Caznovia, NY to White Lake, NY 79.6 miles

I said farewell to Lisa and Brian, my Warm Showers hosts and headed down the road. They had said that Chittenango Falls, just down the road, probably wouldn’t be very spectacular because the water was low. But last night’s rain had filled the creek and it was roaring.

I was back on the Erie Canal Trail for another 25 sublime miles today.

I heard back from a Warmshowers host in White Lake, New York that they could host me tonight. It was going to make for a long day, 70 hilly miles but it is always nice to peddle towards a shower and a bed. Then when the hills started in earnest, North of Rome, I ran into trouble. There were two bridges on my route being replaced and there were detours for both. In a car, the extra 9 miles of hills the detours created for me would not have meant much but on a loaded touring bike, on an already long day, it nearly broke me. Some of the roads were gravel that were slower, scenic and with low traffic. And some of the roads were paved, 50 mph with a lot of traffic, including many trucks. They were probably scenic too but I couldn’t look around to see if they were.

Today was the day I entered the Adirondack Park. It is a special place.

“In 1892, the state of New York made history by creating the Adirondack Park. At about six million acres, the Park is roughly the size of Vermont and the largest protected area in the lower 48 states. It is also unique in that the New York State Constitution contains protections for the Adirondacks, and it is one of the few constitutionally protected areas in the world.” adirondackcouncil.org

My Warmshowers host Alan had some company, they were going to a restaurant in town for dinner and asked if I would come along. Alan and his guests were wonderful folks that I enjoyed being with. I was sorry I didn’t get the chance to meet Alan’s wife Louise, she was back at their home nursing a knee injury. Their Adirondack camp reminded me very much of the vacation homes I have stayed in visiting my mother in law and my step father in law. Alan told me that their camp used to be the dining hall of a church summer camp. It was a nice cool Adirondack night, perfect for a good night’s sleep.

Thank you Alan and Louise for hosting me so graciously.