It is oddly reassuring to me that, in this hyper-connected day and age, there are places not all that far from my house that I can go and have limited or no cell service. An hour-and-a-half drive from my house, after passing the sign on the Northway (I-87 north from Albany) that says “Limited Cell Service next 64 miles; Emergency phone boxes every 2 miles”, we arrive at the north end of Schroon Lake and head into the woods off Adirondack Road for the half-mile hike in to Gull Pond. Even if the small parking area appears crowded, after multiple visits we’ve discovered that it’s generally unusual to actually run into more than a couple of people on a visit- which makes it perfect for social distancing! It is really beautiful up there – evergreen forest cover with a view 
across the pond to cliffs that provide a sharp backdrop against a clear blue sky, with just the sound of the birds and fish jumping in the water for company. There are trout in the pond, too, and although we haven’t tried the swimming (yet), we’ve seen other people in the water, so presumably it can’t be that cold. And best of all – no cell service, so no text messages going off, no Instagrammers blocking the view, no email, no shouted conversations about subjects inane or stressful. There are trout in the pond- some of which can actually be caught instead of just eating the worm around the hook!-so it’s perfect for a few hours’ fishing (or, in our case, fishing-and-knitting).
A few minutes’ drive into the village of Schroon Lake will bring you to a Stewart’s, a bait shop, a village store, and our preferred dinner when we’re up that way: Sticks and Stones Wood Fired Bistro and Bar, which has excellent food at reasonable prices in a family-friendly environment. You can order online for takeout, and even bring it over to the village park overlooking Schroon Lake. Highly recommended.
Notes from the journey... 