Last Bash

Adirondacks Rule! The final trip for the graduating seniors took place in June and it was a good one. We left on a Wednesday and came home on Friday. In between was an absolutely beautiful day of hiking, climbing and swatting black flies. TC cooked us a great breakfast, we packed some food and water and were off. Our destination was Avalanche Lake.

The weather was sunny and cool which was perfect for hiking. For the most part, the hike was simple. Not too much in the way of elevation or difficult terrain. Dave almost got us lost taking a left turn at Marcy Dam when we should have gone straight but clearer heads prevailed. On the way to Avalanche Lake we stopped at the front end of Avalanche Pass. The rock face went up about 1000' and looked too cool to pass up. We did have to scramble over a rather large wall of downed trees - remnants of the last avalanche. Once on the face, however, the climbing was easy. Plenty of traction due to the type of rock (geologists are welcome to inform here). We all climbed at least 500' up the face where we posed for a group shot (Whiteface is the peak in the distance). Jake and Chelsea felt the need to climb higher and finally stoped around the 800' mark. Jake always had to go one step higher than Chelsea but Chelsea's competitive nature wouldn't let him win. I think they just reached a mutual agreement and turned around together.

Once at Avalance Lake, we stopped for summer sausage and cheese pitas. They went down well and gave us the required energy to scramle over the boulders and ladders to get to the end of the lake. What you can't see in the picture are the swarms of black flies. The breeze would keep them at bay but when the breeze died, they were everywhere. We snapped our token picture, peed in the woods and went back. We finished the day with meatball subs followed by an ice cream run to Lake Placid.

I love being in ministry and have had many great experiences with teens over the years. What made this trip so great was seeing how these kids care for each other. The conversations ranged everywhere from pop music to deep spiritual questions. They wrestled with each other over contemporoary issues but kept their friendship a priority. All in all, it was one of the best trips.