There is always solitude to be had in the Adirondacks, if you work for it. Living here for 15 years, we’ve identified tricks to get summits to ourselves, lakes at their calmest, and skies at their seemingly clearest. Usually this takes significant effort and sacrifice: early mornings, cool nights, and long treks into the wilderness. As is typical in the Adirondacks, nothing good comes easy.
But there is also one special weekend where seclusion comes with just a bit less work. A time when the summer crowds have tapered off and it's not quite leaf season. This invaluable time is the weekend after Labor Day. The lakes are still warm, the air is dry and comfortable, and the bugs somehow missing. From the Lake Champlain valley to the High Peaks in Newcomb and Keene, an expectant calm fills our homeland.
I spent some time looking back at photographs of our local adventures during this weekend over past years. My memory was jogged by images of canoeing on Elk Lake on a brisk Sunday morning, a sunrise from the east shoulder of Pitchoff Mountain after a steep hike from Route 73, a tranquil boat ride across an empty Lake Placid, and an outstretched view across the Giant Mountain Wilderness from the summit of Elizabethtown’s Iron Mountain. These are the moments that make Adirondack living so worthwhile.
September is also a period for transition. The evening air is cooler while the sunlight keeps the days warm. At Adirondack Field, we’ve spent years building diverse products to meet these hourly changes. If you are looking for an all-day look, for men we recommend our 3.5-ounce flannels, something like the Raquette or Opalescent. For the women, we think a light cashmere is the way to go, with our Keene being a timeless option with the opportunity to slip into a Wadhams regenerative quarter zip if the evening turns cold. For your feet, a pair of our merino wool Fieldsocks is a unisex option for enduring comfort.
As summer winds to a close, we think forward to what adventures lie ahead. This year, our region celebrates the 125th anniversary of Teddy Roosevelt’s Midnight Ride from the shoulder of Mount Marcy to assume the presidency after President McKinley’s assassination. That weekend, our favorite weekend, you will most likely find us hiking from the Upper Works Trailhead in Newcomb before heading into town to catch the annual Paul Smith’s College/SUNY ESF lumberjack competition. That evening we’ll likely settle into Kaila’s parents’ camp on Schroon Lake to gear up for another adventure in the crisp September air the next morning.
If we told you where, we wouldn’t have our solitude.
Best,
Dan and Kaila