Limekiln Lake, part one

A few weeks ago, we returned to one of our favorite paddle spots, Limekiln Lake.  It's north of Old Forge on Route 28.  You'll go through the village of Eagle Bay, and then the hamlet of Inlet. Limekiln is a pretty lake, having a peninsula, three tiny islands, and two marsh/creek areas to explore.  Even with some summer homes, motorboats and a state campground on the lake, the features above keep it on our list of favorites. You do have to pay for a day pass to paddle here since the boat launch is part of the campground.

 Here are the GPS coordinates for Limekiln Lake:  43° 43' 3.2952" -74° 48' 4.2726"  I'm sorry to say these aren't from my TomTom, as I forgot to plug it in!  That's what happens when you already know how to get somewhere, I guess.  Hopefully I'll remember to check the TomTom coordinates next time.  So, these numbers came from Google Maps and may not be quite as accurate, but should get you near the boat launch.

It was a chilly morning-- by this summer's standards anyway.  Again we had morning wind...  in the seven seasons we've been kayaking, we've never seen this many windy mornings.  I'm not sure if it's the overall weather pattern, a fluke that we're kayaking on all the windy mornings lately, or what.  The good news is, each time this has happened, (3  times) we've paddled to a more sheltered area and within an hour and a half or so, the wind has died down.  The ripples in the above photo don't seem to show how strong the wind blew at times, right in our faces.  Around the point to the left is an inlet which is sheltered, and that's where we headed.

Here is a photo as we neared the sheltered area:

This sheltered area with a marsh and sometimes a beaver dam, is in the northeast part of the lake.  From the boat launch, paddle left/east, past a bay where the private houses (and the motorboats) are and toward the three small islands in the distance (all of them are near the southeastern shore.)  Once near the smallest of the islands, which isn't much more than a big rock and some pine trees, head northerly to the scene in the photo above.

A lot more water plants, particularly grasses, were growing here compared to our last paddle a few years ago.  We're guessing the water level is lower, though that is really the only sign we saw of the dry summer here.  With a dam at its outlet, it's safe to say that when possible, the water levels are kept at a consistent level.

As we approached the inlet, we began to see many sets of eyes peering at us from the surface of the water.  I planned to post the photo, but there's no point since it's far enough away that you can't really tell what all the eyes are all about.  Let's just say that there were a gazillion frogs on the thick grasses in this area!  I'll get to their individual portraits in a couple of minutes.

We saw many black ducks, known to reside here.  They have never failed to make an appearance-- either in the inlet or the outlet.   Below, Brody sees the ducks and is, naturally, very interested.

Here are the ducks, having a late breakfast.  I love it when they go under to eat and leave their bottom halves sticking out of the water.  Sometimes they do it in unison, like synchronized swimmers!

As the wind blew the larger clouds away, the bright blue sky and sun lit everything up.  I like the wispiness (is that a real word?) of  the clouds in these two photos:

On our way into this area, we saw a kingfisher hanging out on the branch of a dead tree.  We hadn't seen one here before so it was fun to catch a glimpse of him.  Since we were headed his way, he didn't stay long and flitted off to another tree in the distance.

The inlet is the perfect spot for many marsh loving plants, including the Soapwort Genetian:

And the Pitcher Plant:

Look closely at the plant on the right and you will see a bee on its tip.  Chances are he'll end up in its liquid at the base of the pitcher plant, soon to become plant food.

The flower below is a mystery.  They grow on long, thin stalks, and those that I've seen fully open, look a bit like tufts of cotton, reminding me slightly of milkweed, but without the seeds (that I could see) and much shorter strands of cottony fiber.  The wildflower site I was so happy to find did not yield any results.  If anyone knows what this plant is, please let me know.

While trying to take photos of the many frogs on the lake's grasses near the inlet, I snapped this reflection shot of my husband:

Here are my Northern Green Frog portraits:

Which one is your favorite?  I'm not even sure myself-- it's a tie between numbers 2 and 3.

Once we'd had fun watching all of the frogs, who often stayed right where they were as we paddled by, we headed out toward the islands to look around.  This is the smallest island:

 The largest of the three has landing possibilities, but you need to have good balance if you're planning to get out.  We've seen others land on the rocky side (north) but there is an area on the southwest side that has some dirt and tree roots which make it a bit easier to get out.  We did not attempt it this time since the bugs seemed pretty thick as we neared the island.

Here is a shot of the largest island:

There is a rock sticking out of the water before you reach this island and this is what we found hanging out there:

Certainly not the first time we've seen a seagull on a lake, but definitely the first time we've seen one at Limekiln!  Pretty sure this guy is a Herring Gull.

We also saw a bird that we hear often when paddling and see infrequently.  It was a treat to actually get a photo of him/her.  A Cedar Waxwing.  He almost looks tropical with his various colors, doesn't he?

Oh, I forgot to mention that while we were in the inlet, I was intent on taking photos and floated up to some boggy plants in a group.  It apparently looked like "land" to Brody.  Since we weren't moving and we were up against "land,"  he decided that it must be time to hop out of the kayak.  Yup!  Right into about 4 inches of water.  Luckily, the plants held him and he didn't get anything wet except his feet and legs.  But the wind was still blowing so he was a little chilled from his adventure.  We called him "Swamp Dog" for days afterward.  He SMELLED like a swamp, believe me!  He got rinsed off once it warmed up, then had a real bath at home later on.  

Here he is with the evidence all over his paws  (and notice he's not too happy about it!):

From the islands area, we paddled to the peninsula on the southwestern shore, almost across from the boat launch.  I'll end part one with a photo of this area in the background, with Brody watching his daddy as he approached the peninsula.

Thanks for reading.  And 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!

Massawepie Lake, part two

Welcome to part two of my blog on Massawepie Lake.  We left off with our stop at the trail to Pine Pond.

Here is a photo of that well marked trail on the west side of the lake, on one of the fingers that extend out to the west:

Along the trail, we saw a burl on a tree, and of course I had to take a photo of it:

Here is a close-up of the burl:

As I mentioned in part one, the trail to Pine Pond was uphill from Massawepie Lake, but it wasn't real steep.  Though, keep in mind, we were not carrying our kayaks.  We didn't care to "pond hop" on this day, so we left the kayaks on Massawepie and took a walk up the trail to tiny Pine Pond.  On the way, a plant caught my eye, so I snapped a shot.  I love how the red berries and dark green, glossy leaves stand out against the reddish brown of the pine needles and earth.

Here is one shot of Pine Pond:

We saw a frog in the shallows at the edge of the pond when we went for a closer look.  He is doing a good job with his camouflauge!

And here are a couple of mushrooms near the trail at Pine Pond:

Here is my favorite photo of Pine Pond.  It seems to have "mood" to it-- I think it expresses this pretty little pond perfectly-- serene, wild and beautiful.  What do you think?

After our short walk and our visit to the pond, we headed back down the trail to Massawepie Lake where we had left our kayaks:

Usually when we stop to stretch our legs, we find a place to sit and eat our lunch.  But I don't think we did on this day.  Since we got a late start, I think we may have eaten our picnic lunch on the way, or before we got on the water.  At any rate, this would be a nice place to have a drink and a snack or your lunch.  Just pull up a log and have a seat!

Once we were back on the water, we headed straight for the put-in.  The wind had picked up and we were ready to get off the water.


In the car, we decided to drive south on the camp road, knowing we'd be able to see one or two more of the ponds in the area.  We followed the narrow dirt road and it seemed as if we were driving on the ridge of a very large esker.  It was sandy and both sides fell steeply away.  The short drive was worth it as we came to Horseshoe Pond:

Although we didn't get our kayaks out and paddle here, it's easy to see why someone might want to.  The put-in requires a steep downhill walk (uphill when you're getting out) but it may be worth your while.  This next photo will prove it even more:

There is also a put-in for Boottree Pond, which we didn't visit.  And in the area are three other ponds, though my information doesn't show any access to these:  Catamount Pond, Round Pond, and Long Pond.

It is a beautiful area, and a great place for a Boy Scout camp.  I will leave you with one last photo of Horseshoe Pond.

I hope you've enjoyed the photos of Massawepie Lake and some of the ponds surrounding it.  Please use the "reactions" buttons to let me know what you liked about this blog post.  Thanks, and keep thinking spring!