Paddling Summary 2011

Today was our last paddle of the season, since we leave for NJ on Friday. Here is a summary of the 26 paddles we did this year.
Hoel Pond
Stony Creek Ponds and Ampersand Brook
Weller Pond
Upper Osgood River
Little Tupper Lake
Floodwood/Rollins Loop
North Branch Moose River
Indian Lake
Round Lake
Six Carries
Oswegatchie River
Lower Saranac Lake from Ampersand Bay
Middle Branch St Regis River
Rainbow Lake
Quebec Brook
Taylor Pond
Kunjamuk River
Long Lake
Schroon River
Kushaqua Lake
Ampersand Bay to Lake Flower
Tupper Lake to Bridge Brook Pond
Bog River
South Creek to Second Pond - twice
Raquette Lake to Forked Lake

Paddling Raquette Lake to Forked Lake

Today the group put in at the town of Raquette Lake and paddled up the lake to the carry into Forked Lake and then paddled to the campground at the east end of Forked Lake, for a total of about 10 miles paddling and 1/2 mile portage.This completes another section in our quest to paddle the navigable portions of the Raquette River.

Paddling from South Creek to Second Pond

Today we took Carol and Larry on one of our favorite paddles. They had not realized there were locks nearby and were excited to go through one. It was a beautiful Saturday but since it is after Labor Day we figured there wouldn't be too much traffic. There were a few motor boats, but not enough to spoil the trip. We even got a parking spot at South Creek. We of course had to climb up to the bluff on Bluff Island for lunch and they really enjoyed that too. While I was waiting at Second Pond for W to return with the car, I took this photo looking south from the bridge.

Paddling the Bog River

It was another beautiful day so the two of us put our boats in at Lows Lower Dam and paddled to Hitchins Pond. A lot of other folks had the same idea and there were lots of cars at the put in. We also met many boats on the water. If we go to Lows Lake to camp next year, we'll have to wait a bit later in the season. We initially thought of heading at least partway to Lows Lake, but now that we are paddling tomorrow as well (see the next post), we decided not to go further. We did explore all around Hitchins Pond which we had never done before, for a total paddle of about 8 miles. While we were on shore having our lunch we saw this neat cloud formation over the trees.

Paddling Tupper Lake and Bridge Brook Pond

Today just the two of us paddled on Tupper Lake and into Bridge Brook Pond, where we'd never paddled before.We put in at Rock Island Bay (at the lower right on the map) and paddled across the lake to Bridge Brook. Then we portaged our boats into Bridge Brook Pond. This satellite view from google shows how full of vegetation the upper portion of the pond is. So we could not get as far as we had hoped. But it was still a neat explore. The entire trip was about 8.5 miles.

There were lots of frogs around the pond, including this one that was so big and so still he could have been made of bronze.And I got a good view of a large beaver who slapped his tail and dove when I got near. There were lots of water plants around the edges with these neat fruits, but I don't know what they are.

Paddling from Ampersand Bay to Lake Flower

Twelve of us put in at Ampersand Bay on the east end of Lower Saranac Lake and paddled about 11 miles through First and Second Ponds, through the lower locks on the Saranac River, through Oseetah Lake, and into Lake Flower where we took out at the boat dock. It was a beautiful day.

Paddling Kushaqua Lake

10 of us paddled about 7 miles on Kushaqua, not an easy thing to do given its relatively small size. But we did some back and forth looking for a good place for lunch. Another beautiful day, though it is finally getting a bit cool. I actually wore a jacket for much of the paddle.

Paddling the Schroon River

We checked off another river on the Paddler's Pursuit today. We went with Al and Jini and planned to paddle the portion of the Schroon River north of Schroon Lake. But lots of signs at that put-in on Rt 74 just east of the northway made it sound as though you could only put in if you were fishing and the tone of the signs made us reluctant to leave a car there. So instead of doing a one-way trip, we drove to the south end of the lake and put in at a state boat launch there. We paddled about 3.5 miles downstream then turned around and paddled back. There were camps along much of the route and the noise from the highway made the trip less pleasant than it might have been. Quite sure we won't be going back.

Paddling Long Lake

We led a paddle of the southern portion of Long Lake today. We paddled about 9 miles from the put-in at the northern end of the carry around Buttermilk Falls up to have lunch on the beach by the bridge, and then back again. After the paddle we drove down the road a bit and walked in to Buttermilk Falls.We hadn't been there in years. There are even nice picnic tables nestled down in the rocks. We definitely need to go back.

Paddling the Kunjamuk

Six of us had a nice paddle on the Kunjamuk River today. We launched off Route 30 at the "x" on the map at a put-in just past the parking area with picnic tables.We paddled across the bay and up the river to Elm Lake and back again for a total of about 8 miles. There were many beaver dams and W did a great job helping everyone and their boats over them on the way upstream. Then we got some good rides going over the dams on the way back. There were lots of things in bloom including pickerel weed,the neat buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis in the Rubiaceae), and lots and lots of cardinal flowers.

Paddling Taylor Pond

We paddled a new body of water today - Taylor Pond. It is on the Paddle Pursuit, which we're still sort of trying to complete. So it seemed like a good choice for yet another gorgeous, calm day. Though the pond seems small, we managed to paddle nearly 9 miles, so that was plenty. This view is courtesy of Google Earth and gives some idea of the surrounding mountains. Taylor Pond would be a great place to go at the height of fall colors. And if we take a group in, we'll have to remember that those of us 62 and over don't have to pay the day-use fee.

Paddling Quebec Brook

We led a 14-person paddle on Quebec Brook today.We drove in about 6 miles from Route 458 on a rough but passable road. Then we drove down a very narrow road used by the hunting camps all the way to the shore, marked by an "x" on the map, and put in there.We paddled up Quebec Brook to the end of the western branch and back again for a total of about 7.5 miles. I had hoped to explore Madawaska Pond as well, but the winds were very strong as we were coming back, so we were all very tired by the time we got back to the cars. Next time I'd like to park in the parking area on the road and carry the boats the mile to the put-in by the dam, marked with an "O" on the map. Then paddle around the pond and get out where we did today, carrying back up to the car. That should be doable with the light-weight boats and includes nice walks along with the paddle.

Paddling Rainbow Lake

Nine of us had a nice paddle on Rainbow Lake today. We had never been there because of the motor boats, but we only saw a couple so we will definitely go back. The red line marks the route we took, for a total of about 8.5 miles, starting at the bridge on the northeast end of the lake.We'd like to explore the Flow off to the northwest next time.

Paddling the Middle Branch of the St Regis River

The weather has cooled, with it forecast to get only into the mid-70's today, so we decided to go paddling even though it is a summer weekend. We just had to choose someplace relatively far away and isolated, and we succeeded. We had the beautiful river to ourselves, as we did 3 years ago when we paddled it..There were lots of cardinal flowers in bloom. And this time we found a nice place for lunch. It is a former house site on a rise above the river before it really starts meandering. We marked it on the GPS for future reference. This was our view as we ate lunch. The water was higher than last time so we got farther up the rapids. We think we found the take out for the portage, but it was very grown over so we headed back downstream and found a spot along the shore to get out and stretch.
Our wildlife sitings included a bald eagle, several great blue herons (or one seen several times), a couple of otters, and a flock of kingfishers.

Then this evening we drove to Lake Placid for the Sinfonietta concert. A very good day.

Paddling Lower Saranac Lake

We did a leisurely paddle around the Ampersand Bay end of Lower Saranac Lake today - out around Eagle Island and back. W even went swimming. Then we all went to John and Susan's for a yummy potluck dinner and birthday cake for John. Good times with good friends.

Paddling the Oswegatchie

We hosted today's paddle on the Oswegatchie. We put in at Inlet, past Wanakena, and paddled to High Rock for lunch then returned, for a total of about 7 miles. The water was significantly lower than a couple weeks ago when we checked it out so paddling upstream was not too difficult. We saw our first cardinel flowers of the summer, and lots of other things were in bloom. After the paddle, the group came to our place for snacks and brownie sundaes. Another great day.

Paddling the Six Carries Route

Lots of socializing this week. AA&J left Tuesday; yesterday we drove up to the St Lawrence to visit at Jean's camp; today we paddled the 6 carries route in the St Regis Canoe area with some of the usual group. This was the first time we had done the 6 carries route with our light-weight boats. What a difference. I actually viewed the carries as a chance to walk in the woods, though the mosquitos were annoying. These maps show the route, from the bottom of the second one to the top of this one, from Little Clear to the take-out at Paul Smith's College on Lower St Regis Lake.I didn't take a map along so I quickly lost track of the names of the lakes, but on one of them there were lots of large sundew in bloom, though I didn't get a photo of the tiny flowers.There were also lots of rose pagonia orchids.

Paddling Round Lake

Yet another beautiful, still day. And another group paddle, this time on Round Lake.

Paddling Indian Lake

Another beautiful day. The usual group paddled an 11 mile loop on Indian Lake. The water was beautifully still. We even paddled by a waterfall that comes in on the west side.

Paddling South Creek to Second Pond

We had a nice one-way paddle today from South Creek to Second Pond. We lunched on Bluff Island as usual.