July 23 – July 26, 2019

July 23 – pulled into the North Pole RV Resort around 3:30pm. on July 23rd. The resort is actually in Wilmington, NY, its right next door to Lake Placid. Weather is great……partly cloudy skies and about 70 degrees……a little warm for the North Pole, but just great here in Lake Placid! The park is also on the Ausable River, a world class trout fishery.  Got settled in, grilled some halibut, and relaxed the rest of the day.

Our site at the North Pole Campground and RV Park

Part of the RV park. Great outdoor concert that night!

July 24 – explored Lake Placid, including the Olympic Training center, the Ice skating and hockey rinks for 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. it was real cool to sit in the ice hockey rink where Mike Eruzione and the others on the US hockey team pulled off the “miracle on ice”, beating the Russians to win the gold medal. The hockey rink used for the 1980 olympics was added on to the building that was used for the 1932 ice skating competition. Afterwards, we walked around the old downtown area, and had a nice lunch at Great Adirondacks Brewing Co.  The Ironman organizers were very busy getting everything setup.

Here is a brief description and aerial picture of Lake Placid and Mirror Lake I found on the internet:

“Recreational and competitive winter sports have long been associated with Lake Placid. This quaint Adirondack village hosted two Olympic Winter Games in 1932 and 1980, but the area’s history as the nation’s first winter vacation destination actually spans over 100 years!

Popularity of the Adirondack region as a destination soared in the late 1800s, when the nation’s most wealthy and influential citizens built their Adirondack Great Camps here. The social elite would “vacate” the stifling summer heat of northeast cities for the cool Adirondack air. Yes, this is the origin of the word – it’s where vacations began.”

Olympic skating and ice hockey complexing Lake Placid, NY

Ice Skating Rink used for 1932 Olympics…not much seating!

Ice skating and hockey rink for 1980 Olympics

Olympic athlete training center

Great Adirondacks Brewing Co.

Bobsleds race down the ice track at 80-90 mph! The world record is 125mph!  I bet that feels like 200 mph given how low you are to the ground!

July 25 – went back to Lake Placid to attend the opening day of the Ironman event trade show. The trade show included quite a bit of merchandise and equipment for triathletes (clearly, there was nothing much there for me except food!). They did have some nice official Ironman logo’d shirts/jerseys so Nancy and I each got one. Went for a late lunch at the Lake Placid Brewery and then headed home.

Setting up the Ironman trade show and participant staging area…

July 26 – today we hiked a trail called Bears Den near the Whitefish Ski Resort. It takes you up to the top of a rugged mountain overlook. It is considered a moderately difficult trail….but if it was considered “Moderate”, I don’t think I’d ever want to do a trail that is rated “Difficult”. The hike was supposedly 1.6 miles to the top. After a short distance in the beginning of the hike, the trail grade got much steeper and it seemed like we were basically climbing steps to to get to the top. As we got close to the top, we asked a couple coming down how much farther it was. They said it was still another 1/4 mile or so of “moderate” climbing, followed by a much steeper climb of about 1500 feet to get to the top. Nancy and I were holding out to see who would call it off first.  We went a little further before I finally gave in. Nancy won’t admit it but I think she was glad when I called it off!

The hike was supposed to be 1.6 miles…but after 1.8 miles of uphill climb with 1200 ft. of elevation climb (per GPS watch), I had to quit. WE started at 1207 feet above sea level and reached 2433 when we headed back down. It was disappointing not to make it. Nancy reminded me that I had not eaten much today so I guess my body just didn’t have the required fuel to get me over the top.  By the way, we took Frisco with us and she ran up and down the mountain slopes the whole time we were hiking…..we hiked just under 3.6 miles….. I’d say Frisco ran at least 5 miles. If we hadn’t gone home, she might still be running in the woods! She still has an amazing amount of energy at 9 years old!

The Bears Den hike……Frisco had a blast!

Because I wimped out, we didn’t get any pictures of the top. But we finished the day off with my favorite RV dinner – Nancy’s spaghetti, broccoli, and garlic bread!