Ausable Chasm and a Lake Adventure

Sunday, 28 July

Another quiet night.  The entire campground respects quiet hours, and it was so quiet, you could hear a car door close at the boat ramp on the other side of the lake.  Almost did not want to leave when we did as Sprinty is not the quietest even at low rpm.

We decided to treat ourselves to breakfast out at Green Acres Family Restaurant in Peru, NY.  Another 4-calendar diner for sure.  We arrived shortly after they opened at 7am, and only two other customers were there.  By the time we finished breakfast, the diner was almost completely full.

The weather apps we use indicated high possibility of rain in the afternoon, but differed on when to expect the rain.  One said thunderstorm likely at 12:45pm, and rain about 0.01” per hour for the afternoon.  While the other app indicated rain around 5pm. 

Our first adventure of the day was back inside the blue line (The Adirondack Park) to Ausable Chasm (http://ausablechasm.com), located in Ausable Chasm, NY.  We arrived before they opened at 9am, so we walked the highway bridge and looked down at the Ausable River.  As we were unaware of the extent of the Chasm (see below), we were not sure what to expect.

The brochure said it was the “Grand Canyon of the Adirondacks” and stated:  “Step back in time as you walk nature trails in the midst of a primeval Adirondack Forest. Stroll past Rainbow Falls, Elephant's Head, Column Rock, Hyde's Cave and the eerie quiet of Mystic Gorge. Descend hundreds of feet to walk on natural stone walkways and gaze upon eons of geologic history etched in stone. Add a scenic raft ride and float the legendary waters of the Ausable River through a maze of breathtaking rock formations sculpted over thousands of years by the river's currents. Open since 1870, this is one of America's oldest attractions.”

In the Welcome center, there were several displays on the history of the region and Ausable Chasm.  Two of the more interesting (to us) were:

The brochure for Ausable Chasm listed several tours:

* The Classic Tour:  after a minimum of one mile walk, you board a raft (or tube) and float through the narrowest and deepest region of the Ausable Chasm.

* The Adventure Trail:  not a typical ropes course.  A fully guided via ferrata course where you traverse the Chasm on edge walks and cable bridges while safely secured in a harness.

* Rappelling Tour:  tour starts with a short 30-foot rappel and 150-foot tyroleon traverse (cable traverse) and finishes with an 80-foot rappel and then a 200-foot traverse that is 130 feet Bovey the Ausable River.

What the brochure (and web site) did not fully explain is that you can just do the basic tour, which consists of four foot trails (and stairs).  

We elected to do the Inner Sanctum Trail which features natural stone walkways and a network of man-made bridges, staircases and vistas. 

The raft/tube put-in is at the end of the Inner Sanctum Trail.  We elected not to do the Classic Tour (which included the raft/tube part) - but would definitely do it in the future now that we know that the rafting/tubing part is pretty tame.  And dry.  And Darrell might do the Adventure Tour on a future visit.

After completing this, we did part of the Dry Chasm Trail, and finished with part of the Rim Trail to the shuttle bus stop #2, and then took the shuttle bus back to the spillway above the Welcome Center, and walked past Rainbow Falls

back to the Welcome Center and the parking lot.  All-in-all, about a 2-mile hike. 

Re-checking the weather apps after the hike suggested golf was probably not a good idea.  We headed for Plattsburgh, NY for propane for Sprinty, groceries, and treated ourselves to Starbucks.  Just as we finished filling the propane tank, the thunder and lightening started - we finished in the nick of time because propane operations get shut down for an hour upon the first clap of thunder.  We used 2.7 gallons of propane since we last filled up in Casa Grande, AZ in mid-March.

Then the skies opened up.  A whole lot more than the 0.01”/hour indicated in the forecast.  More like 1/4” to 1/2” in 10 minutes.  When it took a break, we made a dash into Walmart for groceries, and while we were in Walmart, the skies opened up again.  And stopped when it was time for us to load up Sprinty.

We then headed to the Pittsburgh ferry terminal (www.ferries.com) to take the ferry to Grand Isle, VT.  Interesting operation - no reservations, just show up.  We rolled up, paid our fare (more than for a normal vehicle for Sprinty), and drove right on the ferry.  The only wait was the minute or so to,pay the fare at the booth.  They loaded one more car, then started raising the ramp.  And before we could turn off the engine and climb out of Sprinty, we were underway.

We had hoped for a beautiful sailing day on Lake Champlain.  We saw several boats out on the water, and the lake is pretty.  Instead, we had a different memory, seeing rain squalls all around.  We saw a large sailboat having difficulties when the squall hit, lugging their genoa jib and trying not to capsize.   We were able to sit outside for the first few minutes of the journey, then had to take refuge from the rain inside.

Once in Vermont, they docked and we were on our way.  Quite an efficient operation.  Would expect that as they make three to four runs an hour.  Well, the ferry we were one does not make that many runs in an hour - we counted three ferries in operation for this route.

With scattered rain and no pressing reason to visit Burlington (Sprinty visited Burlington last September on the Maine trip), we decided to press eastward.  With no plan.  Stopping for diesel in Waterbury, VT, we reviewed our options and decided to see if Silver Ridge RV Village and Campground in Danville, VT had a site for the night.  As they had 150 sites, we thought it was likely.  And they did.

Being a Sunday evening, a quick Google Maps search found the St. Johnsbury House of Pizza in nearby St. Johnsbury.  We we drove the 12 minutes to have pizza.

We had picked a level site at Silver Ridge RV Village and Campground - water and electric.  Did not use either - so did not have to go out in the rain to hook up.  A very quiet night.