After paddling up Long Lake (10 miles) with a tail wind, they entered the mouth of the Raquette River. Inferno Joe's GPS showed the current to be moving at 2-3 MPH. When you add the act of paddling, The Boys were often cruising at 4-5 MPH.

The Raquette River was beautiful. The river was up a foot and the surrounding woods were most often flooded. X-ray Eye Jim the Navigator kept them on course and away from misleading shortcuts and anonymous looking dead-end channels.

At 15 miles, the flotilla arrived at the carry. The Boys were prepared for the arduous task of hauling hundreds of pounds coolers, gear and canoes over what was assumed to be rather level turf.

AXE brought a pair of canoe wheels that had been very successful on the 6th Annual's, two carries; X-ray Eye Jim had purchased a new "$100 plus shipping" pair of wheels with this trip in mind. Inferno Joe used his (unsuspecting) niece's bicycle wheels and designed his own, aluminum tubed portage wheels. Not to be outwitted by the unknown quotient of the carry, No Hob Nob Bob took a 6"x6" length of pressure treated wood and used 8" lag bolts to attach the wheels to. And of course, I Can Drag A (100-LB) Canoe 1.25 Miles Ed planned to do just that!

The Carry: The dirt trail was not, in any manner, conducive to portaging with canoe wheels (except for No Hob Nob Bob's). It started with a 200 foot, steep ascent over stone steps and boulders. The trail meandered up (mostly up) and down. The use of canoe wheels required frequent stops (hundreds) to pick up one's canoe and shuttle it over stone steps, rocks the size of Mars, drainage ditches, and fallen trees.

The Results: The carry around Raquette falls was unforgiving. X-ray Eye Jim's wheels collapsed 25 feet up the initial steep embankment. Inferno Joe's concoction had all the right design ideas but lost a wheel in the last 10th of a mile. AXE's wheels survived primarily because AXE and "g" carried their heaviest gear to the end of the carry and then returned to portage their canoe. But... No Hob Nob Bob took the prize. His wheels were designed to withstand a load of 10,000 pounds. With the immense strength of Laos Mark and the encouraging words of Bob, these guys trucked all of their gear in ONE TRIP! Ironically, despite the hi-tech mentality for the carry... I Can Drag a Canoe Ed did the carry in one trip also... and finished the carry FIRST! After hauling gear for 2+ hours, the lean-to at the end of their carry was occupied, and the Boys regrettably loaded up their canoes and headed up river to the next available lean-to.

Dinner: After The Boys arrived at the next lean-to on the Raquette River, they unloaded gear and set up tents. "g" prepared Penne Pasta with Shrimp, Broccoli and Grated Romano Cheese in Garlic and Olive Oil. After dinner, they settled down to one of Inferno Joe's immense, towering campfires. Every now and then, it snowed.

Post Dinner Show: After dinner, the Boys experienced the biggest bon fire the Raquette River had ever experienced. They were then treated to the greatest standup comedy by SNL's Enrique. Talk about laughing...