All through August I’d been getting the itch to do some bike camping but was booked solid every weekend. Like many of you I’m sure, I had ambitious plans for the Saga and camping this summer but only got out for a handful of trips. With the camp-able weather in Vermont dwindling faster than Garfield can find pizza, I knew I had to get out there soon. Luckily, a few crazy friends of mine decided halfway through the summer that they wanted to throw a music festival in the Adirondacks: The Otis Mountain Get Down.
The Get Down took place this past weekend, September 13-15 in Elizabethtown, NY – about 40 miles from Burlington. Now I’m not much of a festival type, in fact, I’ve never been to a music festival before. I had never heard of any of the bands on the bill either, except a couple friends who were DJing. But how can you turn down a weekend long camp out, especially when all your best friends are going? I wasn’t about to miss this.
I took Friday off in anticipation of some absolute last minute packing (which actually wasn’t the case, this time) and to give myself ample time to get across the lake before sundown. While I did indeed pack the night before, I still had a number of errands to run that morning, so I didn’t leave Burlington ’til around 2 PM.
Getting to the Essex-Charlotte ferry was cake. Once I hit New York though, sheesh, the hills started to take their toll on me. I still made it to Otis mountain by 5:30 or so, and that’s with a few stops along the way. I even rode the last few miles with a bunch of beer and 2 gallons of water that I somehow managed to strap to my overloaded bike.
The festival itself was great! I enjoyed the majority of the music and I got to hang with so many friends I seldom get to see. Plus, I was outdoors for a whole 48 hours which doesn’t happen enough these days. I also got to ride back with my good buddy Matt, another friend I hadn’t seen in ages.
Make sure to check out the narrated photos from the trip below!
-B
Lake Champlain was very choppy on the way out and water kept splashing up on the deck. Luckily the ferries have a covered section that kept me dry as was on the verge of raining all day.
The Boombotix REX kept me company.
Made it and successfully avoided the approaching rain.
Nick brought Salmon.
Some wook swiped my lantern. Oh well, hopefully they still have these for cheap at OGE.
There were SO MANY TENTS.
We explored Otis Mountain a bit and Nick found a tree house.
Erickson, deep in thought.
#Lightbro
The festival was very family-oriented and had quite the age range during the day.
I was one of the last to leave after cruising into town for a massive breakfast. If you’re ever in Elizabethtown, NY be sure to check out the Arsenal Inn Restaurant – the breakfast is super cheap and very good!
A little joke – you know, just trying to save some weight here on the ‘ole touring bike. It’s also the only spare bottle cage I had and I’m always forgetting to replace it.
