Loons on the lake

Although James and I found much to do (and not do) at The Hedges, we did venture off property during our stay. We knew that we wanted to take a boat cruise on one of the lakes, having enjoyed a boat tour during our visit to Lake Placid. We drove down to Racquette Lake to look at the W.W. Durant, but quickly decided that was not the type of cruise that we had in mind. Too many people, we weren't interested in eating lunch on board so we would have been on the top deck with no shade, and did I mention there were too many people? As James said, we weren't interested in a Greyhound tour of the lake.

We drove back to the hamlet of Blue Mountain Lake to look at what the Blue Mountain Lake Boat Livery offered and we found this beauty:

 

She is the Towahloondah, built in 1919 or 1920. We were ready to go out on the 11 am cruise, but we were the only customers and the captain said he didn't take her out for only two people. We had the choice of going on a pontoon boat or waiting for the 2 pm cruise, when he said he would take out the Towahloondah regardless of the number of passengers. Of course we opted to return at 2 pm!

When we returned, we found that we were still the only customers and the captain lived up to his earlier promise, so we had the entire boat and tour to ourselves. Our cruise started in Blue Mountain Lake and our captain told us history and stories of the area, and showed old photos of early development on the lake. While on the backside of one of the islands, he pointed out an osprey nest at the top of a tree; we could just barely make out the silhouette of a bird feeding its chicks.

We also came upon a family of loons, whom we had been hearing throughout our stay. We saw this adult and two chicks:

The other adult got agitated at our proximity and soon uttered the famous loon sound, which I find to be beautiful.

We passed under this beautiful bridge as we motored from Blue Mountain Lake into Eagle Lake:

 

On Eagle Lake, we saw another adult loon and a chick that was older than the two on Blue Mountain Lake, but I was unable to get a clear photo of them. After Eagle Lake came Utowana Lake, which is mainly undeveloped. The cruise lasted almost two hours and we so enjoyed the gorgeous scenery, hearing the captain's narration and being able to chat with him about any subject we liked. If you ever have the good fortune to visit Blue Mountain Lake, stop by the boat livery and take a tour.

We also did some hiking during our stay. We had the kitchen staff at The Hedges pack a picnic lunch for us and we hiked about 1.5 miles to the summit of Castle Rock, which provides stunning views of Blue Mountain Lake:

 

Sitting on the rock face at the top, we ate our lunch and almost participated in a medical emergency. It was windy and another hiker's paper napkin started to blow away. He lunged for it, and we thought he was going to roll right off the rock. There were about 6-8 people there at the time and we all said "Let it go!" Better to litter than become litter.

It is hard to see in this photo that I took from the swimming dock at The Hedges, but there is a rock face at the top of middle mountain and that is Castle Rock:

For some reason, standing on Castle Rock and looking down at the lake seemed much higher than seeing Castle Rock from the lake.

The Hedges

While Aidan was visiting Aunt Tammie, Uncle Mike and Grandma in Michigan, James and I went on holiday to an Adirondack Great Camp called The Hedges. Located on the shores of beautiful Blue Mountain Lake, The Hedges calls itself a "casual, rustic and historically unique Adirondack camp". We call it the perfect getaway.

The Hedges is open from Memorial weekend through Columbus Day weekend and offers accommodations in cabins and lodge rooms. Included in the daily room rate is a full cooked to order breakfast, a four course dinner and evening snacks. Canoes and kayaks are available to take out on the lake, plus there is a fishing dock, a swimming dock and a little sandy beach.

When I inquired about availability in March, just after I booked Aidan's flights to/from Michigan, there were only two rooms available for our requested dates. We settled in a room in the Main Lodge that looked out on Blue Mountain Lake. Here is the Main Lodge:

The front window in our room is at the top left of the building. The canoe/kayak dock is on the right side of the Main Lodge:

This is the view from the porch of the Main Lodge, which is conveniently outfitted with Adirondack chairs and rocking chairs:

Gorgeous, isn't it? You can do as much or as little as you like at The Hedges. James did a lot of fishing and even caught a few little guys:

I did a lot of reading, knitting and gazing at the gorgeous scenery. We also took kayaks out on the water several times, including the morning that we went out before 7 am and paddled around the lake for over an hour. It was so quiet and peaceful, with just a bit of mist hovering over the water. The lake was so calm that we could stop paddling and our kayaks would almost stay still as we looked at our surroundings.

At The Hedges, you can be as sociable as you like or don't like; although everyone eats in the dining room, each party has their own table. And while we did talk with other guests, it wasn't too intrusive and we still had plenty of solitude. There were both families and couples, and we learned that many people have been coming every summer for five, eight, ten and even thirteen years.

It was, by far, the most relaxing vacation that we have had in a very long time. The rooms were comfortable and spotless, the staff was friendly and efficient, and the food was delicious. We liked The Hedges so much that we extended our stay by one day! We were originally booked from Sunday to Wednesday morning but on Tuesday afternoon as we enjoyed a glass of wine on the porch, we decided that we just weren't ready to go home. We immediately went to the office to see if there was availability and learned that while our Main Lodge was booked, we could move to one of the small cabins for one additional night. That turned out to be an excellent move because it allowed us to experience both a lodge room and a cabin.

We are already planning to visit The Hedges again next summer, this time with Aidan. We think he will love the freedom to run around the grounds with other children, to jump off the dock into the cold, clear water of Blue Mountain Lake, to make s'mores by the evening campfire, and to paddle around the lake. We will submit our accommodation request form and hope that sometime in January we will receive confirmation that the cabin and dates we want are available.