2014 Paddling Summary

Here is the summary of the 16 paddles I did in our abbreviated stay this year.
Ampersand Bay to Lake Flower
Bog River to Hitchens Pond and beyond
Dead Creek Flow
Floodwood Rollins loop
Floodwood to Polliwog
Hoel, Turtle, Slang, Long
Lake Clear
Little Tupper
Long Lake
Long Pond
Lower Osgood
Middle Saranac to Weller Pond
North Branch of Moose River
Oswegatchie River
Raquette River from Axton Landing to the falls
Raquette River from the Crusher to Follensby Pond

Paddling From Floodwood to Polliwog

We took our final paddle of the season today.  We plus J and C spotted a car on Floodwood Road at Polliwog Pond then put the boats in on Floodwood Pond and paddled down Fish Creek and around through Follensby Clear then portaged into Polliwog for a total of 8 miles.

Paddling the Bog River

The two of us paddled about 12 miles on the Bog River today.  We put in above Low's Lower Dam, carried around the Upper Dam, and paddled about 3 miles further upstream, then returned.  It was another beautiful day.

A mid-paddle siesta

Paddling Hoel, Turtle, Slang, Long Ponds

We had a good Labor Day with friends today.  We put into Hoel Pond and paddled through Turtle and Slang and carried to Long Pond.  We had intended to picnic at one of the campsites on Long Pond, but the near ones were full so we headed back to the carry for lunch then retraced our steps.  We finished the paddle at the camp of friends on Hoel Pond and had brownie sundaes for dessert.  Yum.

Paddling Little Tupper

We had a wonderful paddle today.  The winds were forecasted to be calm, so the two of us headed for Little Tupper Lake.  We paddled 14 miles, taking most of the day with several stops.

It was nice to take the time to explore for a change instead of being with the group.  The weather forecast was correct and the still waters were beautiful.

Paddling the Oswegatchie

We led a paddle on the Oswegatchie River today.  We put in at Inlet off route 3 west of Wanakena and paddled to High Rock where we had lunch

with a great view

The group came to our camp for snacks afterwards.  It was nice to see everyone.

Paddling "Round the Mountain"

The group paddled 10.5 miles today, from Ampersand Bay on Lower Saranac to the park on Lake Flower in Saranac Lake.

This is one of our favorite views, looking south from Second Pond.

We went through the locks on the right; not over the dam.

Another Raquette River Paddle

Today we paddled another section of the Raquette River.  We put in at the "crusher" access point, at the top of this map, and paddled upstream, toward the bottom of the map, and back again for a total of about 10 miles.

 Among the many sites are interesting, undermined tree roots.

The cardinal flowers are in bloom

and there was LOTS of pickerel weed.

We decided to see how close we could get to Follensby Pond, at the bottom of the map, which has been acquired by the Nature Conservancy but is not yet open to the public.  As can be seen on the map, the area is quite overgrown so we paddled a very serpentine track for over a mile to get to the dam that marks the beginning of the lake.

Paddling the North Branch of the Moose River

We had a great paddle today - 12 miles down the North Branch of the Moose River.  We put in off Rondaxe Road in Old Forge and took out at Mountain Man where cars had been left.  The gelato at the ice cream place in Inlet on the way home was good too.  The only down side is that we drove about 2 hours each way, but the paddle was worth it.

Paddling Middle Saranac and Weller

The two of us paddled about 9 miles today.  We put in at South Creek

paddled through Middle Saranac Lake

and into Little Weller where we saw this amazing sight.  We couldn't tell what we were seeing so we got closer than we should have to this loon on a nest, which was trying to look like a log.  We backed off as soon as we realized what it was, but I got a great telephoto shot.

Then we paddled into Weller Pond and explored, lunching at campsite 85.  The white water lilies (Nymphaea odorata in the Nymphaeaceae) are in bloom

and so are the pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata in the Pontederiaceae).

Paddle to Raquette Falls

Just the two of us put in at Axton Landing and paddled upstream to Raquette Falls and back, for a total of 12 miles.

We saw lots of ducklings, including many baby mergansers.  Can you tell how many are in this picture?  We never did get an accurate count.

Paddling Long Lake

We had a beautiful paddle today.  The weather was perfect with bright sun, moderate temperatures, and little wind.  We put in at the beach on Long Lake and paddled south to the carry and then back for a total of 9.5 miles.

While exploring a stream we came across lots of these flowers.  The common name is Swamp Smartweed,  Polygonum coccineum in the Polygonaceae.

Paddling from Wanakena into Dead Creek Flow

Cindy and I started in Wanakena and paddled down river and into Dead Creek Flow.  I hadn't remembered how large the bodies of water are, but the wind cooperated so it was not a problem.  We made it to campsite 39 and then turned around for a total of about 9 miles.  I used the GPS, but this sign must be handy for some folks.

Paddling Long Pond

Fourteen of us paddled Long Pond today.  We thought we might make it into Slang and Turtle Ponds as well, but ended up paddling nearly 9 miles just around Long Pond.  Since the water is fairly high, we paddled into Pink and Little Pink ponds and up the stream towards Mountain Pond.

It was a beautiful day though quite warm in the mid-80's by the time we stopped.  We didn't have much bug trouble except initially in the parking lot and the carry where there were huge numbers of mosquitos.

I found some new plants.  Wild Calla or Water Arum (Calla palustris in the Araceae)

and a beautiful member of the gentian family - common name buckbean (Menyanthes trifoliata in the Gentianaceae).

Paddling the Rollins, Floodwood, Fish Creek Loop

We had a nice nearly 8 mile paddle today, plus a walk.  We drove into the Rollins Pond campground and parked at the boat launch.  We had to pay a day use fee of $8.  We had thought we could show a property tax statement to prove we pay taxes in NY, but you must have NY license plates on your vehicle in order to avoid the fee.  We put the boats into Rollins Pond and checked out camp Woodlure that was built in the 1920's by W's great, great uncle.

Then we paddled into Floodwood, down Fish Creek, through Square and stopped at an empty campsite where we parked the boats.  We then walked about 1 1/2 miles back to the car and drove back to pick up the boats.  This is a route we used to do when we had the heavy tandem boat and didn't want to portage it.  It was nice to do it again, since we like paddling the length of Fish Creek. 

We weren't bothered by bugs as long as we stayed away from shore.  But as soon as we got close to shore we were surrounded by black flies.  So we didn't make as many stops as we would have liked.  We saw some hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium in the Caprifoliaceae) in bloom alongside the road.

Memorial Day Paddle and Picnic

We had a great paddle on the Lower Osgood River today.  It was showery to start but the skies later cleared and the bugs weren't too bad.  I saw marsh marigolds (Caltha palustris in the Ranunculaceae) for the first time in the Adirondacks.

And bog rosemary (Andromeda glaucophylla in the Ericaceae).  

And the many blueberries along the shore were in bloom as well.

Then we had a pot luck with our paddling friends - 24 in all.  A great way to start the season.

First Paddle of the Season

We paddled on Lake Clear for the first time today.  Since we have a long paddle tomorrow, we did not go as far as we could have into Mill Pond, but we still traveled about 6 miles.

It is a beautiful day with temps in the low 70's and no bugs to speak of.  We're not sure if they are already gone, haven't started biting yet, or just will be less of a problem this year after the hard winter.  I guess time will tell.