Day 3

What a physical day we had today! As a group we started our ascent up Black Bear Mountain following a trail that was not our first choice. Things were going pretty well for a bit until I realized that no longer was there anyone in front of me and another girl was walking with and myself. Furthermore, the small group we passed along the way was no longer close behind us. The only thing to do is keep on moving! As we neared the top, I could hear Lee's familiar voice in the distance. As we got closer, I heard Lee calling my name. He was waiting for me. As I got closer he laughed saying he wanted to see the look on my face when I saw what I had to climb next. Mind you, the trail was getting pretty steep prior to this, but here in front of me was a nice wall of rocks! Surely he was kidding and the trail was going to veer off to the right and wind up the mountain...NOPE...Here is where the real work began. It seemed like the last stretch to the top went on forever. We climbed wall of rock after wall of rock. Thankfully I had Lee there to pull me up by my backpack. "Come on Tracy. What are you doing?! Just keep going! I want to eat my lunch!" What would I have done without such encouragement? At last, with Lee's help, I eventually made it to the top of the mountain and enjoyed the splendor of the view. My body will more than likely punish me tomorrow for making it work so hard, but I feel great about my accomplishment. Thank you Lee! Couldn't have done it without you!

After making our way down the mountain and losing half our group due to a split in the trail and some minor miscommunication we were able to make it to Ferd's Bog. I had been looking forward to visiting the bog prior to our arrival at the camp. My heart sank a little when Beth said she thought we might have to scrap the bog walk due to falling behind schedule. Thankfully that was not the case. Ed Kanze was waiting about a quarter mile to take us to the bog. Ed is a licensed Adirondack guide. We learned that the bog is the most popular bird watching spot in NYS. On our walk in the bog, we were looking for a rare woodpecker. Ed taught us how to pish. Pishing refers to a warning that is sent out by a bird letting others know there is danger. Other birds hear the warning and come to check out the action. You can check out the video of us "pishing" and of Ed's Bard Owl call by following the YouTube link.

We walked on a boardwalk out into the bog. Although we could not stand on the bog, we were allowed to take off our shoes and socks and put our feet on the soft sphagnum moss. It was really cool! We sampled berries and checked out plants along the way. I am grateful we were able to fit in the bog walk. It was a wonderful experience and Ed is an excellent guide.