Daybreak was cloudy and windy. The sky threatened. A cup of coffee and an egg at the breakfast bar, I was on my way north. It felt good to be on the road again. John would be meeting me at the mill at 10am to show me the lumber he had cut. Afterwards, we'd go to the camp to see the lot which was now cleared. As always, my pulse quickened slightly as I rounded the bend into town. Not quite 10am. I popped into the local convenience store which aside from being just in front of my access road, was the local meeting place, and got a hot coffee to go. A group of four older men in camoflage stopped their banter to size me up. I nodded as one usually does in these parts. They nodded back and, after a moment, began talking again. The lady at the counter asked how I'd been and after some idle chatter, I left with a small styrofoam cup filled with something that passed as coffee.
John was across the street and after I pulled in, came over to greet me. He was excited to talk about how all the timber he needed had already been cut. He also showed several photos of fish caught up on the lake. Perch, I think he said. "Now that's fishing", said John, his face showing obvious pride. He had come down from his camp to see me this morning and mentioned that he had almost shot a buck too. Ironically, I recall two occasions this year that he told me he took a buck. My hunting license gives me 1 deer tag per year and I've yet to take anything. Seems like each visit, John has taken a buck. Clearly the locals work on a different system than I do.
After filming the mill and talking about the siding and railing, John led the way offroad into camp. He stopped twice on the trail to show me the two 30 acre parcels he had on sale. The one we passed was heavily wooded and ready to timber. "Buy a lot with all dem timbers and you'll make your money back...that's how I got all this here land", John said with a big smile and sparkle in his eyes.
We moved onward until at last we broke through to my camp. The heavy equipment I remembered had moved to my cabin site. We drove to the entrance and walked in. Awesome! The cabin site had been completely cleared and the river was slightly more visible now. What had been our little camping site last summer was now the beginning of the driveway. What had been a possible future cabin site deep in the woods was now the clearing. I was very happy.
John and I spoke a while about the building process, about clearing certain trees, types of wood, and anything else related to the project. "The snow is late in coming but will be here next week and, after that, we need to shut this down until spring", he added. Fortunately, he had taken most if not all he needed.
The rest of the day, I walked the land in silence. Camera in hand, I took over 50 videos, including some of "infamous" lot 3, which I must say looks so much better on this last walk. I was really down on this lot, largely due to my impressions of the river here. It's slow moving and wasn't a deep forested lot like the others and borders someone else's land. I had serious misgivings about the neighbor due to his visible camp, barking dog, and signs telling everyone to stay the hell out. John told me the neighbor is a actually great guy, and despite his posted signs and dog, is a very friendly sort. This time around I noticed how nice the river is here. Level ground, nice view. At 170ft wide, it looks more like a small lake.
On lot 4, I found an old hunter's stand (oddly at ground level), and down a ravine, a spring box filled with water. More photos and footage of 5 and 6, as well as the cabin site on 7. Finally, up on 8, I follow a marshy area and investigate a brook before climbing a very steep grade up to a wind-swept ridge.
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| A low wet area at the bottom of Lot 8. A brook passes here. |
So now that I have all this land, why was I still yearning for more? It felt great to own lot 4, a decision that I don't regret. Lot 3, the only remaining lot, was like the girl the boys never noticed. A late bloomer of sorts. Then when the light hits it right, it's a winner. The question is now, "should I buy lot 3"? John told me once, "the best zoning board you can have is just buy all the land around you". Point taken. The best neighbor on an Adirondack camp is no neighbor.
Curious about an online ad my dad I and saw for a large tract of land for less than $500/acre, I decided to have a look. "Great dirt road easily accessible", and "no problem for a four wheeler", it read. Following the directions, I drove a mile into deep woods just north of town until the dirt road became swamp and mud. I stepped out of the Jeep and walked a few hundred feet. It seemed that once I got past this area, the land sloped upwards. I got up to speed and despite the tug of the muck, I got through. But the top of the hill was awash with deep mud and tire tracks of someone who had been stuck. Out of fear, I finally turned my Jeep around in a tight 6 point turn and headed back for terra firma. 167 acres for an asking price of only $99K? It's because most of it is swampland. Great for duck hunting. Lousy for anything else. Give me my land anyday!
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| It looked good here, but down, down, down..into ever deeper mud! This quagmire gave me the willies! |
John is selling two 30 acre adjacent parcels at $36K each. The land lies adjacent to my own "subdivision" of 70 acres. I could walk from my camp to the land in 5 minutes and his land is characterized by deep red and white pine forests. In fact, the dirt road to my camp passes through it. Great for timber, this land could almost pay for itself after one cutting. Ah.. what does someone choose? 5 acres of wonderful creekfront with it's idyllic setting adjacent to my own land, or 30 or 60 acres of wooded forest. No creek here, but so many acres of prime forest. If I could, I'd buy them all. I love the nature. I love the solitude. I never got any joy out of stocks I owned...What a great investment!
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| An old beaver dam reminds me I have some wild neighbors! |
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