Lost Eddie.
I wrote this post quite a long time ago, but hesitated to post it. In honor of Father's Day, here it is. On Thursday, January 28th 2016, Nick and I received the news that Nick's father, Edward Vandercar, had died while snowshoeing in Schroon Lake, his home for the last 13 years.
I am writing this post to not only honor my late father-in-law, but to thank him for bringing Nick into this world. Without Eddie's lust for adventure and love of nature, Nick's and my own life would not be what it is today. I can't think of a more appropriate person to write about in my hiking blog.
My relationship with Eddie was limited, due to Nick and I moving to Colorado after only 4 months of dating, but the times IÂ spent with him were always memorable.
Eddie lived in Schroon Lake, NY, a town of about 1600 year-round residents. His house was a modest little summer home, with a fire pit in the back, and a front yard with overgrown grass and wildflowers he refused to cut down. On our first trip there, Nick took me down the road to show me the "dump" he had collected dozens of beautiful antique glass bottles from, the phone numbers, names and addresses written all over the walls, and trinkets everywhere from Nick's childhood.
Nick being silly at the cabin.
Eddie's front yard.
That first trip, summer of 2011, Eddie led me, Nick and the dogs kayaking. Just a short walk down the street, and there we launched our boats. There was nothing particular captivating or exciting about this day, but even before Eddie's passing, I always remember this day as one of my favorite times with Nick. While Eddie was waves ahead of us, Nick would be cussing at Rowdy and Carat as they jumped on and off his kayak a thousand times. Eddie would slow down enough for us to catch up, and off he'd go again. I remember the strain in my arms from paddling so hard to try to keep pace with Nick and his dad, and then the relief when flowing back down the outlet we had conquered going up-stream. That night we drank beers around the fire, Nick and I drinking our cool craft beers, and Eddie drinking Keystone Light because he couldn't taste the difference, so why not?
Nick, Eddie, my mom and dad at the boat launch.
That summer we took another kayaking trip, this time my parents tagged along. This one was more slow paced, but I was very excited for my parents to visit and meet Nick's dad before we left for Colorado. Over the years, our dads tried to organize hiking trips together, but unfortunately never made it happen.
One of my favorite memories, was one that I wasn't even a part of. In August of 2013, we came home for a visit to Albany. I spent the day with friends while Nick drove up to Schroon by himself. Nick and his dad decided it was too windy to kayak, so Eddie suggested a short hike. A short hike turned into Pharoh Mountain, 8.5 miles round-trip, in which Nick hiked in steel-toed boots and tight jeans trying to keep up with his dad. Nick told me that once they reached the top, he had to undress down to his boxers while his soaking wet clothes dried on the rocks, and Eddie didn't break a sweat.
Our last hike with Eddie, was in October 2014, when Nick and I were in town to visit our wedding venue in Warrensburg, not far from Schroon. It was already getting pretty chilly up there in late October, and I remember being annoyed, though not surprised, that 25 degrees was not cold enough for Eddie to turn on the wood burning stove, the only source of heat he used in the house. In the winters, instead of turning on the heat upstairs, he would move his bedroom down into the living room where the wood burning stove was. I got dressed, drank my coffee and ate my oatmeal, all with a comforter wrapped around me until it was time to get in the car. We met up with one of Eddie's hiking friends, Sheri, and started up French Mountain. Long story short, we got lost and ended up climbing a steep service road for most of the hike (hence his nickname, "Lost Eddie"). Eddie and Sheri were way ahead of us, of course. All of that Colorado-hiking-above-elevation did us little good when trying to keep with Eddie! We eventually found our way to the top, taking some interesting detours back to the trail, and eventually finding where we went wrong.
Nick and Eddie on the trail.
Top of French Mountain.
Obviously, Nick has hundreds more memories of adventures with his dad, like biking across England when he was 12 and cross-country skiing at Lapland Lake, but I feel so fortunate to have had some of my own experiences with him. After meeting Eddie, you understand where Nick got his whacky tendencies from, as well as his natural ability to thrive outdoors.
Please treasure your loved ones, enjoy the outdoors, and be safe.
















