Paddling the Saranac River

We had a great paddle with friends on the Saranac River.  Instead of starting in Saranac Lake we drove north on Route 3 and put in at a spot that is north of the Moose Pond trailhead and south of the school bus garage.  It is where there is a small parking area at a private bridge over the river and a portage that can be used when the water is too high to paddle under the bridge.  We paddled about five miles to the high water take out above the rapids where we had parked cars.  We much preferred paddling just that section of the river since we avoided all the noise from the quarry and most of the road noise.  Then we went to Teddy's in Bloomingdale for ice cream, but found they didn't open until 2:00.  So we drove on in to Saranac Lake and stopped at Mountain Mist instead.  

Paddling Carry Falls Reservoir

Today's paddle was about 6.5 miles on Carry Falls Reservoir.  We put in at the Parmeter site and paddled down the Raquette River until it got too rocky.  Then we turned around and went up the lake.  We stopped on the shore for lunch.  It wasn't hard to find a sandy spot since the water level is so low.

 

On the way back south we paddled into the Jordan River, but didn't get very far.   At this end it is a pile of rocks with a bit of water running through.

Paddling on Upper Saranac Lake

Today's winds were forecast to be light so we headed for Saranac Inn and the boat launch at the northern part of Upper Saranac Lake.  We did nearly the same paddle we did two years ago.  The lake and the mountains were beautiful, not that you can tell much from this photo.

We followed the northern shore and tried to get up Hatchery Brook, but again there was too much vegetation to get very far.  So then we tried the outlet to Black Pond and made it all the way to the bridge.

We stopped at campsite 2 on Green Island for lunch.

Then back to the landing for a total paddling distance of about 6 3/4 miles.

Aborted Paddle up the Brandreth Lake Outlet

Six of us put in to Forked Lake at the carry from Raquette Lake and headed west to the Brandreth Lake Outlet, hoping to go upstream quite a way as we did last year.  But not far upstream we encountered a large beaver dam with no way around or over it.

I swear the beavers are getting more and more active.  Maybe they like the warmer weather.  Anyway we gave up and paddled back into Forked Lake.  We stopped for lunch at a campsite on the southern shore about half way between the outlet and where we put in.  The site is on the shore to the right of this photo.

 

As the picture shows, it was quite cloudy, but very still.  After lunch we kept going east, past the put in and hoped to get all the way to where the Raquette River flows in.  But I had an appointment later in the afternoon and needed to get back so we turned around before reaching the river.  We paddled a total of about 6 3/4 miles.

Paddling Upper St Regis Lake

We paddled about 8 miles today.  We put in at the St Regis Carry road off route 30 and circumnavigated Upper St Regis Lake.  It turned out to be a longer paddle than I expected, so I cut short some of the paddles into the smaller bays, but it was still the longest I have paddled so far.  The great camps were as amazing as always.  This was a small building belonging to a camp with an Asian flair.

 

We paddled into North Bay, looking for the two lean-tos the paddlers' map shows on the east side.  We never found them.  They must just be reachable via a trail since the hillside up from the water is quite steep there with no place to land.  But we did manage to land at the end of the carry from Keese Mill Road  for lunch.  And we met four paddlers coming down the portage, which is long and goes over a steep hill.  Then we headed down the west side looking for the metal sculptures hidden in the woods on the Topridge property.  These are a few of them.

And this marvelous stone-columned building was nearby.  Notice the dragon on the roofline.