My friends and I love to do hard things and have fun doing it. We are all runners of one variety or another and we like to run. Our running often leads us on adventures. We like our adventures best when we can go through it together. Those of us not running during a particular adventure can often be found supporting the others in the group who are running at that time. We all enjoy running and we all enjoy being outside and we all enjoy beer and any opportunity we have to enjoy some combination of those things we try to make it happen.

Over the past year the idea of heading up to New Hampshire to run the Presidential Traverse in the White Mountains was raised by one friend who has been thinking about such an adventure for a long time. We decided this was an adventure we definitely wanted to have. We put it on the calendar and planned for doing it all year. Four of us would be running the trails through the mountains while two would be supporting and probably enjoying some beers while we ran. This adventure was supposed to have happened this past weekend.

Unfortunately things didn’t go according to plan. I have been battling a nagging injury and have a 100 miler in a couple weeks. Another of our crew was also trying to recover from an injury after two challenging races, a 50 miler I was unable to finish and then a mountain scramble in the Catskills, which caused her to miss a subsequent race she wanted to run. And a third member of our party was recovering after a hard 100k. We had never really talked about what happens if we were in no shape to take on the challenges of a Presidential Traverse, we always just assumed it would work out.

Luckily the topic was raised by the more level headed of our group and we eventually came to the difficult conclusion that the Presidential Traverse adventure would have to wait for at least a year. Thankfully, our planers in chief of our friends group took over and found us a nice spot in the Adirondacks to camp and planned a nice itinerary of things for us to do while we were there.

Instead of having a short vacation that included extreme physical exertion I think I had one of the more relaxing trips I’ve had. I didn’t have to plan anything because that was taken care of by our cruise director. Thank you for planning out our trip. I didn’t drive anywhere. Thank you friends for letting me ride in your cars both to and from camp and while we were in the Adirondacks. I did very little physical exertion compared to most trips I take, just two 3 mile runs so I didn’t totally fall off the wagon with my training. We even had our meals planned.

The day we left for camp, we stopped to eat at Druthers. I ate the most enormous skillet of mac and cheese and it was soooo good. Street Corn Mac and Cheese was so good. I felt like I was going to die but it was so worth it. I hate to waste food. After we arrived at camp at Luzerne campground we set up our tents and then explored the campground itself a little bit. It was a very well forested campground. Unlike some campgrounds where there are relatively few trees for a natural area this campground was heavily forested and blocked out the sun for the most part. The entire campground was in the shade except for a few areas. This is the kind of campground I like, but the downside is it makes it cooler when you are at camp because you have no sun shining on you to keep you warm and weather was milder than previous weeks for summer. It was a wear a hoodie around the campfire type of trip. After exploring the campground we went and played some mini golf at the place we saw on the way to the campground.

Our first full day of the trip we explored nearby Prospect Mountain. By explore I mean we drove up a road that leads to the summit and stopped at the lookout points, because as I previously mentioned none of us were really in any shape for a hike up a mountain. It was still fun and the views were really nice. After we were done at the mountain we ended up being two hours ahead of our expected itinerary. The next part of our itinerary called for heading down to Glens Falls and checking out the local breweries so by unanimous decision we decided to just start that process early and find some breweries that were not already on our list to go to. First we found one to eat some lunch at and have a beer, Davidson Brothers. The food and the beer at Davidson Brothers were both good. Then we moved on to a different location. So we got additional breweries into our schedule. I think we all wish it had only been one less additional brewery because at the second place we went to it had collectively probably the worst beer that any of us had ever had. This was the unfortunate experience at Coopers Cave. The place looked very nice but their beer was very bad. Three out of five of us did not even finish our beers, they were so bad. It was so funny, because we didn’t take any pictures at the first establishment we went to but we did take a group photo outside with the Cooper’s Cave sign before going in then after having the beer we had there we decided we needed a before and after version where in the after version we all had sad faces because of our disappointment in the beer. I think we all wish we had stayed longer one place and never ventured there at all. That’s what happens when you go off book.

Fortunately there were several places with much better beer to visit. We were now going to the places we had originally planned for and the hopes were high for some much better beer. The next place we visited was Common Roots Brewing Company because it was the first place to open. We also went to Mean Max Brew Works and Northway Brewing CO.

Our second day we were originally planning to go tubing down the river but the weather forecast made that seem like a less than completely enjoyable option as the high was for about 70 and that wasn’t even until 3pm. So instead we stayed in camp a little extra long after enjoying breakfast. Then at the time we were going to go river tubing we set off for an early start to what was our later part of the day that was brewery hoping in Lake George. So since we had extra time to spare we were able to just park and wander around Lake George and hit the local spots we wanted to visit by foot. We started at one location and ordered a bite to eat with our food, Adirondack Brewery. At this location I took a shot on a beer that sounded like it had potential to be something I would like because it was called “Eleanor” and was a sour beer and had lemon in it. I like sour beers. I thought this was a safe bet, but unfortunately the description of the beer also referenced leather. As I found out the hard way, never order a beer that references leather in the description. It was the only beer I did not finish the entire trip. It only got about 1/4 gone and that was only because I was able to convince a few of my friends to try this disgusting concoction. I think the consensus is that it tasted a little bit like Pine-sol.

Luckily the reward for visiting the first establishment was a free sampling at High Peaks Distilling where they had bourbon and whiskey. I am not a regular bourbon or whiskey drinker but I do enjoy them from time to time. The offerings at this establishment were phenomenal, especially the Sugar Moon Maple Whiskey Bourbon they had. The service and hospitality there was also great. Walking around Lake George and experience the town on foot and being able to pop in to the other establishments we wanted to visit while we were out and about worked out nicely. We also stopped in to Lake George Distilling Co. We each had a tasting there of a selection of 3 different spirits from their selection. I tried the Bullhead Bourbon, Apple Pie Moonshine, and the Adirondack Wildfire Whiskey and I enjoyed all of them.

We also stopped in at a winery a few hops went down to the waterfront and got ice-cream at Ben & Jerry’s. Sometimes it is really nice to just wander around town on foot with no real plan or intention. I do not like this experience when I am on my own but it was nice to do it with my friends especially since at least one of us actually knew where we were going. I think in general we all mostly enjoyed our experiences at all of the locations we visited.

After our visit to the Lake George Area we decided to go back to the place that was roundly hailed as the best stop of the trip, Common Roots, for a few more beers and eat some snacks we had with us that we thought we would eat while were tubing down a river.

On our way home we stopped at a brewery closer to home that I had never been to, Beer Tree Brew Co. We had lunch from Fox & Farmer and enjoyed a beer.

Camping with my friends was a very different experience than camping by myself for some very obvious reasons, but for some less obvious reasons as well. My friends do camping much different than I do. When I camp I generally am very simple/lazy when it comes to food. I generally do not cook much if at all and eat easy sandwiches or granola bars. My friends like to cook meals when camping and they did a great job doing it. We had a hot breakfast and a hot dinner every night prepared by a different member of our group and I am so thankful for each of my friends preparing meals for us. I enjoyed having cooked meals, but I am not sure I will do it when I am camping on my own.

This was not the trip any of us was planning for earlier this year and I think some of us were disappointed that this is how it went but none of us are sad in the least over the four days we had together. I think we all had a great time on this trip even though it was not the original plan. The main focus of the trip was to get together with friends and enjoy life. WE still did that. WE spent time in nature and we enjoyed beers together. Things we all like to do. It might have really been what we all needed the most an opportunity to rest, relax, and enjoy each other’s company without any other pressures looming. Sometimes things unexpectedly work out for the best in a way you wouldn’t imagine.

Be open to a different kind of adventure.

Even if you don’t get to have the adventure you had hoped for and things don’t go according to plans spending time with friends is about the best thing anyone can ask for.

I enjoyed spending a few days doing nothing but just hanging out with my friends.

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