Home » Adventures » Adirondacks » Car Accident & Paddling
I took it easy in the morning, the day after my Ironman. I lazily organized my copious gear into necessities for paddling, backpacking, and triathlon items that would not be needed. I drove to Saranac Lake to retrieve my canoe from Adirondacks Outfitters. While heading back to Lake Placid for the Ironman post race party, a car turned in front of me and I T-bone them. Initially it did not seem too serious, with my airbags still in place, and I pulled over to the side. Thankfully no one was hurt, but when I examined my car it was in worse shape than hopped. One headlight popped out, the radiator hissed, and bumper was cracked. Ironically the accident occurred directly in front of the campground where I just stayed. A fellow racer had turned in front of me, and while waiting for the police to make their report, we talked about how our races went.
My car after the accident
My car still ran, but with the radiator out of commission and headlight out of place towing was the way to go (especially since the other guy’s insurance would pay for it). I missed the Ironman awards banquet because of the collision, but I misread the schedule as to when it started, so I might arrived too late anyway.
I was towed to Maddens Garage in Saranac Lake and played with the insurance company on the phone. The ordeal would be a bit of a hassle for me (more than I could imagine at the time), but insurance should make it all better. Insurance moves only slightly faster than the government, but I rented a car anyway, assuming they will eventually pay for it.
Tending to a broken car was not how I wanted to spend my day, but the process went about as smoothly as possible. Within two hours of the wreck I was in a rental car and transferring my gear. I was still on vacation, so I was going to enjoy it. I might not be able to disappear into the woods as much as planned, since I would need to deal with the insurance people, but I could make it work.
Route I paddled this evening
Since my accident status was stalled with adjusters, I headed to St. Regis Canoe Wilderness for paddling. Not having many routes planned ahead of time, and with things in even more disarray with the accident, I wound up putting in at St. Regis Carry. It was past six by the time I got on the water, so I just headed for the nearest campsite. It was also raining, but I set out anyway since I was on the clock. I paddled to Spring Bay, passing many large lake houses. I searched for the campsites marked on my map but could not find them. I located an adequate spot that had room for a tent but was not an official campsite. With what I would later observe in the St. Regis Canoe Wilderness, I either completely missed those campsites or they did not exist anymore.
The spot I did find was infested with mosquitoes, which my DEET only partially kept at bay, It was also still drizzling so I hid the rest of the evening in my tent.
