A Classic Adirondack Paddle: Including a Visit with Noah John Rondeau the Hermit of Cold River Flow

by William J. O'Hern

In June 1946, a troop of Boy Scouts from Wayne, Pennsylvanian began planning a canoe paddle that none would ever forget. Paoli Troop 1’s route took them on what is today the Adirondack Ninety-mile Canoe Classic from Old Forge to Saranac Lake. This is also the first section of today’s Northern Forest Canoe Trail, considered the waterway equivalent of the Appalachian Trail, which extends via rivers, streams, lakes, and carries to Fort Kent, Maine. Three of the scouts, Herb “Hobey” Henderson, George Aman, and Bill McClear compiled the photo journal and dedicated it to future scouts who might read it. Hobey kept the log and the memories of the fifteen scouts’ experiences in a bureau drawer for decades, finally presenting it in 2011 to Paoli Troop 1 on its 100th anniversary. It seems somewhat of a miracle that Author William J. O’Hern discovered the journal, with the help of Dick and Hobey Henderson, and realized that its publication would be especially meaningful to those who enjoy canoeing and hiking in the same area today. Readers can only imagine how much the boys in the journal – now elderly men – enjoy reliving the adventure that was carefully preserved in words and photographs by their fellow scouts and now will be further preserved for later generations in this small publication.

192 pages, Hardcover

Published October 15, 2023

About the author

William J. "Jay" O'Hern lives in rural Camden, NY, where he worked as an elementary school teacher for 35 years before retiring. He and his wife, Bette, raised 5 children and now enjoy their many grandchildren.

Jay is a graduate of the State Universities of New York at Auburn and at Oswego and did graduate work at both Oswego and the College of St. Rose in Albany.

Jay has also worked in the lumber, paper, chemical, and metal fabricating industries. Carpentry, handicrafts, gardening, kayaking, backpacking, snowshoeing, mountain biking, and writing are his hobbies.

Jay became a 46er in the 1980s and has been a member of the Adirondack Mountain Club since 1969. He lectured for Adirondack Discovery for 17 years, for Sagamore Lodge in Raquette Lake for 7 years and occasionally for the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake.