Adirondack Canoe Classic Part 1

Photo by Mark Kurtz

For years may dad had been dogged by his friend Dan Tickner, owner of Tickner's Canoe Outfitters, to participate in the Adirondack Canoe Classic or "The 90 Miler," which runs from Old Forge to Saranac Lake. This year he finally succeeded and we decided to enter. The experience was one of the most grueling, at times miserable, and difficult of my life, but I can't wait to do it again next year.

I drove up after class on Thursday, September 9th and met my dad at the Tickner's house in Old Forge. I was pretty nervous as I packed my pack with snacks and filled up my CamelBak because I had heard that the first day was insane.

The first day of the race began in Old Forge on Old Forge pond and finished in Blue Mt. Lake -a distance of 35 miles with 3.5 miles of portages.

The start of the race was packed with all of the racers getting prepared and adjusting the butt-padding taped to the stock seats of their canoes. It was apparent quickly that the preferred canoe of the 90 Miler participant was the We-No-Nah "Minnesota II". Others ranged from the bizarre and super-light , to truly heavy and inadequate aluminum canoes. Some also chose to race in single or double Kayaks, 3 or 4 man canoes, Guide Boats, and even War-Canoes. These all fit into 15 (+/- depending on the year) classes of boats, each with a separate 1st place winner and prize. We entered in the "Open-Touring" class, which was a non-competetive class and the largest.

We set out from Old Forge and travelled onto Old Forge Pond and out into the Fulton Chain of Lakes. We paddled at a brisk pace up through First through Fifth Lakes until we reached the town of Inlet and our first carry. Along the way we met a young couple who were doing the race for the first time. We would end up spending the rest of the race chatting and racing along side them. This is part of the joy of the 90. Though some people are racing for prize money and recognition, many of us were out there to complete the challenge and have fun. The solidarity between 250 boats worth of people trying to complete an intense endurance test like this is incredible.

After a short carry up rt. 28, we put in at Sixth Lake. From here it was a short paddle through Seventh and up to the second carry of the day at Eight lake campground. This was a longer carry and my mom drove in with Powerade and Cliff bars for us, as well as some encouraging words and moral support. We were feeling good, but we knew that the biggest test of the day was ahead.

After a brief trip across Eighth, we knew we had to endure the longest carry of the day ending at Brown's Tract. This is a roughly 3 mile section of river that winds in a serpentine fashion through a marshy area, switching back repeatedly and slowing down the pace. We had heard that this was the section that racers lost the race or even missed making the time cut-offs for the day.

Brown's Tract was difficult, however we worked together and made it through much quicker than we had expected; even passing a few other racers on the way. We could see the behemoth bulk of Blue Mountain rising into the grey sky, beckoning us to fight on through the growing pain in our arms and backsides. After going under the bridge that leads into town, we travelled out into Raquette Lake, then up into another river that finished with the final carry of the day.

Following the carry we put in at Utowana Lake, then paddled into Eagle Lake, then finally into the home stretch of Blue Mountain Lake. At this point I had gotten into a rhythm; switching sides after every 10 strokes to save energy and just because i was so sore. The temperature had also dropped and the wind had begun to whip the lake into a choppy mess. However the end was in front of us and we could see the crowd of those who had finished before us and two giant orange balls floating in the water to signify the finish. When we finished I sat down in the sand and sighed in relief. The hardest day was over.