all photos (embiggenable)
LEFT RIST CAMP LAST EVENING TO DINE AT The Hedges, a place I have been visiting for nearly 50 years. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the property started as the Duryea Camp in 1880. For his Great Camp, Civil War General Hiram Duryea chose one of the most beautiful settings in the Adirondack Mountains on the shoreline of crystal-clear Blue Mountain Lake. After Duryea’s death the camp became “The Hedges” when it welcomed its first guests in 1921.
My then-wife and I, along with our 2 sons, sorta stumbled upon the place when we were looking for a comfy place to stay after a 5-day wilderness backpacking trip. Little did we suspect when we drove up to the rustic main lodge that our little family would be visiting the place on 40-50 occasions over the next few years.
The reason we were able to afford those visits was the fact that, thanks to the medium of photography and my pursuit thereof, I began to exhibit photos-on the walls of the 3 main lodges-made on the grounds of the camp and nearby environs. Photos which sold at a very lucrative price and in such a quantity that, whenever we visited the place, I picked up check in an amount that was greater than the cost of our stay. And the amazing thing about this arrangement is the fact that the owner of the place never took a cut of my sales.