The next day, we tidy up the apartment, load our bags into the car, and set off from Lake Placid in the dark. Although we have not explored most of the Adirondacks, we are headed now to the southeast corner of the park, to catch sunrise on the shore of Brant Lake, before swinging upward into Vermont via the ferry crossing at Ticonderoga. In the dim blue light of pre-dawn, we speed past the Cascade Lakes, through Keene Valley, and down the gorge between the High Peaks and the Giant Mountain Wilderness. We continue past St. Huberts and merge onto the Adirondack Northway (I-87), which runs south to Albany and New York City, along the eastern edge of the Adirondack region. We proceed on the highway for about 30 miles, ever-cognizant of the towering shield of forested hills and mountains to our west. To our east, dawn colors begin to light the horizon over Schroon Lake. We leave the highway at Horicon and, crossing the road bridge over Schroon River, we enter the charming little lakeside hamlet of Brant Lake. We park near the town’s public boat landing at the southern end of the lake, where I’ve identified a beautiful view across the water.
To the north, mist is rising from the surface of the lake, partially obscuring a group of islands dotted with pine and spruce trees. On one of these islands sits a tall-steepled boathouse, and behind them lie a range of cloud-strewn mountains, which are just beginning to catch a gleam of sunrise. This is a delightful place to shoot with my new long lens, although even its 200mm reach is tested by the distance to the islands, more than a mile away (closer vantage points are available along the north shore of the lake, but I would highly advise against photographing from those, as there is no place to park a car, and any open spaces and jetties are invariably located on private property). In addition to zoom shots and panoramas, I wind up taking a long timelapse from this vantage point, as the clouds roll past the lake and the morning sun gradually casts its light over the boathouse and the surrounding hillsides.
From Brant Lake, we continue eastward through the Graphite Mountain pass until we reach a T-intersection, where the road meets the western shore of Lake George. After so many years of plans and postponements, Jane and I finally lay eyes on the lake where we had planned to vacation all those Thanksgivings ago. In 2013, we’d planned a waterfront stay at the lake’s south end, with hikes to the summits of Sleeping Beauty and Black Mountains and a water park visit. For this trip, I’d initially planned excursions into the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness and the Tongue Mountain Range before concluding that the distance would be too far from our home base in Lake Placid. As it stands, we have no time to really explore the region surrounding Lake George. We settle for a brief driving break at the town beach in Hague, where I admire the scene while Jane goes to the water’s edge, stirring up a flock of resting Canada geese. We continue to north along the lake shore, passing Fort Ticonderoga and hitching a ride on the ferry to Vermont.
On the other side of Lake Champlain, we follow the highway north, passing through a bucolic landscape of rolling hillsides, farm roads through fruit orchards, and farmhouses amidst pastures of baled hay. To the east, the Green Mountains rise in an undulating ridge separating Vermont and New Hampshire, while to the west, across the ever-widening lake, the Adirondacks loom like an earthen fortress over the Champlain lowlands. After an hour of easy driving, we return along our original route a week prior, past the village of Charlotte and into the outskirts of Burlington. In town, we leave our car in a public parking lot on Elmwood Avenue, and set off to explore Burlington on foot.
Jane and I walk down past the iconic First Unitarian Church, and continue south along the Church Street Marketplace. Surrounded by a throng of flannel-toting, beanie-wearing blonde people, we stop at a coffee shop, browse a local bookstore, and thumb through a tent full of heavily discounted winter wear at the Outdoor Gear Exchange. Feeling more famished than spendy, we ultimately order burgers at Five Guy’s, and ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s. After lunch, we wander down to the city waterfront, along an avenue of stately oak and maple trees. Down by the water, we climb to the top balcony of the nearby boathouse and restaurant, and watch as ships go sailing past on Lake Champlain. A pleasure yacht rolls into dock carrying a wedding party, bride, and groom, who emerge on the deck to the cheers of the guests assembled ashore. Jane and I loop back to the north, past cafés and breweries, before walking back toward our car at the city center. Along the way, we stop at Hong’s Chinese Dumplings (the brick-and-mortar shop of a local heroine who started with a food cart two decades ago). We order a to-go stack of pork and vegetable dumplings, fried rice, and a scallion pancake, all paired with house-made sauce. Takeout dinner in tow, we head back to the car and drive to our accommodations for the night, a cozy basement AirBnB near the Burlington Airport. We have ourselves a relaxed night, and fly back to Baltimore early the next morning.
