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.