Bikepacking to the Source of the Erie Canal in New York's Adirondack Mountains

North Lake Reservoir, source of the Black River Feeder Canal for the Erie Canal

I bikepacked the hard way to the source of New York's Erie Canal, the source of mid-west America's growth and prosperity, the source of economic prosperity for Northern, Central and Western NY and home of NY's 750mi bikepacking route, the Empire State Trail. 

The Little Collie monkey on my back

It was heinous, miserable, mostly hike-a-bike in mud that was effectively bottomless, but no less than hub deep if you were to claim there was a bottom. It was so bad I chose to bike on 22 miles of pavement with my 40lb dog, Marshall, on my back for the return trip rather than the out and back (lollipop) route I had planned. The total distance of the trip in either case was effectively the same, but one had virtually no pavement and no monkey (Marshall) on my back and one was the opposite of everything I enjoy. 

Sometimes these exploratory trips suck, but they build resilience for future times. If I was injured or had a serious mechanical I'd accept help, but I'm out there to ride, often hike, and always seek to be challenged. The worst case scenario is it sucks, I'm miserable and I raise the bar for future adventures by looking back on the experience. 

The views

The interlude between the suck

The means of suffering

The respite

Heaven

Gateway to hell

The route