Finally Back to Blogging (I hope!)

Hello everyone!  I want to thank those of you who have followed me in the past, and I hope you'll continue to read, and hang in there with me.  Life has thrown some curves and some mountains in our way but we're carrying on...   My husband is not able to kayak this season, at least not yet.  I've been able to paddle just 3 times so far this year with our daughter.  It has been a great stress-reliever, and Brody is ALWAYS ready to go!

I promise to finish up later with Taylorville Pond from the last time I blogged.  But wanted to share a few more recent photos instead for this post.

Here is Brody.  Remember this guy?  He still enjoys kayaking as much as I do!  He looks so serious here.  He may have been watching for my daughter who was behind us taking photos of her own.
Brody's still our navigator and usually faces forward in my kayak.  He turned 5 years old in January and is still as active and excitable as most Boston Terriers!

Our first paddle of the year came very late, but it sure felt good to get out on the water.  We chose the Black River since it's the closest to us and we didn't have a lot of time.  It was a perfect late morning in June. 

 Brody likes to keep an eye on our daughter.  As she went ahead of us, he was happier and went back to facing forward as he usually does.  The pine pollen was very thick this year as you can see by the water lines on the rocks in the photo below.  Also, it made many areas of the slow-moving river appear "dirty" in my photos due to all the pollen floating on top!

I want to thank one of my blog readers for contacting me recently and letting me know that they enjoy my blog, use it to find places to paddle, and asked if all was well.  I have been so busy with work and doctor appointments for my husband, etc. that blogging just fell by the way-side.  I missed writing and sharing our kayaking adventures, and the message just reminded me of that.  I would also like to thank a good friend who has been a huge supporter, especially of my creative endeavors-- photography, writing, music...  it is very much appreciated!  

I know this is a short post, but I wanted to write something, share a bit of our first paddle with you, and thank you all for reading.  I hope you have all had a great season of paddling so far! yXp

I'll leave you with another photo of Brody as the navigator on the Black River.

 

 Happy Paddling!

Francis Lake 2015, Part 2

 
Above is Brody, enjoying Francis Lake as we paddled around.  He is not wearing his Doggles and had no interest in them on this day.  He is often very good about keeping them on, and at other times is not so good about it!



And below, Brody in his position as navigator.  This photo was taken in the shallow area past the esker, and out of order... in fact, so is the one above.

Here is Brody looking so intent!  I have a feeling he's watching my daughter.  Look at that face!  He is such a cutie and is always good in the kayak!

This is a view of the esker, on the left, as seen from the shallow northeastern lobe of the lake.

Brody interested in some lily pads just out of the frame. Don't you wonder what he's thinking?

My daughter is approaching the esker.  It's a pretty spot except when the bugs are thick.  There is a place to camp, and even an outhouse. 

The trail up from the water can be seen through the trees in this photo. It's a pretty walk and you can see parts of the main lake, and all of the northeastern lobe from the esker.  The landing spot is a bit tricky depending on the water level.  I think the higher water makes it more difficult to get out as there is less of a flat area, but it is possible, and is pretty simple in lower water level conditions.

An iconic BRODY photo as we head toward the main part of the lake...

My daughter, back on the the main part of the lake.

 

Out of the northeastern lobe, past the esker, the wind had picked up quite a bit, as you can see by the waves in this photo of my daughter paddling.  The breeze was good for keeping the black flies and mosquitoes away.

Brody was interested in the waves, but with the wind picking up in the afternoon, we decided it was time to head back to the put-in/take-out.

On the way back, as the wind increased, we took a quick detour to the area off the main lake on the western side.  It is not as protected as the northeastern lobe and not as shallow, but the rocks give it some character.

We didn't linger since the wind was gusting at times, making our progress slow.  I put my camera away after this shot and we paddled back, happy to have spent a few hours on Francis Lake!

If you are interested in Francis Lake, please use the "search" feature for my blog and you will find a number of posts concerning this pretty lake.  It is one of our favorites for 3 reasons:  It isn't big, so it's great for a few hours of paddling, but has enough nooks and crannies that you could spend most of a day here if you felt like it.  It is not a long drive from our home (though that is relative... we live in a sparcely populated area, so an hour is "not a long drive.")  And it is a quiet lake which only allows electric motors, so we share the water with small fishing boats, canoes and kayaks, and usually there aren't many of them!

Thanks for reading.  I hope you are all enjoying the summer.  For my fellow kayakers, I hope all of you are enjoying lots of great days paddling!    Happy Kayaking!

Limekiln Lake, part two

 We left off part one as we were approaching the peninsula on Limekiln Lake. This is a great place to stop for a picnic or just for a stretch of your legs.  Many paddlers stop here-- we've even seen a couple strap their folding lawn chairs to their kayaks and set up "camp" for the day.

The landing spot is all rock, even when the water level is higher, but there is usually enough level area to get out of your kayak or canoe without too much trouble.   Some industrious boaters have been adding to the pile of rocks that is usually present in some shape or form each year at the peninsula:

There is a clearing which looks like it has been used as a campsite, but it isn't an "official" campsite.  Perhaps its only used during the off-season, because we've never seen anyone here for the overnight, yet the clearing, logs and evidence of campfires suggests it's used often.

 

 The paths along the peninsula have a couple of spots where you can look out at various parts of the lake:

Brody and I took a walk. He found investigating the woods thoroughly enjoyable!

Here is another view of the lake from the woods as we walked:

I know this is a type of shot you've all seen before, but I really like the way the tall, straight tree trunks seem to almost converge in the middle.

I tried to get a photo of Brody from a different angle while we were taking our walk.  I used a wintergreen leaf to lure his head up.  I love how his ear(s) is(are) just as pointy as if he were looking straight ahead at something interesting.

This is the pretty view as you face the water near the end of the peninsula:

And here are the roots of the tree in the photo above, from the other direction.  I like the shapes and textures.

Once we ate lunch, we packed up our things and got back on the water.  We were on our way to the outlet in the southwestern corner of the lake when we saw one of the common loons we'd heard earlier on the lake.
And then, just moments later, this juvenile was paddling near us:

We were so excited to see this loon!  We've never, ever seen a loon at this stage while paddling!  It was almost full grown and had all of its white feathers, but those that will be black were brownish-gray.  We aren't sure why we've only ever seen chicks or adults (or at least those whose coloring and markings are that of an adult.)  Perhaps it's the early and warm spring we had?  We have no idea, but feel very fortunate to have seen something "new" to us when paddling.  It always makes our day to see something different.

The outlet is more open than the marshy area where we started our exploring but the water is very still at most times.  Beware of the barely submerged rocks!  There are many, many rocks in the outlet.  If you are paddling on a cloudy day, you may not be able to navigate well through the jumble without scraping your hull a time or two. 

The area is a favorite of black ducks, and in years past, we've seen a common loon sitting on a nest in this part of the lake.  Here are two black ducks on the outlet:

Brody was, as usual, very interested in the ducks:

The outlet isn't navigable for very far (less than a half mile, I'd guess) because of a rocky drop.  There is a dam which marks the spot to turn around :

On our way back out of the outlet, heading to the main part of the lake, I noticed a couple of maple trees (maybe sugar maple?) had already turned red...  autumn is not far away in the Adirondacks.

Limekiln Lake is one of our favorite places to paddle.  Although there is an area of development and the campground is there, we are still able to see wildlife and experience the beauty of nature all around us.  We think Brody likes it a lot too!  Here he is one more time, gazing with intent at the black ducks on Limekiln.

Happy kayaking!

Oswegatchie River near Star Lake, part one

Hello everyone!  I'm finally getting the chance to blog about one of our favorite kayaking spots!  The Oswegatchie is in the Five Ponds Wilderness Area.  It's popular, but since it's a river with many twists and turns, much of it hedged in by bushes and tall plants, it's pretty secluded feeling.  We kayaked here in 2008 and also just a week or so ago.  Both times were on weekdays in July and I think we saw maybe 10 people the first time and 8 the second.

I'll be using current photos for this blog post.  If I use something from earlier, I'll be sure to identify it that way.  This is the view once we got going on the Oswegatchie.  It's a prettier photo than the one I took of the put-in, so I wanted to start with it.  Gorgeous area, don't you think?

I would say that even though this is a great paddle, it's a bit different than most of our trips.  There is a current on this river and you paddle upstream from the put-in on Sunny Lake Road (dirt) off Route 3, just a bit past Star Lake.  For both trips we've done here we didn't get as far as we would have liked before turning around.  It's a lot of paddling and steering.  But the steering and the twists and turns are what make this such a fun river.  If you're a strong paddler and don't lolly-gag to take photos, give your dog a drink of water, or other such time consuming (but NOT time-wasting) things, then you will make it further up this river, maybe even to High Falls which is about 13 miles from the put-in.

Speaking of the put-in--  It is the best kind for us-- a gradual, sandy entry.  Rocks have been placed strategically so that if the current is on the strong side, you will still be able to enter your kayak or canoe without it floating downstream without you.  There was no danger of that, as the water levels (as are many places in the country this summer) are well below normal on this part of the river.

Here is a photo of the put-in from the water:

There's plenty of parking at the end of Sunny Lake Road, and there is an out-house down a short path from the parking lot.

The first stretch of the Oswegatchie is full of rocks, most below the surface.  In higher water, 2008, there were only a certain few that we had to watch out for.  But this year, the lower water level meant that we had to pay close attention, especially for the first half mile to mile.  There may even be places you will need to pull your boat along.  That happened to my husband since he sits lower in the water than I do.  I choose a different route and was able to paddle through the same area.  Two other kayakers in our party followed me and made it without getting out of their kayaks also. On our previous trip, no one had to get out.

There are many beaver dams on the Oswegatchie, from what we've been told by people who've gone as far as High Falls.  We encountered maybe three in the short piece of river we paddled (about 3 miles I think.) All of them had been breached to some extent or another and we were able to paddle over them.  One was quite a challenge though, with most of the water cascading down one 4 foot wide section which looked like our only chance of paddling through rather than carrying over the dam.  There was plenty of water, but the current tried its best to turn us onto some rocks a few inches beneath the surface of the river.  It took some of us a few tries to get up this section but no one tipped over or needed to get out and pull their kayak through.  If you're trying to picture this in your head, it wasn't anything dangerous.  The water was only about 2 feet deep and the worst that could have happened was a kayak tipping sideways and someone getting a bit wetter than they'd planned.

Brody has decided that he ALWAYS wants to kayak on rivers and creeks--  Especially narrow ones like the Oswegatchie.  He gets so interested in everything he sees and seems to enjoy the twists and turns and the changing scenery as much as we do!

We heard many birds and saw a few, but I couldn't get the camera out fast enough to catch them on this trip.
But, in 2008, I captured photos of a cedar waxwing and a catbird , both of which we also saw on this trip.  So here are those bird photos from 2008:

Here is cardinal flower that is just starting to blossom.  Every once in a while, there'll be a burst of red in the varied greens of the bushes and plants along the river.  Almost every time, it's a cardinal flower.

There are many interesting blow-downs on the river.  Some look to be old enough to have been from the micro-burst which hit this area in 1995.  The good news is that the DEC checks out these paddling/camping areas and will clear a path (albeit one just wide enough for a canoe or kayak) so that you don't have to get out and go around an obstacle.  It's a good thing, too, because there are not many places other than the campsites to actually get out.  Most of the vegetation is right up to the water.  There are a few "inside" curves of the river with a very small sandy bank in low water times, but these are usually covered.

Here is my husband, about to go through the rock-gauntlet.  The water was so low that most of this area was too shallow to paddle through.  He was ahead of me, so when I saw his trouble, I looked for a better route and found one.  He ended up getting out and pulling his kayak about 10-12 feet before getting back in-- not a big deal.

I'm not sure why, but we didn't see any ducks on this trip.  In 2008, around the same time, we saw quite a few.  It may be the time difference-- we got started later in the day this year.  Or, it could be that the ducks "ducked" out of the way when a canoe came downstream, shortly before we headed up the way they'd come.

But, we did see a whole lot of frogs.  They were soaking up the sun and were all very solitary.  Doesn't this guy look like a plastic toy?

I forgot to mention that the day we paddled here was one of the hottest we've had here in northern New York (although we've had some just as hot since-- maybe even a few degrees hotter!)  It was close to 90 degrees that day, and that's saying a lot for this area of the Adirondack Park.  That may be part of the reason why we didn't make it as far upriver as we would have liked.

This became Brody's usual pose for most of the trip.  On lakes he gets tired of the same view-- water, water everywhere.  But on the rivers and creeks, he stands up and swings his head back and forth, hoping to spot a duck or a bird.

We paddled around curves, twists, turns, and bends on our way to High Rock, which is a bit more than 3 miles upstream from the put-in.  When we began to see the marked campsites, I knew we were getting close, but each time we negotiated another bend, we still hadn't reached our goal.  It was past lunch time, and everyone needed a break and some food.  We ended up at campsite number 42 where there was a place to pull out our kayaks and eat.

Although there is a current on this river, there are many spots that are still as well.  This shot is somewhere before the place we ate our lunch, making this paragraph out of order!  But it is a perfect example of the beauty we encountered along the river.

Join me here again in a few days or so for part two of the Oswegatchie River, and I'll fill you in on the rest of our trip!

Happy Kayaking!