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.

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.  

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.

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. 

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.

 

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.

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.

Paddling on Cranberry Lake

Four of us did a nice 8.5 mile paddle on part of Cranberry Lake today.  We put in at the site in Wanakena that is marked on the Paddling Map, which was farther downstream than we had been before.  There was very little place to park cars and when we took the boats out at the end they were covered with foam generated by the rapids nearby.  It is better to put in further along where the land narrows on Ranger School Road.  The weather was iffy, but other than a few showers was actually quite nice with very little wind.  Sun would have been better, but I'll take the calm water over sunshine any time.  And the fires out west are causing haze here in the east, so even if it hadn't been cloudy, it probably would not have been a bright sunny day.  We stopped at campsite 42 for lunch, then found that site 43 looked even nicer, with a nice picnic area somewhat removed from the campsite.  We kept going around Flatiron Point and explored the islands a bit, then crossed over to go past campsites 27 and 28 before heading back to the cars.

Paddling Lake Clear

We did a new paddle today, putting into the Lake Clear Outlet off Forest Home Road, at the bottom of the map.  The put-in is 0.7 mile from Route 30.  We paddled through the outlet and under the road into Lake Clear.  We paddled across the lake to the Girl Scout Camp where one of our group had arranged for us to stop and have lunch on their picnic tables.  The camp won't be open until next month.  Then we returned to the cars for a total of six miles.

Paddling South Creek to Second Pond

We did one of our favorite paddles with the group today.  We dropped off the boats at South Creek and shuttled the cars to Second Pond.  Then paddled down South Creek  

into Middle Saranac Lake, then down the river and through the Upper Locks into Lower Saranac Lake.  Since it is a holiday, there was lots of boat traffic and we had to wait our turn to get through the locks.  And most of the campsites were taken, so it took a while to find a place to stop for lunch.  We finally stopped at site 43 on the northwest shore where I don't think I had been before.  Here is the view from the lunch spot.

Then across the lake and down into First Pond then Second Pond.  Someone said we paddled about 8 miles.  Given how much rain we have had recently, we were very happy with the gorgeous weather.

Paddling Long Pond

The two of us had a great paddle today.   We put into Long Pond off Floodwood Road, using wheels on my boat for the first time.  They worked very well on the 1/3 mile carry to the lake, shown to the left on the map.

We paddled into Pink Pond, shown on the left on the map.

 

We tried to get into Little Pink but it was blocked by a beaver dam.  We were able to get up the stream at the top of the map before being stopped by downed trees.  By the time we got back to the main part of the lake the winds had picked up so we headed back to the carry.  The squiggles at the bottom right show us stopping at campsite 14 and scrambling along the shore to get a look at the rapids on the small brook there.

Here is a sample of the wildflowers in bloom: swamp laurel lined the shores in many places (Kalmia angustifolia in the Ericaceae), the first rose pogonia (Pogonia ophioglossoides in the Orchidaceae) we have seen, iris a bit past their prime (Iris versicolor in the Iridaceae), and a marvelous nurse log covered with sundews (Drosera rotundifolia in the Droseraceae).

Summer Solstice Picnic and Paddle

The group met again at campsite 62 on Second Pond for a Summer Solstice picnic.  Since we had to use our boats to get there, we did a short 3 mile paddle up Cold Brook and back before joining the group.  A huge downed hemlock blocked our way about 1/4 mile up the brook but it was a nice quiet paddle.  There were lots of motor boats on their way to and from the locks so we didn't go any farther on the river.

Paddling Follensby Clear to Fish Creek

We did a short but fun paddle today, only about 3.5 miles.  The winds were forecasted to rise during the day, so we decided to paddle early, arriving at the southern put-in on Follensby Clear about 8 AM.  We paddled to the carry to Fish Creek and carried the boats separately so it was easy.  Then we put back in at the end of the carry on Fish Creek

and headed down the creek.

We paddled through Fish Creek Ponds and past the Omega cabin where we used to stay.  Then up Spyder Creek, which was a bit of a challenge because the beavers had been busy so we paddled up a short waterfall that had opened up in a dam.  It took me two tries, but I made it.  Then under the road and back to the car.  The winds were picking up so we didn't paddle any more in Follensby Clear.