I was in the Adirondacks for Ironman Lake Placid, and figured that if I was already here with my bike and wetsuit, I might as well bring a few other things and attempt the picnics. Didn't have too many days to spare, so I decided to do this route the day after the Ironman race. I definitely did not know what I was getting myself into.
Started biking once it got light out, with everything I would need for the day (drybag backpack, wetsuit, running vest, water filter, trail shoes, bike lock, lots of random snacks, etc). That climb up to Lake Placid is brutal, but going so slowly let me enjoy the views of the mountains, lakes, and rocky cliffs. Weather was perfect.
Locked my bike, helmet, shoes, and jacket to a tree by the beach, ate a granola bar, changed, and hopped in the water with drybag full of running stuff. Got right on the underwater sight-line and followed that for 1000yds, then branched off and headed for the far side of the lake. Got a little lost, but luckily had the saved route on my watch, and was able to navigate mid-swim to the tiny little public access corridor. Climbed out of the water and headed across the road to some random patch of woods off of Mt Whitney Rd. Lots of weird looks from walkers, runners, and bikers, who were not expecting someone in a wetsuit on this side of the lake. Changed, ate some food, hung up my wetsuit and drybag on a log, filtered some water from the nearby creek, and headed out on the run.
I didn't enjoy the road running that much, but eventually I turned off the road and headed into the woods, enjoying the shade and sounds of nature. Trail was nice and runnable all the way until the bushwhacking began. oh MAN that was rough. Had not mentally prepared enough for this portion. Pushing through trees, on a steep uphill, for at least an hour, with no views or any ability to tell if I was making any progress. I did have navigation going, but my pace was just so incredibly slow that it felt like I wasn't moving. This is when I began questioning my life decisions, and wondering who it was that decided I should do this the day after an ironman race. Eventually, I did drop down to Whiteface Brook, which was more pleasant and run scrambling, and then onto the slide, with amazing views of the summit and of Lake Placid. This made the bushwhacking worth it. Filtered water again here, then started the exposed hike up the slide, and some fun scrambling to get onto the foot-path at the top. Weather on the summit was perfect, and I had my little picnic overlooking all of the Adirondacks.
Took a second to find the trail back down, but eventually got going down the very technical descent. Was happy to be running again, with no more bushwhacking. Ate more snacks, filtered more water, and tried to lock in for the long flat run back to Mirror Lake. For this entire run, besides the folks at the summit, I only saw 1 other person out on the trails.
Finally got back to my transition area, got the wetsuit back on, packed up, and headed back to the water. Felt very good to get off the legs, and was in no rush while swimming back across the lake. Climbed out of the water and just sat by the beach for a while, mentally preparing for the final ride.
Changed, ate some food, packed up, and got on the bike. There were still a few good climbs getting out of town, which were quite rough. Ripped the descent, again enjoying the views of the mountains and the Cascade Lakes. Absolutely amazing place. Final grind back across some rolling hills, then the sweet sweet sight of my car. Headed straight to Stuarts for a well-deserved pint of ice cream.