Mountain Ponds, Really Good Beer and Trout

Camping in camp grounds is how I spent most of my summers growing up. There are hundreds (thousands?- probably)of very well run privately owned and state operated campgrounds throughout the Northeast, where I have most of my camping experience.

New York's Adirondacks, Catskills and Finger Lakes Region, Vermonts Green Mountains and Northern Kingdom, the Berkshires and Cape Cod in Massachusettes, PA's Poconos and Delaware/Susquehanah River Valleys, not to mention the vast wild areas of New Hampshire and Maine all have thier own special beauty and topography, and a wealth of outdoor recreational possibilities. Many campgrounds are on some of the most beautiful lakes in these parks and public lands and offer a wide range of activities and services. Some large and modern campgrounds are close to tourist attractions and larger towns in NY and New England where outdoor activities are a big part of the local economy.

Most camp grounds offer hot showers, flush toilets, garbage recepticles, concrete fire pits, water stations and septic hook ups or dumps for RV's and big camping trailers.
If you are new to camping or planning a trip with small children and/or people who who arent quite prepared to "rough it" without such ammenities, then a camp ground or state park is a good choice. Rates for sites vary from $8 off season to $30+ for tent sites in the peak summer season. Reservations at popular parks are usually manditory and are often needed months in advance to assure a good site- especially next to water. Reserving sites through Campamerica.com is the only way to secure a site at a NY State Park and the average cost is $15 per night, though some state campgrounds keep some sites available for drive in guests with no reservations. Many other State's parks also use this service for booking campsite reservations.

I have been camping regularly in the "Daks" and all over the Northeast for over 20 years. I've made well over 100 trips and only paid for a campsite maybe 3 times. The state of NY maintains literally thousands of what are known as "Primitive" camp sites all over the park. These site are available to anyone on a 1st come 1st served basis. You can hike 10 miles into a remote pond, pack and launch your canoe on a pristine mountain pond and find an incredible campsite on a small island with the entire place to yourself. The site will be minimal, with a stone fire ring and cleared area for pitching 1 - 3 tents. If you are lucky, and as a rule not usually on islands, you will have a crude outhouse 100 yards or so behind the site - which may sound nasty but it can be a bit more comfortable than digging a hole every morning (or re-digging yesterdays hole - equally nasty) especially in the rain.

Often it is much easier to find a great site than having to hike in 10 miles. Many public campsites can be found right along side roads and dozens of dirt paths off highways that travel around various lakes all over the park. Many more are found along rivers and trout streams on more rural and even dirt roads that take you far back into areas designated as "Wilderness" areas. Areas designated as "Primitive Forest" will not even have dirt roads and require hikes of 1/2 to 15 miles to reach a camp site desired.

Still more sites all over the Park can be driven to in a car, often right up to the waters edge, with areas available to "car camp" for up to 4 days - longer stays at one particular site require a permit in NY from the Dpt.of Environmental Conservation. (see NYSDEC link below) These sites are of course the first to go and you should always plan ahead to give yourself time to find a new place when the spot you hoped for is already occupied. This sad truth has often been the case on my own trips but has actually been a blessing as I was forced to move on and discover new, even more beautiful places with better, more private fishing spots.

All these public sites are "carry in - carry out" campsites, which means exactly that. Packing and food storage must be thought out to make sure nothing you brought with you remains behind. Leaving these sites exactly as you found it - or better, exactly as you would like to find it, is an implied promise whenever using these amazing and beautiful free camping areas. The idea is to leave no trace of your being there - except a foot print or two, and some wet ashes in the firepit.

Most people who enjoy remote solitude of the Adirondack Park appreciate the need to keep these wild places as pristine as possible and understand the resposibility and stewardship that comes with having the priviledge of accessing them. This is one of the things that makes the Adirondack Park such a special place.

It pays to explore so find a good map or 2 of the area or even a State Atlas of where you are going. The DeLorme Atlas' of NY, ME, VT and PA have all been indispensable tools in my camping plans over the years. Well worth the +/- $20 ( an even better deal from Amazon below) because they are packed full of information on trails, parking areas, campgrounds, tourist attractions, ski areas and fishing locations as well as showing topography and unimproved roads.

Take that dirt road - You never know what you may find - the fear is in your mind!

Thats not just the PC answer to that question, it's also the truth. What makes a good beer to anyone is mostly in thier mouths - and hopefully thier nose and eyes as well. If a beer doesnt look and smell good, chances are it wont taste good either in my experience.

Really good beer, and what make a beer great is totally subjective. If you like it - it's good!
In my opinion, most mass produced, TV advertised products with sports complexes named after them are rarely, if ever really good beers. They may be refreshing beverages and excellent examples of repeatable mediocrity, but certainly not quality beers any more than products stamped "Made In China" are considered quality. I strongly believe many people who think they dont or wont like a craft brewed beer simply havent tried one yet. Or at least, they havent tried the right one yet.

The analogy I use is the comparison to a fast food hamburger. Mass produced beer is like a fast food burger. You know what your going to get every time - it tastes ok, even though it was made with less than the "finest" ingredients, and it can be had at a reasonable price. You can whistle thier theme song, the burger tastes exactly the same every time no matter where you had it, and you can find it everywhere or at least see thier sign 2 miles ahead on the highway.

A burger from a fine restaurant on the other hand is made from the best available ground sirloin with the freshest ingredients and spices to enhance the flavor, texture and aroma. You found this great burger by chance and can only get it at one really cool Cafe. Each time you taste it there is some new, subtle flavor that makes this buger especially tasty and satisfying.

To compare the restaurant burger to a fast food burger in terms of quality and nutrition would be rediculous. Comparing a major premium beer to a craft beer from a small artisian brewery is just as unfair.

The fact is, the beer in a bottle of "premium American Lager" cost the big brewery a fraction of a penny to make, and the remainder of the price you pay is for advertising and packaging (oh and BIG profits). Most Craft Breweries work on considerably tighter budgets and concentrate on hand crafting the most flavorful and imaginative ales and lagers they possibly can. A national, prime time TV ad would cost as much as thier brewing equipment or 2 full time employee's salaries. Unlike nearly tasteless mass produced national brands, these craft or "micro" beers offer bold and complex flavors that compliment any food and occasion.

Almost all "macro" as opposed to micro beers that are nationally (US) and internationally available are (loosely) based on the German Lager or Czech style Pilsner ( a lager style ) beers. Low carb/ calorie beers dont even warrant mentioning in this discussion. None of the major US brands even come close to representing the appearence, aroma and flavor of a genuine German (or Czech) Lager or Pilsner beer. Ok, they may look similar but still lack the depth of color, crisp, spicy aroma and robust head of foam that typifies a European example of those styles. These "Premium" beers are heavily marketed using a constant barrage on consumers of tv and radio commercials, magazine ads, race car and sports complex sponserships, billboards and point of sale signage. This marketing has been so successful and profitable that the largest beer distribution companies in the world have purchased the taken over huge US breweries. Only one major brand of american beer is now actually american owned and controlled. ( Pabts ) Recent mergers and buyouts have resulted in long standing "iconic" brands that are now in the hands of large international (beer) corporations.

The emerging US craft (micro) beer market is expanding every day and more and more American beer drinkers are realizing there are an increasing number of choices available. In the last few years many people who associated beer with the 2 or 3 brands they know and have seen tv ads for since childhood are becomming more aware of the wide variety of styles and flavors that are now readily available. People are trying new beers and are pleasantly surprised at how different and flavorful these "new" beers can be. Even college students are enjoying beer for it's flavor instead of over drinking mass quantities of watery psudo lagers that the questionable marketing of large muti packs ( 18, 30 packs etc. ) has fostered.

Beer doesnt have the be the watery, weak, "low carb" and tasteless. The light carmel and spicy hop flavors of a fresh Pale Ale or the fruity zest and tart wheat chracter of a well made Hefe Weizen; the rich and roasty coco flavors and chewy mouthfeel of an Oatmeal Stout; the sharp citrusy bite and lush sweetness of an India Pale Ale or the chalky bitterness and chocolate/ coffee overtones of a tradional Robust Porter just to name a few, are all styles that have thankfully become common place in many popular bars and restaraunts all over the US. People are drinking more fresh, locally made beer and appreciating the flavors that real craft brewed ales and lagers have to offer.

This resurgance of the small local brewery is just a return to pre prohibition times when every small town had a brewery and people became fans and had pride in thier local brews. It took 100 years and lots of unrecycled aluminum cans but the beer world in the US has finally come full circle.

Beer is back and its here to stay. People are waking up to the fact that beer doesnt have to be urine yellow, watery and fizzy. Not every beer appeals to everyone - which is a big part of the fun! By trying new beers and discovering all the unique flavors and characteristics that define differnt styles, I'm convinced you will find at least one you'll really enjoy.