Outdoor Adventures with Gary Lee - Vol. 289
I blew snow on several days last week, three to four inches each day after the rain took away most of the two feet we had on the ground. It saved the weekend for snowmobile riders and Snodeo. The cross-country skiing was also very good for the weekend. Gore and Whiteface Mountains were open for the weekend.
The search for the Canadian hiker on Allen Mountain was put into a limited continuous search if any new clues come up. There was still nearly four feet of snow up on that mountain top. Over fifty Forest Rangers covered over four hundred miles in search patterns all around the mountain and produced no clues to the lost persons travel. Volunteers are not encouraged to search on their own and cause more problems on the mountain.
We had a quick freeze with a couple of zero nights in which ice capped several of the local lakes, Big Moose, Limekiln and Fourth Lakes all had a coating of ice, but it was not that thick and unsafe to travel on. This warm spell thaw and rain will make them even more dangerous to get on. Check any ice before just going across and possibly falling through.
A few Loons did not get the message, and they are trapped in the ice in three places on Fourth Lake. Two Loons were reported in a hole off the south shore, south of Alba Island. Don Andrews and I went to check them out and they had a hole about fifteen by thirty, two hundred feet from shore. The first day they were able to pop up through the ice in several places as they fished far from the hole but after a second zero night they were trapped. We saw them still coming up in the hole with a smelt in the bill so they could still get something to eat. The Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation got a crew together on the third day to try and rescue these Loons and take them to the open waters of Lake Champlain. The Loons were right in front of Leslie and Dave Maurer’s camp who opened up their place to the rescuers and provided coffee and other refreshments for us. We were there for over four hours as the Loons avoided the capture nets. Two people on the ice, Griffin Archambault and Don Andrews could not stand near each other or they would have fallen through. Griffin got into the canoe and into the open hole and tried to use a gill net which was unsuccessful. Don fell through to the right of the open hole but got out with his hand spikes. Finally, Griffin got one in a landing net as it got up onto the ice around the hole and the rescue was called before getting the second Loon. The captured Loon was processed, blood and feathers taken and banded and taken to Lake Champlain for release. Thanks to the residents for their help and to all the volunteers who came to help.
While we were there, a mature Bald Eagle flew by checking out the Loons in the hole. We also heard a Loon calling to the east of us and Kurt Gardner spotted it off the sand bar by Eagle Creek. We also heard Loons calling the west of us and two were found off the North Woods Inn halfway across the lake in a hole. We are hoping these other Loons will get out during this short warm spell of rain and a strong west wind which will let them lift off in a shorter space.
If you missed the Adirondack Choral Concert or the It’s a Wonderful Life Radio Play at View, you missed two great hits of winter for Old Forge. The seating was nearly full for the free concert and about as many for the play. If you are snowmobiling and crossing the many road crossings you do not have the right of way and check before crossing as several vehicle operators reported that snowmobiles crossed in front of them without checking and were nearly hit.
I always say if you screw up and I am there you will probably be in my column, well I screwed up a Christmas story. Julie Manzi volunteered to help decorate my Christmas tree, so I cut the tree and had it in the stand and in the living room when she arrived one morning. We got lights, garlands, and many pretty balls on the tree. We even got Santa up on the tip top with the use of a yardstick and turned on the lights. Julie was behind the tree, and I went for another ornament, and it fell right behind me across the living room floor, Santa almost hitting me, but everything stayed on, just a little out of place now. I said “is this where the swearing starts,” and I think there was a single “oh shxx”. We took off a couple more lower branches and it went further into the standard. I stood it back up and it looked a little straighter than it was before, and it is still standing after a week now. Karen was here for sure to see and direct this tree trimming. My Sister Patti had the same experience, so Karen has been getting around, not wanting to miss Christmas.
We will be making Karen’s fruitcakes this week, so we will see how that goes but that’s another story. See ya.
Photo above: Christmas Tree at rest
