CAMP READ ASSOCIATION
Recap - Fall Hike Weekend 2025
Intro (Bailey Pitonza):
The Fall Hike Weekend is the perfect time to visit camp, enjoy the scenic Fall views of the Adirondacks, and spend time with friends. This year was no exception. The weather was perfect. The bugs were nonexistent. And the company was warm and abundant.
About 25 people made the trip out this year. Some hiked, some fished, and some took it easy, simply enjoying time with friends at the special place where we all connected. Two even gave up their own time and effort to help feed the rest– special shout out to Rob Wall & Bill Daley for taking care of our meals!!
Rob Wall manning the grill.
By Friday evening, most everyone had arrived. With Saturday’s breakfast being the first time where nearly everyone was present at once, groups and plans then started to form. Just as quickly as everyone had come together, the crowd dispersed as people finished their meals and set off for their days:
Matt Terribile:
Tim Haag, Tom Dietz, and I spent Saturday strolling around camp enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery. Our self-guided tour first headed through the upper end of Buckskin to old Camp Tomahawk where Tom worked in the 1960s. We reflected on the many changes over the years. While Tom had experienced the latter part of Tomahawk’s history, I had been a camper in the early days of Summit. Under the Butler building, we talked about my Dad who built one of the canoe trailers stored there for the winter, and the campfires that Tom had been part of when rain forced them under cover. The best view of the day was from the swampy area up the road from the camp office where the colors on Stevens were magical. At Lester Lake, currently drained, Tim laughed at his zipline contests in the 1990s.
Mt. Stevens from the marsh beyond Summit Base.
After lunch, Mark joined us for a walk to the Buckskin fishing dock. The scenery again was gorgeous. Tom described all the work that went into getting the docks in place. We also talked about the evolution of program over the years. The trail we hiked now hosts a mountain biking program.
Fish sign pointing the way to the Buckskin fishing dock from the Mountain Bike Trail.
Rogers Lake from the Buckskin Fishing Dock
We then proceeded to Waubeeka, where Tim and I have many happy memories from the 1980s. We headed first to the site where the new first year camper pavilion will soon be built in honor of my Dad. We looked forward to the dedication next spring, while enjoying the fall colors on First Brother. From there, we headed to the waterfront, where the view is as peaceful and calming as it was 45 years ago when I worked there. After a stroll through the campsites remembering many Scoutmasters and fellow former staff members we headed to the Hays Nature Area where Tim had been the inaugural director in 1981.
View of Waubeeka Lake from the proposed site of the David Terribile First Year Camper Pavilion
We ended our tour at the Waubeeka fishing dock, which had seen quite a bit of use by others during the day. Again, we were treated to a beautiful view, birdsongs, and the refreshing sense we had experienced many times before at Camp.
After enjoying dinner (many thanks to Bob Wall, Bill Daley, and others) about a dozen of us sang familiar camp songs around a campfire. The day ended with retiring flags that Scouts in Rye had collected and singing Taps.
Bill Langham:
I had my own little reunion at this year's fall hike. My boyhood friend, Mike Adrian, came over from Vermont to enjoy the fine weather on Saturday. We grew up in White Plains in the 1950s - Mike, a member of Troop 14 at St John's Church and me, a member of Troop 1, George Washington Elementary School.
Mike arrived after breakfast and we elected to join Ron Green, Bill Daley and Peter Scott Oberdorf for an exploration of Putnam Pond in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area. Putnam Pond provides an Eastern entrance to Pharaoh Lake from Ticonderoga. Our intent was not to go through to Pharaoh but to take a look at a couple of other ponds in the area, Grizzle Ocean and Clear Pond. We set off in fine spirits down the trail but about a half-hour in, it became evident that the two old timers in the party were reconsidering the challenge of this adventure.
As we stood at the top of a steep incline, Bill Daley pointed out that when we returned after an hour or two in the woods, tired and worn out, that we would have to climb this hill. Being the good scouts that we are and remembering our scout training, it was determined that it would be better for the seniors to bail and return to the parking lot. I had overheard that Mike and Bill had skied most of the ski resorts in North America - so I knew that Mike was in great shape for 78, and me, not so great as my 80th approaches, and Peter who's working on his "four score and seven" turned back, Mike doing his good deed and offering an arm to guide Peter along the way. We reached the end of the trail and enjoyed a pleasant pond-side lunch before returning to camp.
Mike and I took a brief tour of the reservation which has changed considerably since Mike was a camper in 1957. I took him up to Summit Base and the Climbing Tower and then into the High COPES area where we visited the Lookaway Monument before returning to Buckskin and the Waterfront. It looked way smaller than when we were 12-year olds!
But, as the saying goes, a day at Camp Read is better than a day in the office or something like that. Mike headed back to Vermont and regretfully missed the afternoon cannonade.
Bill Daley:
As the “Fall Hike” weekend has become more of a “Fall Gathering” weekend, Ron Green and I were still able to get some nice hikes throughout the weekend. Don’t get me wrong, getting together with the camp buddies is still the main reason I attend but getting out in the woods with my friends makes it that much better. Besides, the Adirondacks in Fall is nothing short of spectacular.
On Friday afternoon, Ron and I decided to hike up First Brother. It’s the easiest of any of the mountains surrounding camp, being a relatively short hike with nice views. The view from the first overlook is better than at the summit (photo below).
We continued making our way towards Second Brother, mostly bushwacking. We had thoughts of climbing Second but by the time we reached the col between First and Second brothers, it was running late, and we decided to head back to camp. There’s no trail but it’s easy to follow the brook down from that location as it leads you right to the camp road near the Buckskin rifle range. It was a great “warm up” hike for the weekend and the company couldn’t have been better.
As noted in Will Langham’s article, a group of us ventured to the Putnam Pond area for our Saturday Hike. Putnam Pond trailhead is a good choice for a group of varying abilities as there are many choices for hike length and difficulties. As it turns out, the group split up about an hour into the hike. Will, Mike and Peter headed back to the trailhead while Ron and I ventured on.
We decided to do a loop hike we had done before that takes you by Clear Pond, Rock Pond, North Pond and back to Putnam Pond. The trail was relatively flat and easy-going, which made for great conversation. The first stop was at Clear Pond Lean-to where we met a younger couple enjoying the day (without the kids, which they said was a nice break).
The hike continued to Rock Pond, where we found a nice spot for lunch. Ron’s obviously very happy to be there (who wouldn’t be?).
Just as we finished our lunch, I saw some movement on the water. To my amazement, it was someone paddling a boat on the remote pond. Understand that the closest place to launch a boat is at Putnam Pond. It ended up being a couple around our age each paddling a single person Hornbeck canoe that weighs about 20 pounds. Hornbeck boats are made in Olmstedville, NY (not far from Camp Read) and are known for their light weight and durability. The couple explained that it’s only about a mile to carry the boats from North Pond (connects to Putnam Pond) to Rock Pond. I was still impressed at their adventurous spirit.
We continued making our way around Rock Pond and stopped by the lean-to, with even more impressive scenery.
We made our way back to Putnam Pond, covering about 8 miles total. The weather was perfect, scenery exceptional and doing it with Ron or any of my Camp Friends makes it very special.
You would think two days of hiking that one would want to relax, not true for “I want to do it all” Ronnie Green. We ended up on top of Mount Stevens that Sunday and it was the perfect end to a great weekend. Truth be told, it was my idea to climb Stevens (so much for being the “voice of reason”, as I usually need to be with Ron). Looking forward to doing it again next Fall!
AJ Medina:
I arrived Friday evening and met up with Matt Hoskins and Jim Morgan on the Waubeeka parade field. From there, we met up with Ryan Walsh at Sticks & Stones in Schroon Lake and enjoyed a good meal with good drinks. We got back that night and Jim tried lighting a fire for 30 minutes, but the sticks were too damp so we gave up and sat around the fire ring chatting and having a good time. I commented on what a motley crew this was, with Matt pointing out that I loved odd crews at camp.
On Saturday morning, the 4 of us drove to Crossroads and purchased breakfast sandwiches. Upon returning to the reservation, we changed into our hiking clothes and hiked up First Brother mountain. On the way up we reminisced on previous times we hiked up First Brother, such as for wilderness survival merit badge. Before we knew it, we were at the summit and took in the breathtaking views while eating the sandwiches we bought earlier. We hung out on the summit for an hour reminiscing on good times past while talking about our futures at camp. This was the first time Matt, Ryan, and I have been to the ADKs during Fall and we were marveling at the view. Jim, having been to hike weekend before, wasn’t as awestruck as we were but was still enamored by the view.
View from First Brother Mountain.
Afterwards, we hiked down the public trail of First Brother and got a little lost, but we found another group of hikers who pointed us in the right direction. Turns out we accidentally trespassed a little bit on someone else’s property, so we quickly got out of there and ended up on Palisades Road, admiring the beautiful lakeside houses and wishing we could live up here.
Ryan Walsh, Jim Morgan, and me on Palisades Rd.
We hiked the road back to camp and conversed with head ranger Kris O’Connor in the shop for a good while. Afterwards, we lounged around reservation for a few hours and drove to Bolton Landing for dinner at The Huddle. As much as I wanted to hike more (I wanted to do all 3 brothers!), not everyone was up for another hike. After The Huddle, we drove to the P House in Chestertown and had a great time (shoutout to Ryan for being the designated driver). We had some good conversations with the Chestertown residents too! We drove back to the reservation, and Jim was finally able to light a fire with the help of Ryan. We hung around the fire for a couple of hours, and at one point Ryan and I walked to the activity field to stargaze.
Jim by the fire.
Sunday morning, I caught Matt as he was leaving just in time to say goodbye. I drove to Buckskin to look at the ALRAP back room one last time before I left since I was the area director there for 3 summers. I stood there for about 15 minutes looking at my past writings on the wall, and I got a little bit emotional. Those 15 minutes in the back room were enough to convince me to apply for Summer 2026. How could I not come back to camp?
Overall, a fantastic weekend. I strengthened bonds with people who I don’t usually hang out with while being at the greatest place in the world (Read). It’s also been years since we each had a good hike. Most importantly, this weekend convinced me to come back to camp next year. Would definitely attend the hike weekend again!
Closing:
Thank you to those of you who took the time to contribute to our recap! Bill Daley (CRA President) especially liked AJ’s write up. It so tells the story of camp and camp staff bonds that all of us feel no matter what era you’re from.
By the time we went to take a group photo, some had already wandered off for the night. So we did our best. Without an independent photographer, Ron Green and Matt Terribile volunteered to swap out and take a picture with the other in it. In the interest of not excluding either, here are both variations of our group photo:
L to R: Bill Langham, Bailey Pitonza, Tom Dietz, Mark Layton, Tim Haag, Rob Wall, Rich Lutomski, Ron Phillips, Bill Daley, Paul Knudsvig, Dick Trier, & Ron Green/Matt Terribile.
Thank you one last time to everyone who took the trip out to participate in our annual Fall Weekend! We hope you had an excellent time and that we’ll see you back for next year!
Yours in Scouting,
Bailey Pitonza
VP Activities
CRA
For generations, summer after summer, scouts have been making memories at Camp Read. In 2020, the pandemic may have forced regular activities to pause, but campers from years gone by are sharing their stories here in an effort to fill in the gap. Read on to get your fix of Camp Read hijinks until we can safely fill a parade ground once more!
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