Racers in around 275 canoes, kayaks, guideboats and stand-up paddleboards set out on the three-day journey on a segment of the 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail from Old Forge on Friday, and arrived at the end on Lake Flower in Saranac Lake on Sunday.

The third leg of the race started at 8 a.m. — as it did each day — at the Fish Creek Campground, and it didn’t take long for the first boat to reach shore.

Just a few minutes after 11 a.m., the two-person kayak team, Paddle To The Mettle, featuring 90-Miler veterans Matt Skeels and Royal McDonnell, came rolling through with the fastest time of the day. The duo has been competing in the 90-Miler for so long, they weren’t 100% sure how many they’ve done.

“It might be slightly over 10 and might be just under 10. We don’t know,” McDonell said.

Matt Skeels, left, and Royal McDonnell paddle toward the finish line of the 90-Miler boat race in Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Skeels said they were pretty happy with their time, considering there was exceedingly low water during this weekend’s race.

“I mean, it’s a shallow water year,” he said. So given that it’s a shallow water year, I think I’m happy.”

You could see the bottom a lot more than usual, McDonnell said. While they were striving for the best time possible, to them, the race is more about the community.

McDonnell, who is the son of former race organizers Brian and Grace McDonnell, says this race is the only one he isn’t willing to skip out on.

“If I didn’t train at all all year, I still wouldn’t miss, because it’s just that great,” he said. “I’d do it in pretty much any boat, either. Anything I could scrape together at the time, I’d probably run it.”

The St Lawrence Slackers, which features in no particular order Sam Voter, Regan McCarthy, Keegan Leboffe and Roy Duffy near the finish line of the 90-miler on Sunday. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

NFCT Communications Director Chris Morris said, however, special this event is to the NFCT; multiply that by a million, and that’s how special it is to the racers, their families, their pit crews and fans.

“I say this any time I talk to anybody, that in the sense that it’s timed and we’ve got competitors out there who are trying to place and set personal records and all those things, it’s just as much of an experience for most of these folks,” he said. “It’s fun to be out there. It’s fun to meet people. It turns into sort of a family reunion or the paddling community every year.”

For some, it literally was a family reunion of sorts. Paul Smith’s College alumnus, Dolcie Tanguay, competed in a C4 boat alongside fellow alumni Aidan Ripp and Timo Ziegler and current student Olivia Caprio. Her sister, Rowan, a first-year student at the college, took part in Paul Smith’s Voyeuger team, alongside Griffin Smith, Sisu Lange, Greta Dickman, Edison Byrum, Jacob Albergra and coach Matthew Dougherty.

Dolcie’s been competing in the 90-Miler for the past four years. However, this was Rowan’s first time. And she had never competed in a boat race this long or competitive before.

“So it was pretty interesting, and there are four of the first years in there, or first year paddling the 90,” Rowan said. “So it was really exciting and a really big accomplishment whenever we got down the race.”

Eileen Visser paddles with her dog during the third and final leg of the 90-miler on Sunday in Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

Several other colleges took part in this weekend’s race, including Hamilton College, SUNY Potsdam and Cornell University. Paul Smith’s College had four total boats entered in the 90-Miler and all were among the top finishers in the whole event.

“We had two boats in the same exact class, which was definitely competitive, but all in good fun,” Dolcie said.

Dolcie added that she always enjoys the 90-Miler, even though it’s a bit rough at times.

“We call it type two fun, where it’s fun some of the time in the boat, but some of the time it’s really painful,” she said. “But then afterward, it’s really fun when you think back on it. It does get easier every time, so that was nice. This year wasn’t too bad.”

The race started Friday morning at the Old Forge Public Beach and ended in Blue Mountain Lake. On Saturday, racers paddled from Bissell’s Field, about 2.5 miles south of the Long Lake Bridge, to the Raquette River in Tupper Lake. Sunday started at Fish Creek and ended at Lake Flower.

Team 90Eeznuts’ Chris Gaige, left, and Lewis MacMillan near the finish line of the 90-miler. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

While the weather forecast ahead of the event was a bit all over the place, Morris thought the weather held up well.

“Day one was absolutely gorgeous. The wind didn’t bother us like we thought,” he said. “Day two was cold; we had to warm some people up at the finish line. We had some rain, but the sun did come out at the end. Today, day three, a couple sprinkles (of rain), but the wind is holding off for us, and the finish line atmosphere is as good as it’s been since the NFCT took over.”

This weekend, also celebrated the NFCT’s 25th anniversary. The organization took over the operations for the race — from the McDonnells — in 2021.

“To be able to mark 25 years of the NFC team with the 90-Miler is pretty cool,” Morris said. “It’s more or less the first 90 miles of the canoe trail, then detours off here and there. But we always like to tell folks that you did the first 90, so you can hit up the rest, whatever that equates to, the other 650 (miles), if you’re feeling it.”

The 90-Miler race revenue is directed back into stewardship, maintenance and access projects on the Adirondack sections of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail and adjacent waterways.

From left, Paul Smith’s College’s Aidan Ripp, Dolcie Tanguay, Olivia Caprio and Timo Ziegler paddle toward the finish line of the 90-Miler boat race in Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

“This race and ‘Round the Mountain is funding our stewardship work here in New York, and even into Vermont,” Morris said. “The very following season, we’re out on the canoe trail, we’re out on the waterways, the campsites, the portages, making them safer, improving the access and making sure we’re doing whatever we can to protect the environment around those places. All of these racers here are helping us, view our work next year, essentially.”

Revenue also supports the Northern Forest Explorers Scholarship Fund, which helps pay for kids aged 10 to 15 to participate in week-long canoe camping trips hosted by local guides.

Full race results will be in Tuesday’s Enterprise.