Hearthstone Point State Park, Lake George, NY

[yamatect]

Returned from my trip to Americade and beyond on June 25 after covering nine miles short of 3000 miles. After Americade in Lake George NY I spent two days at Lake Placid, then crossed Lake Champlain on the ferry to Grand Isle, thence the causeway to Vermont proper where I set up camp at Ricker Pond State Park near the New Hampshire border. From that base camp, I did loop tours of Vermont and Hew Hampshire including a trip up to the top of 6,200 foot Mt. Washington on the cog railroad, the second steepest in the world. I then traveled down Vermont 100 to western Massachusetts where I met up with my brother and his wife at a timeshare in the Berkshires. Four days later I mounted up and headed home to Lebanon, Ohio.

As for camping at Hearthstone State Park at Lake George, DON'T. I should have followed Acedantinne's advice (on the RoadRunner Forum) and stayed at a private campground where the noise rules are enforced even if it was further out of town. Early in the week there were two families camped near me with young children (not Americaders) who hollered loudly back and forth well past 10:00 PM like they were the only people in the campground. Then later in the week a large group of young guys and gals (college age) moved in and partied loudly till 2:00 AM like the drunks they were. They were probably day trippers to Americade. A call to the ranger station only elicited excuses. I got the impression that the staff at Hearthstone couldn't be bothered with enforcing the rules. The last night the young drunks set off firecrackers at midnight??? I wonder if a letter to the NY Dept. of Natural Resources would be a waste of time.

Americade itself was a great experience. I did four of the day tours that included a pre-arranged lunch stop including the Raquette Lake Scenic Boat tour that RoadRunner Magazine sponsored. That was the only tour that provided a professionally drawn route map. Well done RoadRunner! The road to and from Raquette Lake was very scenic and the luncheon tour on the boat while it traveled around the lake was outstanding. Talked with the boat captain who did most of the work himself building the boat.

Perhaps one of the best parts about Americade were the people I met, especially the volunteers. I went into the Tamarack Inn in Lake George one day for lunch towards the end of the week and while waiting to be seated noticed a gentleman with a white beard and Americade Volunteer shirt motioning to me to join him. Turns out he is a retired Navy submariner from Hawaii. He ships his Goldwing to San Diego then travels across the country, stopping along the way to visit old friends and timing his trip to arrive at Americade as a volunteer. This was his fourth year in a row to be a volunteer. He then rides back across the country then up to Alaska before flying back to Hawaii. He shared some interesting stories about his career under the water.

I have uploaded approx. 70 of the hundreds of photos I snapped (with added captions) during my trip with many more to come to my Picasa Americade 2010 Album at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/114720919140573864251/BobSAmericade2010Album?authkey=Gv1sRgCN6aqY2Gu93-Lg#

[Trailace]

Welcome to the site and thanks for the report. P^

[Trekker]

Nice report.... and an interesting way of loading gear on your bike.

[Ironheadziggy76]

Welcome to the site, great report and pics! P^

[yamatect]

Nice report.... and an interesting way of loading gear on your bike.

Last year I did a 2750 mile moto-camping trip of the upper midwest going as far north as Lake Superior on the UP and as far west and south as Hannibal, Missouri before looping back to Ohio. I developed my packing system for that trip after much thought as to how to get everything on the bike without making it top heavy.

I fabricated two 6” x 10” x 1/4” thick checkered aluminum plates with rounded corners and eased edges, drilled two holes in each and U-bolted one to each passenger foot peg. I purchased the two heavy vinyl yellow roll top camping bags from Walmart, filled them with my main camping gear and re-shuffled till I achieved approximately equal weight. The yellow bags are tied to the frame of the bike by employing one Aerostich strap for each bag. I make a loop which goes around the lower portion of the bag and the bike frame which supports the side case and cinch the loop tight. The remaining portion of the strap then goes up the outside face of the bag, thru the roll top and passes thru a double-D ring loop tie looped around the passenger grab handle. When the strap is pulled taut, the bag is very secure. The aluminum plates keep the bags from drooping down onto the exhaust pipes. You may notice that I load the yellow bags so they are narrow front to back and wide side to side. When placed on the passenger foot pegs, they do not impede my legs when my feet are on the rider pegs because they are essentially in the same plane as a passenger’s legs.

I then purchased the red duffle bag set from Walmart’s camping section and used the large one for my clothes and my bear canister with my freeze dried camp food (Mountain House - made in Oregon) and packets of oatmeal and tea. The large red bag goes on the passenger seat. Then the smaller red bag sits on top of the larger bag and holds my cooking gear, survival gear and anything that I might need in a hurry. I then strap a small cooler that is just large enough for a quart of milk and my hard case holding a dozen eggs plus a few other items plus ice to the small bag. The whole assembly is then strapped to soft ties looped around the passenger grab handle with more Aerostich straps.

I came up with this approach when I reasoned that getting the heavy items to sit on the passenger foot pegs would lower the center of gravity of the bike much like standing on the foot pegs improves the handling of a dirt bike in rough terrain. This weight down low also counteracts the weight of the bags sitting up on the passenger seat. I was very pleased with the way the bike handled loaded down.

Many times when I stop at a gas station or rest stop, people come running over to inspect my system and when I’m traveling solo, want to know where I have been and where I am going. Riders are particularly intrigued. On my way home, one came up to me at a rest stop and after admiring my approach, stated, “You must be an engineer.” I told him that he was close and that I was an architect. When my camp site is set up, other campers come over and say, “you got all that on that bike?”

I’m sure that I’m not the first to think of this approach, but I’ve never seen anyone else do the same thing. So, there you are. Maybe more than you wanted to know.

[Trekker]

Your planning and method for keeping the weight lower is what I am intrigued with. I like it.

What I did instead was to get a cargo trailer (which will be used for camping for the first time this weekend). I've noticed while packing is how easy it is to just throw more stuff in. The last several years I have been making efforts to take LESS! LOL

The other aspect of your system I like is the organization. Once you have a place for everything I find it is easier to pack. No guessing... everything has a home.

P^

[yamatect]

Your planning and method for keeping the weight lower is what I am intrigued with. I like it.

What I did instead was to get a cargo trailer (which will be used for camping for the first time this weekend). I've noticed while packing is how easy it is to just throw more stuff in. The last several years I have been making efforts to take LESS! LOL

The other aspect of your system I like is the organization. Once you have a place for everything I find it is easier to pack. No guessing... everything has a home.

P^

Trekker,

You are absolutely right about having a home for everything. It takes a lot of frustration out of camping. On the yellow bags, I took a Sharpie and wrote on the bag its contents once I had balanced the weight between the two bags. When I'm striking camp, I don't have to guess which bag gets what. Also, I like being able to grab the small red bag, and place it on the picnic table and have what I need in one place for cooking (with the addition of the bear canister filled with food and my cooler bag).

Also, I have a small day pack filled with my toiletry items including bath towel and wash cloths in freezer bags, black plastic garbage bag (used for bath mat when needed) and travel hair dryer (used for drying quick dry travel clothes after a hand wash when needed) stored inside the large red bag with clothes that I grab and swing onto my back when I'm heading to the bathhouse. I use a lot of one gallon freezer bags labeled with a sharpie for storing my underwear, socks etc which I throw into the back pack before heading to the bathhouse.

I've thought a lot about getting a trailer (I'm intrigued by the Unigo because it can be wheeled thru a motel room door) but all trailers have the drawback that they can make getting into and out of certain parking spots difficult, especially if your bike doesn't have a reverse gear (which, of course, my FJR does not have). With my system, I don't have to worry about that. Also, you may have noticed that if the bike ever tipped over, the yellow bags would act like a big cushion.

Of course, the trailer is going to make packing up much faster than my system. It takes some time to get my bags back on the bike and strapped down, although I get a little faster each time.

Let us know how your trailer works out.

[yamatect]

Nice pictures and report.

Looking forward to seeing the others... especially the mt washington ones!

Thanks!

VABob,

I have now uploaded Part Two of my pics covering a day trip to Montpelier, VT and Mt. Washington in New Hampshire and more to Bob's Americade 2010 Picasa Album. Part Three covering my time in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts is still to come.

The link is: http://picasaweb.google.com/11472091...N6aqY2Gu93-Lg#

Suggestion: After you bring up the album, click on the full screen button in the upper left hand corner, then scroll left/right using the buttons at the bottom.

Hope you enjoy the pics and captions.

[yamatect]

I am getting 404 error. I'll check again later.

Yes, I am happy that google finally put a slideshow feature on the web albums. Great for presentations at meetings.

I got the same 404 message. When i went back up to my original post just now and clicked on the link, it worked??? Also the last message with the link worked earlier???

The link again: http://picasaweb.google.com/114720919140573864251/BobSAmericade2010Album?authkey=Gv1sRgCN6aqY2Gu93-Lg#

[yamatect]

I wonder if a letter to the NY Dept. of Natural Resources would be a waste of time.



I did send an email letter to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, Bureau of Recreation quoting my report on this Forum. Today I received a letter from an official at the Division of Operation Warrensburg Regional Sub Office stating, "I appreciate that you took the time to write about these problems because it gives us the opportunity to address them. I am sending a copy of your letter to the recreation manager and to Hearthstone Point Public Campground for further review and appropriate action. Enclosed please find a Refund Application that you may complete and submit for processing.... Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns and for identifying opportunities for improvement. I am sure your next visit will prove to be a better experience."

I will be mailing the Refund Application soon and will let you know what happens next.