The middle section of Adirondack State Park around Saranac and Tupper Lakes is dotted with interconnected lakes/ponds.  They bill it as a miniature Boundary Water suited for day tripping or overnight canoe adventures.  It is also a major summering and breeding area for the Common Loon.  The combination seems perfect: paddle quiet water and watch for loons with their young.

Not this trip.  It has been rainy and cool since we arrived.  We never even get the boats in the water.

We did manage some reconnaissance for a return trip.  We drove Floodwood road.  It is a recommended access area for the local ponds and the address of St Regis Outfitters, a resource for route planning and general paddling advice.  There are backcountry camp sites in the Forest Preserve along the route.  Some might just work for us.   We stroll around camp.  Nearly all sites are large with easy lake access.  Kent hung the past two years of my medallions.  We were a bit behind!   We head into Tupper Lake for pizza.

Weather didn’t entirely spoil the stay.  I heard loons one evening and saw one in muted juvenile plumage paddle by camp.  A doe and fawn munched their way across mowed fields in camp.  Energetic little red squirrels chattered and scrambled tirelessly up, down, and around the pines.  Leaves in the area are in near peak fall color.  Brilliant reds, yellows and oranges meld with evergreens.  We have watched the pallet change since we arrived.  It is beautiful.