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three BY BRIAN CASTNER

MY THREE YOUNG SONS ARE TOUGH and feral was coming in, the In boys. Over the long winter, hockey players and clouds thickening wrestlers, puppies in a pile when shut in at home. and wind howling With the spring thaw, though, I hear the moun- as we crossed an tains calling, and together we vent that pent up open rock face. My boys energy at the hiking trail. were all ahead of me on the descent, bun- But there was a moment last summer—the dled in fleeces and knit hats, and covered in mud tHe The author Days 26th of August, too late in the afternoon, 50 feet nearly to their armpits. with his sons, below the summit of Panther Peak, in the remote My two oldest boys are Martin and Sam, 12 Sam, Martin and Santanoni Range—when, tough or not, I feared I and nine years old. Seeking the comparative Eli, at the start of their wilderness had pushed my boys too far. cover of the dwarf pine trees below us, they bil- adventure. Pages We had been hiking for 10 hours, and we had ly-goat hopped from outcropping to outcropping 50–51: The Santa- just bagged our third High Peak of the day. But until they hit a sheer ledge. Years of footfalls had noni Range. instead of celebrating, my youngest son was full worn the dirt herd path to soup, and they had to SantanonIS of exhausted tears, and so the four of us scam- choose between slick boots on slick rock or the pered off Panther’s scraggly crest as fast as we knee-deep mud that framed the crag. The boys WHAT HAPPENSHA ENS WHENWHEN AA FATHERFATHER BRINGSBRINGS HISHIS BOYSBOYS ONON could. Sunset was only two hours away. Weather picked the mud, sliding on their seats. ONE OF THE TOUGHEST TREKS IN THE HIGH PEAKS

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li, their youngest brother, tried to follow, running on ahead of me on his short legs. But once he hit the edge, he hesitated. A gale wind scoured the mountain. In the tableau behind my son, I saw dark gray clouds tumbling, and a wall of rain crossing the valley toward us. li saw it too, and he turned toward me in fear, the watery signs of his frustration streaming down his face. That was the moment I knew I had pushed us too far. I had brought this on myself. What are we even doing here my six-year-old son begged from me in a wail. ood uestion.

YOU DON’T END UP on ,2-foot Panther Peak by acci- dent. Well off the standard tourist route, nearly every hiker there is pursuing the same goal summiting all 6 Adirondack mountains over ,000 feet. My boys and I live on rand Island, an utterly flat clay plug in the iagara Sam and Eli were inconsolable, just wanted to sit and cry, as if Santanoni might hear them and grant mercy. They were done with the mountain, but unfortunately it wasn’t done with us. ------

River north of Buffalo, on the far edge of 6er ever. I have contracted it, though, and have convinced my boys that we should do the 6 together, before they are all grown and out of the nest for good. The deadline will come fast I blinked my eyes and suddenly Martin, my baby, had the shoulders and frame of a young man. So we started as soon as possible—li went up iant Mountain at five—but, thus far, had man- aged only four relatively easy climbs. ast summer we tried a more ambitious excursion, multiple summits we could easily hit from a central base camp, with this caveat as a general rule of thumb, I try not to make my kids hike more miles a day than their numerical age. hecking the maps, the best option seemed to be a range in the High Peaks’ southwest corner, an isolated area we had never explored before, about 10 miles north ISTRATIN BY AR ISN SANTANNI RANE IIN TRAS CRTESY TE ATR CRTESY RANE IIN TRAS BY AR ISN SANTANNI ISTRATIN of Route 2. Three peaks clustered tightly together Santanoni, Panther and ouchsachraga. At the foot of the main massif, and only about four (Continued on page 102)

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THREE DAYS IN THE SANTANONIS THREE DAYS IN THE SANTANONIS Continued from page 53

miles from the trailhead, sits Bradley we were unaware. My answer would Pond, a natural campsite with guaran- come over the next three days: at the teed water. We could hike to our base height of summer, we would see less camp the first day, do all three peaks than a dozen other hikers. the second, and walk out the third. The path started wide as two pick- According to the online trail guide, our up trucks, and at first we made good longest day would be 8.5 miles. More time. Martin was at that age when he Nils Edward Luderowski Architect than Eli’s age, but only barely, right? seemed taller each morning, and every Keene Valley, New York / 518.576.4446 / www.luderowskiarchitect.com How hard could it be? pair of pants showed his ankles. He set RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN IN AN ADIRONDACK VERNACULAR I didn’t know at the time that Couch- his own pace, a rambling side-to-side sachraga is Algonquin for “dismal wil- shuffle that quickly outdistanced the derness.” We would learn why later. short labored steps of his youngest The initial twinge of self-doubt brother. Sam, middle child and eager arrived early, at the washed-out bridge to please, stayed with me and smiled. APA SITE PLANS we encountered two hours into our Eli trudged on, and asked when he .com BOUNDARY, trek. Not the first washed-out bridge, would grow too. TOPOGRAPHIC, mind you, but the second one, with But then the trail narrowed to the canted “Dangerous Bridge Ahead” ankle-twisting single track as we SUBDIVISION, sign and the tumbling logs and rap- climbed parallel to the flume of San- and MORTGAGE ids beneath and half-rotted staircase tanoni Brook. We slowed with the SURVEYS. leading off the opposite bank. footing, but then the track deteriorat- “Dad, I thought you said this was ed further. Beavers had created a wet- still an official trail,” said Martin. “And land at the top of the ridge, and before Call 518.946.7571 the herd path is later on?” long, the path was not so much wet as Ralph Schissler, L.S. Owner ADKSurveying True, I thought. How much worse submerged, stagnant water occasion- does it get? We all dropped our packs, ally bridged by rotting pine corduroy. and Martin made his way via several The online guide had warned of mud, large boulders, while I tucked Sam and but this went beyond any I had expe- Eli under each arm like duffel bags and rienced in the Adirondacks. carried them across, making a second The boys were grumbling about din- trip for our gear. ner when we finally found the sign for The unease was reinforced an hour the trail to Times Square, the central INTRODUCING THE later, when we met our very first fel- hub to the three peaks’ spokes. We NEW low hiker, an older man coming down took the branch and almost imme- the trail toward us. He had a walking diately hit a mucky swamp, clusters stick and battered shoes and a mesh- of drowned pines blocking our view. backed 46er hat. Unsure, we followed the path to the “Where are you going? This guy right, which, if possible, then got even looks ready to go up Everest,” said the wetter, became one with a stream old 46er, and pointed at Martin, who feeding the quagmire. We skirted the then grinned in spite of himself. For banks and our pace slowed to a crawl, the first time, Martin was using my the boys said again they were hungry, wife’s backpack; the overstuffed rig daylight started failing. Rustic was towering over his head, and was We’re on the wrong path, I thought. ElEgancE nearly as heavy as mine. And then I heard a massive sucking Our Exclusive I told the man we wanted to be 46ers sound behind me, like a giant took a Adirondack Collection too, but had just started our quest. He slurp on a huge straw. shook his head. I turned around, and there was Eli 2416 Main Street “Getting the nasty ones out of the up to his crotch in mud. All four of us Lake Placid way early, huh?” he said, and then were frozen in shock, and we looked at New York 12946 pressed on. each other a moment, before Eli’s eyes 518-523-2774 “What does he mean, Dad?” asked Eli. switched from surprise to intense need. “Don’t worry about it,” I said, but “Get me outta here!” he yelled. When I 518-523-1818 www.DarrahCooper.com inwardly I wondered whether the lifted him up, his boots were suctioned hotelnorthwoods.com Santanonis had a reputation of which off to the bottom of the bog, and I had to

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THREE DAYS IN THE SANTANONIS THREE DAYS IN THE SANTANONIS

lie on my belly to fish them out. My plan went like this: bag the far- We needed to camp. Anywhere. thest peak first, and save the easiest Immediately. for the end. Do them in the reverse Can you believe that just then, order, I figured, and the kids would around the next bend, we found the struggle to psych themselves up to perfect campsite? High flat ground and finish out the string. Couchsachraga dry grass and soft moss beds and toad- was a mile and a half away, Santa- stools, like something out of a fairy noni a mile, and Panther only a half- tale. While Sam and Martin set up the mile round trip. Five and a half miles tent, Eli changed pants, and I washed of hiking from Times Square, plus them in the stream and hung them the trip down. All in the eight hours from a bare tree limb to dry. After a before sunset? We can still do this, dinner of rehydrated pasta primave- I thought. ra, the boys crawled in their sleeping Ominously, though, the trail to bags and played cards, and I slung our Couchsachraga started with a descent. food bag over a tipped pine. Moonlight It dropped and dropped, and my played on the trickle of a creek run- heart with it. Couchsachraga is only ning by the camp, and when I went to 3,820 feet, classified as one of the 46 sleep I listened for bears and raccoons because of a historical survey mis- getting into our food, but instead take. This weighed on me all the way heard only bugs and burbles and the to the bottom of the saddle, where we breeze through birch leaves. No more discovered a primordial swamp, with doubts. We were the only humans in dinosaur-age red mosses and pitcher a hundred square miles of wilderness. plants and leaning fences of tombstone The next morning we made an trunks. I had never seen a swamp on alpine start, on the trail at dawn. We top of a mountain before; the Algon- retraced our steps, discovered our quin were right. The boys fanned out wrong turn from the night before, and and found a soggy way through, and after crossing a beaver dam, eventual- shortly after noon we arrived at the NOW OPEN YEAR-ROUND! ly found the way up the ridge. But our summit, a tree-encased bump barely LAKE PLACID/ detour added a mile onto our longest large enough for all of us to sit and eat WHITEFACE MTN. day, and cost us an hour of daylight. peanut butter bagel sandwiches. We New York We would miss it by the end. met two women there, one wearing a • Minutes from Whiteface Mountain The trail rose, the ground dried, bandanna like she had lost her hair in • World-famous trout fishing the trees thinned, and Bradley Pond cancer treatment. She looked at my appeared in the distance to our left, six-year-old and declared, “How old • Near Veterans Memorial Highway grand as the satellite photos prom- are you? You’re an inspiration.” • Close to Olympic action in Lake Placid ised. But then we crossed the cascade As we trudged back, retracing root 77 Fox Farm Road, Wilmington, NY 12997 of Panther Brook, and the path shot staircases, I checked my watch more 800-562-0368 | lakeplacidkoa.com | [email protected] straight up like a bottle rocket. To call frequently, as if time might slow if the trail shin-breaking is kind; before carefully tracked. If we can leave for long I was lifting Eli from boulder to Santanoni by 2:45, I bargained with boulder. The mile-and-a-half ascent myself, we can still make all three to Times Square took a glacial three peaks. We missed our mark, fell a lit- hours, a quarter of our normal pace. tle farther behind, pressed on anyway. DEC licences Times Square is a patch of dirt shel- At 4,607 feet, Santanoni is the highest What if tered by several large boulders and Adirondack peak west of the Hudson. LOGO Support the one place that Wear knobby trees, a few logs to sit on, the Three false summits tease you on the never stops asking “what if?” remains of a fire pit. To keep kids happy way up, but the route was dry and we ADK Donate or become treasures on the trail, I’ve learned to feed them enjoyed our best view of the day. an underwriter today. chocolate every so often. There is a Still, always this thought: We’re EVENTS precedent—Shackleton did the same running out of time. • 2016 Authors Night, Tues Aug 9th, 7-9 thing in Antarctica, after all. So we had It was 5 p.m. when we entered Times • 2016 Annual Tent Sale, Aug 11-13th 800-836-5700 • 2016 Octo-Bear-Fest, Sat Oct 1st a quick Hershey’s snack, I cached a few Square for the third time, and nerves 1142 Main St. Box 247 | Long Lake, NY 12847 mountainlake.org 1 (800) 952-HOSS (4677) hossscountrycorner.com water bottles, and then we pressed on. were frayed. After 10 hours, Eli said eventsevents •• 2015 2015 Octo-Bear-Fest, Octo-Bear-Fest, Sat Sat Oct Oct 3rd 3rd •• 2016 2016 Authors Authors Night, Night, Tues Tues Aug Aug 9th 9th •• 2016 2016 Annual Annual Tent Tent Sale, Sale, Aug Aug 11-13th 11-13th 104 ADIRONDACK LIFE ANN U AL G UIDE 16 11421142 Main Main St. St. Box Box 247 247 | | Long Long Lake, Lake, NY NY 12847 12847 ADIRONDACK LIFE ANN U AL G UIDE 16 105 » 11 (800) (800) 952-HOSS 952-HOSS (4677) (4677) » hossscountrycorner.comhossscountrycorner.comevents ADIRONDACK LIFE MAG [email protected] or call 518-946-2191 • 2015 Octo-Bear-Fest, Sat Oct1/6 3rd ad - vertical • 2016 Authors Night, Tues Aug2.125 9th x 4.625

• 2016 Annual Tent Sale, Aug 11-13thDK DESIGN STUDIO - dkdesignstudio.com 1142 Main St. Box 247 | Long Lake, NY 12847 1 (800) 952-HOSS (4677) hossscountrycorner.com Santanonis.indd 4/11/16 8:50 AM - 106 - (Cyan)(Magenta)(Yellow)(BlacK) Santanonis.indd 4/12/16 1:45 PM - 107 - (Cyan)(Magenta)(Yellow)(BlacK)

THREE DAYS IN THE SANTANONIS THREE DAYS IN THE SANTANONIS

that while he wasn’t tired, his feet down. Like a chimpanzee, belly to belly, were, and they didn’t want to walk any- for greater stability. more. Sam had been silent for hours, Night caught us at Bradley Pond, but but now he dropped to a rock and burst by then the worst was done. I held Eli into tears. A strong wind blew in clouds the whole way, but at the end Sam that hid the sun, and our spirits fell with said he wanted to finish on his own. To the temperature. cross the small stream next to our tent, I have learned this about being the he resorted to crawling on his hands father of sons in the wilderness: bind and knees. “Do you want me to help, all the scrapes, cuddle every fuss, Sammy?” I asked. “No, I want to do it,” and, under no circumstances, never he said. I can respect that, I thought. ever admit to being tired, wet, cold And then, with relief: Maybe I haven’t or unsure of yourself. A young child’s inadvertently taught the wrong lesson resiliency is based, in large part, on the after all. confidence of the parent. Eli, my biggest eater, skipped dinner And anyway, this moment of truth and went straight to bed. Too tired to was the whole reason we took on the do any real cooking, I heated up a few challenge of the 46 in the first place. beef stew ration packets left over from “Panther is right there, only a 15-min- my days in the military. We gobbled ute walk away,” I said. “We’ll all regret them up by the light of my head lamp, it if we don’t do it now, and have to three small shivering figures huddled come back up here another time. It around a small glow, and then made may suck for the next few hours, but for our sleeping bags, barely pausing tomorrow you’ll be happy we did it.” to remove our muddy pants. Life rarely presents a parental teach- I didn’t think about moonlight or ing moment with such clarity and rain or critters scavenging our food. I immediate payoff. thought about my pulsating feet, and Martin was strong and ready to completely satisfied, I fell asleep in a go, but young Eli and Sam remained moment. Conserving our resources today for a better tomorrow! unconvinced. So I took off everyone’s The boys had to be rousted from boots and bandaged toes and ankles to their beds in the morning. We broke prevent blisters. I succeeded partially; camp, stuffed tired toes into boots, and Sam’s big toenail went black for a few descended the rocky trail. After the tri- months after our trip. Once everyone als of the previous two days, the path had their feet checked, tears dried and looked smooth and straight, the two tummies filled with chocolate, I pushed bridgeless river crossings a trifle. Eli the boys to complete our quest. sang songs, Sam munched on dried fruit, Offering Foam, Cellulose & More Which is how we found ourselves and by the time we made it to the parking Proudly serving the Adirondacks since 2006 exhausted and disillusioned coming lot, the sun was even shining. Insulation done right. The FIRST time! 315-262-0431 • www.dmtfoam.com down off Panther Peak, miles from “Where are we hiking next time, dinner and shelter and—most impor- Dad?” Sam asked.

tantly—any chance we might learn a “You’re ready for more?” I said, and positive lesson about determination pride swelledm in me. and resiliency. “It wasn’t so bad,” Sam said. “And Two hours from sunset, in a driving it’s August, so at least there were no storm, we finally descended the muddy bugs.” and near-vertical ridge. Martin was old enough to recognize the potentially Brian Castner is a former explosive ord- dangerous combination of darkness nance disposal officer and veteran of the and rain, but Sam and Eli were incon- Iraq War. He’s the author of All the Ways SUSTAINABLE solable, just wanted to sit and cry, as if We Kill and Die (Arcade, 2016) and the Santanoni might hear them and grant war memoir The Long Walk (Doubleday, LANDSCAPES mercy. They were done with the moun- 2012). His writing has appeared in The shawnlewishalperin.com earthrootslandscaping.com tain, but unfortunately, it wasn’t done New York Times, Wired, Outside and on Lake Clear, New York Studio/518-637-5015 Lake Placid, NY 518.946.7759 with us. I took turns carrying them National Public Radio.

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