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One Night, Adirondack
How Much Would You Pay
For One Night of Quiet Solitude
By A Crackling Campfire
Under the Stars
Almanack Contributor Dick Monroe
A veteran north country writer & story teller raised in Saranac Lake, when not busy chasing new Adirondack adventures or sharing his survivor’s voice at Adirondack Center for Writing’s “Barkreaders” open mics, Dick enjoys weaving new outlaw stories, poems & tales. “Most of them are all pretty much true. Then again…maybe some of them ain’t.” He shares many of them here. Read the rest on his blog at www.adirondackoutlaw.com
Blown Up & Stuffed: Football memories
Varsity Football Memories & Lessons, taught by a true Adirondack coaching legend
Saranac Lake High School. Varsity practice field – July, ’78:
“Hey MONK! Get over here!”
I shot my best friend Chris a quizzical look. (Yes! THAT Chris, SLHS track star of “Olympic Outlaws“ fame).
“Does Coach Raymond mean ME?!” Chris shrugged and nodded.
“Looks that way. Better hustle over find out.” My first ever football practice. Already I was “Monk.”
What’s In a Gnome?
Early one fall, several years ago, my wife Robin & I were planning our Christmas gift shopping list. We asked my mom, who lives with us, and has everything;
“Mom-What do you want for Christmas?”
Mom’s answer?
“A really neat Garden Gnome.”
The Hunter: A (nearly-true) High Peaks tall tale
“What was that noise I just heard? Was that just a squirrel or a chipmunk? Or is somebody watching me? Are we ever truly alone in the woods?”
“In the mountains lurk predators that remain undiscovered.”
**********
Author’s Note: Everything in this story is either true, or could be. I truly enjoyed writing it.
**********
When The Gales Come Early
“The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called Gitche Gumee’
The lake it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy”
These classic song lyrics from Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald” haunt the forefront of my mind as I put pen to page in an effort to somehow capture the events of this true Adirondack Outlaw father/son canoe mounted duck hunt survival story.
The Phoenix Rises! Celebrating a restored lean-to
From the ashes of our beloved Bull Rush Bay lean-to’s old cedar logs, life rises anew!
Meet “The Phoenix”
Adirondack Reflections
Fantastic fall foliage. NYS DEC Forest Ranger rescue tales. A hike along Paul Smith College VIC trails with wife, family, and our own troop of “Paw Patrol” canine companions. Adirondack memories reflected, shared, and new ones made at the VIC.
I recently took time before heading full on into hunting season to spend some weekend time at Paul Smith College’s Visitor’s Interpretive Center, aka: “The PSC VIC.”
Camping, with a stranger
(A True Story)
“Folks would pay big bucks for this experience.”
My non-hunting brother uttered those words, as he sat dining fireside one early September lake evening.
Taking advantage of the special early NYS military/veteran’s waterfowl hunt, I had experienced success, and bagged several ducks. What good is hunter’s bounty not shared? So, I called up my brother;
“If you want a “Camp Chef” duck dinner, meet me up on the lake. I’ve got my spices, some olive oil, butter, and an onion already. Bring a frying pan, spatula, some scallions, and a fork. I’ll kindle a fire. When you get up this way, just look for the smoke.”
I didn’t have to ask twice. There were no leftovers.
Outlaw Duck Hunters
Author’s Note: It’s hard to believe that my 1970’s childhood was a half a century ago. As I look back, which I seem to do as time passes with increasing frequency, I cannot help but thinking:
“Life Adirondack for kids growing up was so much simpler back then. We didn’t get criminal arrest records for every heinous kid crime, like playing down by the river and chucking a few rocks at some ducks. Police gave kids stern warnings. When it came to kid enforcement, our MOMS were the law!
If I & my neighborhood crew of Adirondack Outlaws had been held to the same societal standards for kids that exist today, by the time we were teenagers, we’d have all collectively been sent to reform school, never again to see light of day.”
Poem: Breathe
Author’s Note: Greetings. I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone. Your reads, RETWEETS, FACEBOOK shares, compliments & comments have all been so all greatly appreciated. I especially want to thank Editor Melissa Hart & all the great folks at Adirondack Explorer & here at The Adirondack Almanack. I have truly enjoyed the opportunity they have given me to share some of my adventures & stories with all of you.
Those cedar logs
“Adirondack lean-tos are so much more than simple cedar log structures built in the woods.”
“The Bull Rush Bay lean-to is scheduled some time later this month to be demolished and replaced.”
This news hit me like a heavy weight title fight sucker punch in the gut. I’ve been barely able to catch my breath since I first heard this news in a reader comment to my most recent Adirondack Almanack story, “Smoke on the Water,” posted just last week.
Smoke On the Water
A True Adirondack Lake Rescue Story
“Smoke on the Water, Fire in the Sky”
Those famous lyrics may have meant one thing when they helped propel the 1970’s band Deep Purple to worldwide Rock n’ roll stardom, but to someone paddling a canoe on a wilderness lake in the Adirondacks, they quickly took on an entirely different meaning, as a group of young canoeists was about to find out.
It was the summer of 2012, and the Monroe family, as has become tradition over the past 40 plus years, once again established camp at our favorite spot near the mouth of the river flowing from the middle of the chain of Saranac Lakes, the site officially designated on the DEC reservation web page as “site 63”, but affectionately known by the locals as “Bull Rush Bay.”
Having grown up in the Adirondacks, worked, hunted and hiked the high peaks, done a stint in the Army’s 10th Mountain Division, graduated Army Ranger School- I take pride in my hardiness and skills in the woods; nights spent alone under the stars, packing only an Adirondack woodsman’s most essential tools, matching wits with Mother Nature, the elements, and high peaks terrain.
The Great Canoe Race Conspiracy
How the Adirondack Park Agency lead counsel’s legal shenanigans denied the Environmental Conservation Department a canoe racing victory
The year was 1977. I was 13 years old. It was the summer before I entered my freshman year at Saranac Lake High School. My Dad, Tom Monroe, had just been appointed in April by Commissioner Berle as DEC’s (then referred to as “Encon”) Region 5 Regional Director, following the long and distinguished career of the legendary William E. Petty.
High Peaks Treasure at Livingston Pond
Most of us have reoccurring dreams. Some of them are pleasant, some less so. Psychologists write books about them, and each of us probably spends time puzzling over their meaning. I think few of us ever expect them to come true, or even want them to come true. Who really wants to show up in public in their underwear? There are exceptions, moments when dreams do come true, if even only for a moment. One of those moments, and those dreams, happened for me, while I was a young man, living and working in the Adirondack High Peaks.
Latest News Headlines
- Hickory Ski Center faces deadline to fund ski lifts
- Missing RIT student could be in the Adirondacks
- A new Adirondack growth: Whiskey fungus
- Hiker dies near Rainbow Falls in Keene, New York
- Saranac River trail network keeps growing
- Tupper Lake's water woes
- Santa's Workshop: 75 years of magic
- Powering up their way: Adirondackers living off the grid
- Following merger, Boquet Valley school communities look to the future
- Tips for planning an off-grid system
Latest News Headlines
- Hickory Ski Center faces deadline to fund ski lifts
- Missing RIT student could be in the Adirondacks
- A new Adirondack growth: Whiskey fungus
- Hiker dies near Rainbow Falls in Keene, New York
- Saranac River trail network keeps growing
- Tupper Lake's water woes
- Santa's Workshop: 75 years of magic
- Powering up their way: Adirondackers living off the grid
- Following merger, Boquet Valley school communities look to the future
- Tips for planning an off-grid system
The Adirondack Almanack
The Adirondack Almanack is a public forum dedicated to promoting and discussing current events, history, arts, nature and outdoor recreation and other topics of interest to the Adirondacks and its communities
We publish commentary and opinion pieces from voluntary contributors, as well as news updates and event notices from area organizations. Contributors include veteran local writers, historians, naturalists, and outdoor enthusiasts from around the Adirondack region. The information, views and opinions expressed by these various authors are not necessarily those of the Adirondack Almanack or its publisher, the Adirondack Explorer.
General inquiries about the Adirondack Almanack should be directed to editor Melissa Hart.
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Adirondack Dinosaurs
“Adirondack Dinosaurs are far from extinct. In fact, certain species are quietly expanding their territory, migrating. Ancient carnivores slowly reclaiming what was once their domain. Patiently biding their time while they plot their next move. Watching us. Waiting to reclaim their Adirondack apex predator throne.”
Ever since I was a young boy, there have always been three things I’ve dreamed of being when I grow up: major league baseball player, writer, archeologist.
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