Every now and then on the subway, you’ll see an ad put out by the NYS Department of Economic Development with pictures from New York State outside of the metropolitan area (you know, about 51 of NY’s 62 counties) that say “Visit New York.” This summer, after I finished my job at Stevens, I did just that; I went way upstate to the Adirondacks, the northernmost region of New York.
I will tell you all about the Adirondacks soon enough, but getting there was half the fun, especially for someone like me who enjoys driving so much. (Yes, I enjoy driving even in NYC traffic; I don’t understand why either). The first leg of my trip (after getting through the Bronx’s notorious traffic jams) was pretty simple; I just took the Thruway to my first stop, Troy, the town near Albany where my grandparents grew up. The main attraction (for me) was Snowman, the ice cream shack that had been operating since my grandparents’ days. The ice cream is still fantastic and I 100% recommend it to anyone who goes up that way. It is open seasonally.
The next leg of my trip was driving from Troy to Fort Edward Amtrak to pick up my father. I had plenty of time to travel since I left early and dad’s train was delayed, so I changed the settings on Waze, my beloved GPS app, to avoid freeways. I was reluctant to do so because I, like most other city rats, associate surface streets with low-speed limits, red light cameras, pedestrians on cloud 9, and other annoyances that can make any driver, even me, a bit nervous and flushed with adrenaline. However, once you escape the metropolis, the surface streets are quite nice. Waze took me up Route 4, which proved to be a very nice drive through a lot of small towns. Most of Route 4 was pretty close to the Hudson, so it was pretty scenic as well. Every now and then, I’d stop at a park along the Hudson or get some coffee at a Stewart’s Shop (which is like an upstate-only blend of a 711 and an ice cream shop). Passing through all of these small towns, I couldn’t help but wonder what it must be like to grow up or live your whole life in one of them. Despite my initial hesitation, I’d recommend driving through the towns as opposed to simply barreling down the interstates.
Finally, we’ve reached the Adirondacks. I’ll start by talking about the easternmost bit – right along the border with Vermont. Lake Champlain defines the border, and it’s absolutely beautiful. This is coming from someone who lives only a couple miles away from Long Island Sound and drives over 2 mile long bridges above the Great South Bay to go the beach, so that’s no light compliment to the lake. There are some ferries across the lake since there’s only one bridge crossing it. When my dad and I were waiting for the ferry to Burlington, we noticed a few people playing around on the beach next to the ferry. I realized that for the locals, Lake Champlain is pretty much what the Atlantic Ocean is to me. For those with a bit of a fancy for history sites or the military, Fort Ticonderoga is right on the lake. The bridge across Lake Champlain is Route 2, which travels through the Champlain Islands. It was supposed to be a beautiful drive, but when we got to that part of the trip it started raining like a monsoon. Despite this, it was still kind of a nice drive, as good as driving in a monsoon can get.
One of the highlights of the trip was going to the High Peaks, where the Hudson River begins. Google Maps shows the Hudson beginning at Henderson Lake, right near the Upper Works trail-head. Lake Tear in the Clouds is at a higher elevation, so it’s considered the first source of the Hudson. My father wasn’t going to do the overnight hike to get there, so we simply did a few hours worth of hiking around Henderson. Driving back after our hike, we noticed what looked like a bunch of shacks on the side of the road. It was actually an abandoned metal-making town at the top of the Hudson, which it used to transport the metal.
After the Adirondacks, we continued our trip through Canada and New England. I’ll write a couple more columns about non-metropolitan New York while the weather is still good.
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