Andrew Acomb

By early afternoon we arrived in Lake Placid. Our first stop was the hotel. We unloaded all our gear and got changed for our first adventure. We drove north through Saranac Lake, just past Paul Smith’s College to the Adirondack Park Visitor Interpretive Center. Here they had a guided snowshoe hike from 6 pm to 8 pm. Including Jennifer and I, there were about twenty of us. We started in the main building where our guide showed us where we will be going on a huge map of the area. We geared up and headed out. The moon was barely visible behind the clouds and the snow showers, but it did provide enough light to see once our eyes became adjusted. The whole trip was over an hour. Along the way, our guide made calls for an Eastern Screech Owl, a Barred Owl, and a coyote. All are native to the Adirondacks. Follow these links to see my Eastern Screech Owl Flickr Photo and my Barred Owl Flickr Photo. After the hike we warmed up next to a campfire with some hot chocolate. I had fun blowing bubbles in the below zero temperatures. Some of the bubbles will actually freeze before hitting the ground. This was my first time on snowshoes and I am definitely hooked. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the whole thing was free! They even included the snowshoes!