Day 18 - Beadle's Cove, VT to Cleverdale, NY

"No Christian has ever visited this land and we had all the misery of the world trying to paddle the river upstream."
~Samuel de Champlain (about the Richelieu River in Quebec.  Mr. Frei and Brian concur!)

"I've seen nothing here that I like or want any part of..."
~Brian Rooney (July 2011 as he began rowing the Richelieu River in Quebec)

 They made a short row from Beadle's Cove, VT to Ticonderoga, NY where Mrs. Frei and friend Doug were awaing with pairs of wheels for them to make the 1.5 mile portage to the top of Lake George.   The sight of these two guys pulling Adirondack Guide Boats through the streets of Ticonderoga was pretty amusing ( will try to get some photos posted).

The ex-town supervisor was nice enough to let them put in at his brother's house, which saved about a mile of the portage.    Peg and I brought the requested egg salad sandwiches to Mossy Point, about a mile away.   Last leg of the trip was started at noon, with about 25 miles to go!

5:30 PM - We received a call that they just passed Paradise Bay and Mother Bunch Island.

5:45 PM - Doug is out in his motorboat and says that the guys are expected to reach the Lake George Club at about 7PM (see map). It is just a stone's throw from there to Cleverdale, which is the finish.

Kathy



6:15 PM - Now there is a headwind, and they have just passed Glen Island (The island to the right of where it says Northwest Bay).  It looks like there are about six more miles to the Club, and it may be 9 PM  before they arrive there.    Mr. Frei's son Matt may go out in the motor boat to escort them when the light goes.

11:19 PM - They reached the Lake George Club at 8:30 PM to cheers from us, Mr. Frei's Mother, friend Kathy, son Matt,  Brian's Dad Andy and his friend Beryl.    After beaching their boats they both dove into the water to cool down and then had a quick shower before joining us for a great lobster dinner.  A nice celebratory end to a long journey.  Mr. Frei will be doing some writing here as soon as he gets some rest.  A few photos will be below.

Kathy

Preparing for the portage in Ticonderoga, NY



Brian arriving in Ticonderoga

The portage begins

Portage begins at a covered bridge





Mr. Frei hitchin' a ride in Ticonderoga

 

Putting in on the La Chute around 11 AM










Mr. Frei starts the last leg - Lake George

 



First sighting of the guys from the club at 8:30 PM



Arriving for the lobster dinner

Day 17 - Burlington, VT to Beadle's Cove, VT

Burlington to Beadles Cove

Today was an amazing row for Brian and Mr. Frei, after such a difficult day and an injured back!  They set out at 7 AM this morning, and arrived at Beadle's Cove at 9:30 PM!  Mr. Frei switched to his sliding seat, which seemed to help and he was medicated on a combination (don't do this at home!) of Motrin and Aleve (he was calling it Moleve).

Peg and I met up with them at 1:10 PM at the Basin Harbor Resort near Vergennes, VT. It is a beautiful spot and they let you bring your dog!     We arrived at the Resort at 11 AM and found Steve and Dave from Adirondack Guide-Boat waiting there with delicious watermelon-strawberry smoothies, so we had lots of time to hear their stories before the guys arrived. Steve and Dave made a guide-boat for Martha Stewart, so she did a segment on them a while ago, which I happened to see. Here is a photo of them with Martha. Great guys!



Steve - Martha - Dave

A short but sweet reunion ensued when Mr. Frei and Brian came gliding in, having had one of the best rows of their trip.  Al glided into the beach standing and doing a little dance move in his boat, which Dave made him repeat for a photo.  The guys had their smoothies, and were extremely appreciative (amazing how appreciative this two are when you bring them little treats at meetups!).

Bob Beach, the owner of the Resort came down to meet the intrepid rowers, so it was a nice little break.  After a few sandwiches, Mr. Frei and Brian took off again with the plan to get to the Larrabee's Point, where the ferry is that travels between VT and NY.

Meanwhile, Peg and I toured Middlebury, checked in at the Shoreham B&B, had some dinner and ordered burgers for the guys, who thought that they would be at point around 8:30. 

Peg and I arrived at the ferry station, and some guy leaned out of the second floor window of the stone house there, and yelled that we were trespassing, and no explanation seemed to soften him, so we drove a little further to a nice cove.  Then the wait began, the darkness crept in and the mosquitos started attaching.   The guys finally came into sight around 10PM (we saw Mr. Frei's headlamp), and we were flashing the iPhone and camera at them so that they could see where to land.  They were extremely tired, but very happy with their burgers and Blanche de Chambly beers.  We left them as they were settling in for a good sleep.

Tomorrow morning Mr. Frei's mother will meet them on the NY side of Lake Champlain and take their luggage while they portage the two or so miles over to Lake George.  It seems that lobster night will be on for tomorrow night at Lake George!


Mr. Frei arrives at Basin Harbor Resort




Brian arrives at Basin Harbor, VT