Raquette River, Part 1

 

Hi everyone!  Welcome back to my blog about kayaking in NY state.  I usually start my posts off with photos that are chronologically from the beginning of our paddle, but I decided to post this pretty photo of Brody to give you all an idea of the GORGEOUS day and beautiful Raquette River.  Don't be fooled by the photo above-- our paddle here was 3 weeks ago-- the brilliant leaves have all fallen in this area.  But it was a great day to be on the river that Saturday.

We paddled the Raquette River a few years ago and I have some great photos of the reflections from that summer day.  The river was lazy and very still in many spots as it twists and turns and contorts back on itself.  That trip was taken from the state boat launch just north of the village of Tupper Lake.

This time, we decided to put-in further upstream at Axton Landing.  Below are 2 photos taken from that put-in.  The first is looking upstream from the creek which is only 50 yards or less from the river.
The second photo is  looking downstream, with the Raquette in the background on the left.

Once on the river, the yellow leaves were so bright, they were almost neon!

We headed downstream from Axton Landing.  Here are my husband and Brody just a few minutes after starting our paddle.

There was enough current to float us along, but it was sometimes almost non-existent.  Brody is checking the banks, just in case a duck is hiding there somewhere.

As I mentioned, the day was just gorgeous.  The sky was a perfect blue, there was a barely detectable breeze, and the sun warmed us up nicely.

Here is one of my favorites photos from our paddle that day:

I love reflections and love taking photos of them.  I also love how usually the reflections in the water are more vibrant that the actual objects!

I took this photo as I was floating by these leaves in the water.  The resulting photo reminded me a bit of a Monet watercolor-- not in composition or technique-- just the general "feel" of it.

As I am looking over the photos for this blog post, I am realizing that most of my favorites were taken during the first half of our paddle.  I think there are 3 reasons for this:  One, morning light (even late morning light) is better for photos than afternoon light.  Two, we paddled downstream when we started and it's much easier to float and take photos while going downstream rather than up. And three, a breeze began in the afternoon which makes the water ripple, so reflections aren't as clear.

At any rate, another of my favorite photos from this trip is below.  In fact, I think it is THE favorite:
*NEWS: The photo below just won Photo of the Week on Adirondack.net!!

This next photo, as we paddle downstream, shows just how little current there was in some spots.  It looks like a lake, doesn't it?

And, what do you suppose this is, hanging out on the bank of the Raquette River?
 

We really got a kick out of it.  My husband spotted it first and I snapped a shot for posterity!


Brody in his red dfd (doggy floatation device) and my yellow kayak fit right in with the colors of fall, don't you think?

I actually got one of his face!  He's such a sweet boy.

If you're looking for a place to paddle that allows you to get out and stretch your legs, this one should be on your list.  I'm sure in the middle of the summer, and/or especially on weekends in the summer, there are a lot of people on this river, including motor boats. But in the fall, there are less people around  AND the primitive campsites along the river are great for a picnic lunch.  They can be used as long as no one is already occupying them.  A big plus is that they are, naturally, made for boating campers so the sites are easy to get to-- gradual sandy banks.

This was such a relaxing paddle.  It's exactly what we're looking for when we plan a trip.  Here is another photo showing the stunning yellows with the bright blue sky as a backdrop.

We're about a third of the way through our trip, so I'll end this post now and pick up here next time.
I hope you are all enjoying the fall season and have been able to get in a few more paddles if you're in the northeast.  Those of you further south, keep on paddling!