Tramp & Trail

Write-up: Mike and Janice Huss
Leader: Mike Huss
Co-Leader: Janice Huss
Pictures: Jim Wasielewski, Mary Pat Connors

Twenty-nine tramps started our hike on a beautiful fall day. It was sunny, in the low 70’s, with a light but steady breeze. The beginning of the trail was a very long hill that never seemed to end. We all made it up without too much complaining by the co-leader. Once at the top, we hiked along a ridge that paralleled Twitchell Lake. The trail was well marked. This summer, our leader had joined with a group from ADK to help with trail maintenance on this part of the trail. They found that the beaver had created a dam farther down-stream and as a result the original trail near Oswego pond was now covered with water. They created an alternate trail around the dam and marked it with orange tape. We had no trouble following this new trail and picking up the original trail at the other end. We continued on and found a nice spot to enjoy lunch. The return hike was pleasant. The breeze continued and helped to keep us all comfortable.

As we came out of the woods and made our way back to our starting-point at the state landing on Twitchell Lake, we could see Jim Huss (Mike’s brother) and his friend, Tom Napier, each navigating their large rafts to the boat launch. We also discovered that Jim and Tom had thoughtfully placed enough Adirondack and camp chairs on the rafts so that everyone had a place to sit. Tom even had a picnic table on his raft! They tied the rafts together and 20 tramps boarded, with their beverages and snacks, for the start of a very pleasant cocktail cruise down the lake.

Jim Huss pointed out many points of interest along the way. We also spotted a pair of loons who had taken up residence on the lake. The loons made several appearances during our cruise, sometimes coming within good viewing distance of us.

About half-way down the lake it started to rain and our skipper decided to turn around and head back to shore. By the time we got back to the boat launch, the rain had stopped and the sun came out. Figures!! Regardless of the rain, we were able to spend an enjoyable hour on the lake, eating, drinking, enjoying the beautiful scenery, and conversing with fellow tramps.