, they were camping at various places, and hiked up from Alder Lake and Beaver Kill. They were a great group of folks. They slowly emerged from time to time and we chatted with them, and of course gave tours of the cabin and pointed out the peaks from the tower. The weather was a little overcast, and it rained ever so briefly 5 or 6 times, but it was only 68 degrees and we had nice breezes. Cool! The ADK group also mentioned that some members of the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) were using one of the lean-tos, but I don't think we met any of them. That covers the soup.
The job of maintaining the cabin and surrounding environs is never ending. We did some trail hardening, fixed the picnic table (again!), painted a little bit on the tower, etc., all while cooking lunch and welcoming about 25 people and 4 friendly canines. It was a special pleasure to welcome back Dave, who actually did some of the metal work on the tower about 10 years ago. He was very happy to see the tower was still in good shape!
We also saw Mr. Snowshoe Hare(s), as RoboHiker calls his friendly rabbit(s). Once everyone leaves, and we are quiet, he/she/they will come out and hop around for a while, sometimes up to 3 at a time. They keep the grounds very tidy for us!
As we hiked back, we saw a tiny bird, dark blue/black on top except for a white spot on each side near the back, dark throat and face, light gray undersides, and white edges on his wings. Any clues? Sorry, no pics, as Laurie's camera battery died in the morning.
We were down in time for an excellent meal and even better beer at Keegan's where they had the marvelous 'Jo Momma Coffee Stout' on tap! Mmmmmm!
