At Camp

We drove to camp last Monday, to visit for a while before a planned New Years Eve party.  While we were on the road we got a call that the party had been cancelled due to Covid.  It was the right call, but we were still disappointed.  The weather has been very mild and gray.  Last evening we went to see the lights at the Wild Center - the lighted twig sculpture

and the lights and music in another part of the campus.

We will drive back to New Jersey tomorrow in time for the Zoom call that is replacing the in-person party.

Quilt 73

 Rainbow of Jewels

A Paddling Adventure in New Jersey

Today's high was 67 degrees with 10-15 mph winds.  We wanted to paddle but didn't want a super long drive and needed to stay out of the wind.  We decided to try the Barnegat division of the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.  It is farther north than the Brigantine division we have paddled in the past, putting in at Scott's Landing.  Google maps showed what might be a good place to put in at the end of Stafford Avenue in Manahawkin.  But when we got there the road was closed and possibly will be in the future.  Then we tried Beach Ave but a large gate stopped us well before the marsh.  We finally put in at the Barnegat Township Municipal Dock and headed south into the marsh.  We paddled about 6 1/3 miles.

After the paddle we had a nice dinner on the patio of Sun Harbor Seafood and Grill right near the dock.

Back in New Jersey

We have been back in New Jersey three weeks now and have spent many hours in doctors appointments and house repair.  Today was our first New Jersey Symphony concert, which was marvelous.  And our seats in Box K in the first tier at NJPAC are about as far removed from everyone else as one could be so we felt very safe Covid-wise.  Then we got to watch this marvelous sunset on the way home.

Hiking in Cheesequake Park

We took a somewhat abbreviated hike in Cheesequake Park today.  We had planned to hike the 3-mile green trail and started off on it.

But by the time we got to the intersection of what is called Museum Road, I decided that 3 miles would be a bit much.  I am out of shape for all the hills involved and it got warmer than expected - 75 degrees.  So we turned onto the road instead of continuing on the trail and it was still a nice place to walk.  And I could put away my hiking poles since there weren't any roots to trip on.

We walked a total of 2.4 miles.

2021 Paddle Summary

We did 27 paddles this year.

• Blue Mountain Lake
• Bog River to Hitchins Pond
• Cedar River
• Cranberry Lake from State Campground
• Cranberry Lake from Wanakena
•  Floodwood to Polliwog
• Follensby Clear to Fish Creek
• Forked Lake and Brandreth Lake Outlet
• Indian Lake
• Lake Clear from the beach
• Lake Clear from the Outlet
• Long Pond
• Race Day Paddle near Lake Flower
• Rainbow Lake
• Raquette Lake to Blue Mountain Lake
• Raquette Lake west shore
• Raquette River from Axton to Crusher
• Round Lake
• Rollins/Floodwood Loop
• Saranac River
• Saranac River cleanup
• Second Pond to Lake Flower
• South Creek to Second Pond
• South Pond
• Stony Creek Ponds to Axton
• Summer Solstice on Second Pond
• Upper Osgood

Final Paddle of the Season

We paddled 8 miles today.  We put into Floodwood Pond off Floodwood Road and paddled down Fish Creek, through Fish Creek Ponds, down Spider Creek, paddled the length of Follensby Clear, carried into Polliwog and paddled back to the cars we had shuttled there.  The weather was great with temperature in the upper 60's and very little wind.   But it was quite cloudy so I didn't take any photos.  There were two things of note.  We had been told there were beaver dams in Spider Creek, but the real thing was quite impressive.  There were two dams and each one had a large lodge at each end, without much space in between.  I should have taken a photo but getting the eight of us over the dams was time consuming enough that I didn't really get a chance.  In each case we managed to skooch or be pulled over spots that had water flowing over them around the side.  I imagine the beavers will have those spots filled in short order.  We will have to remember not to paddle there so late in the season.  The other item of note was the large number of juvenile loons gathered together in Follensby Clear.  We counted 17.  The parents have already left and I guess the younger ones are getting ready to follow.

We head back to New Jersey on Saturday.

Paddling Bog River to Hitchins Pond

We had a great turnout of 19 people at our annual paddle and picnic today.  A great time was had by all and the weather was spectacular - sunny with temps in the upper 60's.

Paddling South Pond

We did another paddle today that we had never done before.  We parked at a pullout along Route 30 south of Long Lake and slid our boats down a steep grassy bank then walked them through the woods to the shore of South Pond.  It is fairly small - we paddled the circumference and stopped at a campsite on one of the islands for lunch and only paddled just under 5 miles.  But the water was glassy and the autumn colors spectacular so it was a great paddle.

 

The Loons Have Left

We paddled Lake Clear again today, hoping to see rafts of loons getting ready to migrate.  But we were too late.  The water was calm so we had good views of the entire lake as we paddled about 4 1/4 miles around it.  But we never saw a loon.

We were also leaf-peeping since the color is at its height.  And we were not disappointed.

Paddling Raquette Lake to Blue Mountain Lake

I didn't do this paddle but figured I should keep a record of it.  I have a sinus infection and couldn't imagine taking on such a rigorous paddle.  But W went and it is a good thing he did, since he had to pull folks over the beaver dam in the Marion River.  They had a good time but he was exhausted at the end.

Paddling Indian Lake

We had a beautiful fall paddle today.  The leaves are starting to turn and the temperatures as well, starting at about 40 degrees with lots of neat fog on the drive, and ending with bright sunshine and 73 degrees.  We put in at the boat ramp at the Indian Lake Islands Campground.  This was the first time we had been there.

It was very calm as we started out.

We headed down the southern arm and stopped at campsite 45 for an early lunch.  Then we paddled about a mile farther south then headed back for a total of about 9.5 miles.

Hiking by Fish Creek

Today we parked by the boat dock on Fish Creek and walked up through the camp sites towards Floodwood Pond, walking on the red trail.  Where it crosses the portage from Follensby Clear to Fish Creek, we walked east on the portage to get to the blue trail.  We had hoped to follow it by Horseshoe Pond then up to Polliwog Pond as marked on the paddler's map.  But it petered out not too far after the first glimpse of Horseshoe Pond.  We finally gave up and took a shortcut back to the red trail and walked some more of it towards Floodwood before turning around, walking a total of about 3.5 miles.

Paddling from Second Pond to Lake Flower

We did the 6 mile paddle without a break since the property along the second half of the paddle is all private.  So we had lunch at the take-out in Saranac Lake.  

Hiking More of the Rail Trail

Today's explore started at Floodwood Road and headed south.   The surface was much worse than the other sections we walked, and we won't be going back again until the trail is finished.  It was very rough large gravel most of the way.  We walked on Paradise Lane where we could even though it is a private road, because the trail was so rough.

 

But we made it all the way to Rollins Pond, for a round-trip total of about 4.5 miles.

Attending a Race Party

Today was the last day of the 90-miler race so we went to the home of friends who live on the route in Saranac Lake.  We expected others to join us in paddling part of the route, but none did initially.  Three others eventually paddled a short way.  Many of the boats were taking the shortcut between the shore and the island so we could not go that way and then found it difficult to maneuver through them down the more narrow section.  So the two of us explored a marsh nearby then went back to the party and enjoyed several hours with friends.

Hiking by the West Branch of the Ausable River

We hiked today along the flume in Wilmington.  I'm sure I've taken these photos before but it is always nice to revisit favorite spots.  We had expected there to be more water, given all the rain we have been having.  Then we played miniature golf in Lake Placid.

Walking More of the New Bike Trail

This morning we explored the Tupper Lake end of the soon-to-be bike trail.   I didn't keep track of the distance but we started from the train station and walked to the point where the nice meandering stream crossed under the tracks.  Much of the distance after the rails end could be ridden with a trail bike.  But where we turned around at the culvert was very large gravel that was hard to walk on and would be difficult to ride over.  We were intrigued by the stacks of cans near the station.  And there were many empties nearby.  It was a shock to read the label on the lid and discover they were full of railroad spikes.  What a strange way to transport them.

Paddling Cranberry Lake

We did another paddle on Cranberry Lake today, this time starting from the State Campground beach.  We paddled seven miles round trip, heading south along the campground then east toward Bear Mountain and Brandy Brook Flows.  It was quite windy so we didn't want to go further because the paddle back would be so difficult.  If anything, the winds were worse going out, but we were still plenty tired by the time we got back to the cars. 

Hiking at the VIC

We had a marvelous 4-mile hike in the VIC today.  We walked our usual Boreal Life Trail, then explored the longer Heron Marsh Trail where we had never been before.  Here is a perfect pitcher from boardwalk on the Boreal Life Trail.

And colorful mushrooms.

 

This is a view of the Heron Marsh from the trail. 

Paddling the Raquette River

Twelve of us paddled about 7 miles on the Raquette River from Axton Landing to the Crusher, stopping at a campsite for lunch.

 

Walking the New Bike Trail

We had a great explore on the rail trail today.  We walked 3.5 miles round trip, starting near Little Green Pond, west of Little Clear Pond, and walking to Hoel Pond and back.  Most of the surface was fine for walking, but wouldn't be great for biking yet.  A trail bike would work a lot better than my hybrid.  There are soft spots and things like small pieces of railroad tie that would need to be avoided.

There were lots of Lycopodium in one section.

Paddling the Saranac River

We paddled 11 miles on the very full Saranac River today.  We put in at Pine Street in Saranac Lake and paddled to a take-out just before the permanent rapids off River Road outside of Bloomingdale.  We were happy to see lots of cardinal flowers in bloom.  While the final third of the paddle was very peaceful and nice, the beginning was very noisy, not only from traffic on the road but from a constant racket from the Trudeau Quarry on the hillside above the road.  Not sure we will be paddling there again.

Paddling Round Lake

The rain finally stopped enough for us to do a paddle today.  And the winds were light as well, a perfect time to paddle on Round Lake.  It was quite cloudy when we started out, which was fine because the temperature was supposed to get into the 80's.

The water was so high many of the water lily pads were submerged, and the beach at the end of the lake was mostly under water.

The winds were mostly calm, though we had a bit of a tailwind going back down the lake.

After seeing how much water was rushing over the dam at the end of Round Lake, on the way home we decided to check out Bog River Falls, which had spring-like levels.

Paddling Blue Mountain Lake

Nine of us paddled the circumference of Blue Mountain Lake today, for a total of about 6.5 miles.  There was no wind so the water was like glass.  But I didn't take many photos because it was so hazy, apparently from the wildfires out west again.  Then we had a nice lunch at the new dinner in Blue Mountain Lake.

Quilt 72

This one is appropriately called "Antelope Canyon."

 

Paddling from Forked Lake up the Brandreth Lake Outlet

We had a great paddle today.  We put into Forked Lake at the canoe carry from Raquette Lake and repeated the paddle we did last year.  We paddled up the Brandreth Lake Outlet.

The tree we had to maneuver under last time had been cut out, but we still had to get out of the boats and carry around it, but it was easy to do.  And this time the water was so high we got all the way to the rapids.  This isn't a great photo, but was the best I could do since the water was pushing us backwards at a great rate.

Then a beautiful paddle back to the lake and to the landing for a total of 6.7 miles.

The campsite we stopped at last time was occupied but we found another one on the north shore that we marked on the map.  And a nice one on the south shore also.  We actually ate lunch where we had to get out of the boats to get around the downed trees.