Growing up in the hinterlands of Vermontville, the hidden treasures of Saranac Lake remained a mystery to me for much of my early youth in the 70s and 80s.  As an active member of many kid clubs, eventually I participated in a bike-a-thon fundraiser on Moody Pond.  While I had known of Mt. Baker and hiked the trail, I had no idea you could actually bike around the whole pond!  From that point onward, the Moody Pond Loop became a favorite destination.  

In 2000, having returned to Saranac Lake  after college, living abroad, and graduate school, my husband and I purchased a house on Moody Pond.  Such began my daily circumnavigation of the Moody Pond Loop by any means: walking, running, biking, with a my cat following after dark, pushing a stroller, pulling a wagon, dragging a sled, with a scooter, roller skiing, XC skiing, Ice skating, Nordic skating, snowshoeing, with a dog, with friends, with family, with neighbors, in a fun run, under the full moon, swimming, paddle boating, kayaking, canoeing, and birdwatching, especially for the loon who frequents the pond by day and by night.

The same year we bought our house, we purchased our first kevlar canoe, a used Wenonah Sundowner.  We took the maiden voyage in Moody Pond. For years, I intended to learn how to 'really' paddle and do the Adirondack Canoe Classic, "The 90-miler", alas life happened.  In 2013, I finally joined an 8-person voyageur boat for the 90 with the Northern Forest Canoe Trail and I have since finished the race another 6 years in a row  as part of the "Blue Crusher Flowers" team.   People often ask, how do you train for that?  Aside from paddling with many friends as much as possible, I mostly train by doing loops in my Sundowner on Moody Pond in the early morning with my dog, Skye, in the bow and inevitably, the loon swimming circles around us.  

This year would be my 8th year in the 90-miler.  Due to Covid, I'll be joining the Looney Tunes Paddlers to raise money to fight the Eurasian Water Milfoil that threatens the very pond I love and the fish our resident loon loves.  Please join me by pledging whatever you can for every mile of my non 90-miler 90 miles for Moody.  I'll be paddling all kinds of boats on all kinds of ADK waters with my Looney Tunes Paddling Teammates.  We will be counting loons wherever we go and we will paddle our final mile of this 90-miler on Moody Pond.