Bring It On!!!!

9/8/13

I am proud to say that my father and I finished the Adirondack 90 Mile Canoe Classic. After three days of exhausting paddling in the scenic Adirondacks I feel unbelievably sore and rewarded. For those that aren't familiar with the 90 Miler, it is an endurance race that goes from Old Forge Saranac Lake and is divided into three sections. The first day is 35 miles, and goes from Old Forge and ends at Blue Mountain Lake. Second day is 30 miles, and goes through Long Lake and goes along the Racquette River for 20 miles, with only one long, technically difficult carry. The third day is 25 miles, and goes from Fish Creek on Upper Saranac to the town of Saranac Lake, with only three short carries amounting to a half a mile.
The course on the firs day goes through the Fulton Chain, then through Racquette Lake, the Marion River, Uttowana Lake, Eagle Lake, and then Blue Mountain Lake. There is also a total of 3.5 miles of extremely long carries (when you transport your boat over dry land.) The first day was by far the hardest day, not only because of the long distance, but also due to our expectations. My father and I expected there to be a lot of 80 year olds just doing the classic for fun (all the 80 year olds passed us.) We were actually surprised to that most of the participants were wanna be 60 year Olympiads, with their carbonfiber paddles, and special racing boats. We on the other hand had a touring kevlar canoe with traditional paddles. Our technique was also inefficeint, with us overextending our strokes, and going slower than we really should. After eight and a half ours of paddling, we did finally reached the far shores of Blue Mountain Lake.

Here we are before starting Day 1 in Old Forge.

 And here is us during our first portage through Inlet. Quiet chaotic and stressful for a first time canoe racer. 

On the second day we started at Long Lake (here we to the starting line.)

From the starting line, we went done the length of Long Lake, which is 10 miles, and then 7 more on the Racquette River, until we reached the main carry of the day 1.5 miles of strenous terrain along the length of Racquette Falls. It was only steep uphill and downhill, with plenty of boulders in the way. 

After the portage, we went through 13 more miles of the Racquette River. It was similar to the Otter Creek with steep banks and with the scenery rarely changing. Overall, we did improve our speed and technique, as well not overstraining our muscles. 

The third day started at the Fish Creek Campground on Upper Saranac Lake (here we are at the start.) 

Technically, it was the hardest day to canoe. With winds blowing up to 20 miles per hour, the waves in the open water were large and frequent, which made navigating through Middle and Lower Saranac difficult. Although we were going slow, we told ourselves that going at a steady pace would have to be acceptable. Though, after over five hours of paddling with the wind at our face, we finally reached Saranac Lake. 

Here we are reaching the finish on Flower Lake.

And look, we're still happy!

So bring it on world! Let's see what other extreme activities you have in store for me. Maybe the Seville Marathon?