Adirondack Peeks Winter 2025

Margaret Jacobs, #3576 MOUNTAIN VIGNETTES Basin, Saddleback, Gothics Hike, 1991 W e start our ride across the still lake, The time is good, no qualm we’ll be late. The oars squeak rhythmically into morning clear. And in lake’s shallows we sight deer. There’s an aura of peace, that is hard to find, And beauty beyond beauty of any kind. My back to the mountains, we’re about to climb,

Our rendezvous made with time to spare, Equipment is checked with deliberate care. Our group assembled, we fall into line, First Marty, Connie, then me and Chris behind. Easy and steady we start with good pace, Sudden concern and maps are checked . . . just in case. We’re put on alert for obscure connections, Then calculate time to help with detection. We meet all the vias right where they said, Recognition of veterans takes shape in my head. The relentless steep grade starts to take its fee, My body is aching and there is pain in my knee. My right hand looks foreign from when I fell, Four times its size, colorful, throbbing like hell. And then a moan escapes from behind, I realize we’re all experiencing pain of some kind. Surprised, but grateful for the contraptions’ help, Upon beholding the stone wall we’d been dealt. Bliss over apparatus fades all too quickly, The ladders tax stamina and with backpacks are tricky. Sanguine we march for hours in trees, My mind is numb on this part that it sees. Suddenly grand ladders come into sight, Strong timber ladders of two-story height.

Their visions float by in barbed lines. A shiver rips through me like a sick chill, Fear is creeping in against my will. A joke, a laugh, divert my foreboding, Settling the anxiety I’m constantly provoking. Ahead we see camp kids ending their stay, And shrills of happiness drift our way. Relay upon relay they ferry and tote, With heaps of gear stowed tall in their boats. We feel a new urgency and pick up the pace, There’s only one dock and surely no space. We arrive at the landing amid utter confusion, Kids, boats, and bags in absolute profusion. Enjoying their spirit and organized clutter, We listen and watch and try not to shudder.

Ausable Club Boat Dock - Peggy Jacobs #3576, Connie Stone #2550, Marty Stone #2001, Marcia Morley, Lisa Weibrecht

26 | ADIRONDACK PEEKS