Long Pond and Round Pond, 2013, part two

Welcome back to part two of Long and Round Ponds!  Here is Brody, checking out the inlet to Round Pond, which is one of the branches of the Oswegatchie River.

The water was much higher than it normally is when we've paddled here in the past.  There is a swift water area which is indicated by the ripples in the photo below.  The water is usually shallow and the passage has lots of big rocks, making it impossible to paddle.

This time we thought we might be able to make it.  We both began paddling hard and made it most of the way up due to the higher water level.  But there were still a few extremely shallow and sandy areas that stopped my husband.  He decided to turn around rather than get out and pull his kayak through.  I continued on until I reached an area that was deep enough, but the passageway was narrow due to some large rocks.  The current kept throwing me back into a rock and prevented me from making anymore headway.  Since I had spent several long minutes making progress, I decided to get out and pull Brody through the last 15 feet that I couldn't paddle.

I was hoping to find a long stretch of quiet water, and if I had, my husband could have pulled through the shallow area and joined me.  As it was, there was only about 50 feet of calm water before another section of swift and shallow water, as shown near the bend in the river in the photo below.

So, I turned around and let the current take me back down to where my husband was waiting below the swift section in his red kayak.

Here are a couple of cute shots I was able to get of Brody:

We paddled back the way we had come, on our way to Round Pond from the inlet.  As I said in part one, it was a very peaceful day.

On Round Pond, several things caught my eye.  One was this tree in the water:

Another was the clouds.  I had noticed them when we began our paddle, but could not get a photo that did justice to the wispy clouds.  I tried again, and used sunglasses (my husband's great idea!) to capture the clouds in more detail.  The photos still don't really show what we saw, but at least you get the idea.

Brody and I paddled over to see a beaver lodge and as we approached we heard some squeaks that may have been beaver or muskrat.  The noise only lasted a second or two.  Brody's ears perked up immediately and he was on high alert for a minute, but with no more sounds coming from the lodge, he quickly lost interest.

I wanted a low shot of the just emerging reeds in the photo below.

It took several tries, but I was finally able to get the perspective I wanted by holding the camera out and close to the water.  (I had the strap wrapped tightly around my wrist!)

We were soon back at the footbridge marking the connection between Round Pond and Long Pond.
Brody is keeping an eye on his daddy ahead of us.

OK. I took a number of photos of the footbridge from underneath.  Which one (s) do you like best?

1.

 2.

 3.

 
4.

I think my favorite is #3, but then when I look again, I see different things and change my mind.


On Long Pond, we headed back to the put-in/take-out.  The wind had picked up a bit, giving us some ripples, but nothing too serious.  With the hot sun, the breeze felt good.

Brody tracked a loon for a little while as it dove for a meal.  It was too far away for a good photo.

Before we reached the end of our paddle, I turned Brody around for a shot of his face.  He would much rather be facing in the direction we're headed, but graciously posed for this photo.  (I had to hold a treat above the camera just to get him to cooperate-- he usually looks away when I put the camera up to my face for a photo of his!)

Although Long and Round Ponds are not very large, they still make for a nice half-day paddle if you bring a lunch along and take time to beach your boats and stretch for a little while.  We didn't do that on this paddle, but have in the past.

I hope you're all enjoying the paddling season so far.  Here in Northern New York, we had a few rain free days and were able to get a paddle in, but since then we've had days that can't seem to stay dry the entire day.... hope this weekend's weather is better!

Happy Kayaking!

Long Pond and Round Pond, 2013, part one

Well, today it is not raining... and that is a very good thing!

The weather has not been cooperative so far this kayaking season.  At least not here in the northeast.  We managed a few short paddles but I won't blog about them since I only took a few photos.  We did manage a trip to Long Pond and Round Pond on Saturday.  Yay!

It was windy, but these ponds aren't large so we had rolls on the surface, no waves or white caps.  And although we don't enjoy paddling in windy conditions, it probably kept us on the water longer because there were many less black flies and mosquitoes with the breeze.

This is the put in.  It is off  a dirt road about 8 miles out of Croghan, just inside the Adirondack Park.
The area has a small circle to turn around, with no outhouse.  Getting out on the water is easy with the nice sandy bank.

I have blogged about Long Pond and Round Pond before, so for more descriptions and photos, check out the blogs I wrote in 2010 and 2012.

Here is the lake from the put-in.  There is an FHA camp at the end (about in the middle of the photo) of Long Pond.  On the day we paddled, there were no campers or day activities happening.  If you decide to paddle here in the summer, it is best to go early in the morning if you're looking for a quiet paddle.

These ponds are separated by an esker which has a campsite on it.  It is very similar to the esker on Francis Lake-- pine trees, pine needle strewn paths, etc.-- very picturesque.

 

This is a shot of the northwestern side of Long Pond.   Oops!  Got some Brody ears in this one!

We saw a loon not long after beginning our paddle.  Later we saw another on the other end of the pond.  It could have been the same one-- considering they are such great swimmers-- but we think it was its mate.

At the end of the esker and around its point is the entrance to Round Pond:

The footbridge is high enough to get under on the left side.  But there was definitely less head-room than the last time we were here, due to the large amount of rain we've had.  I think Brody was checking out some reeds that were rustling in the wind as we approached the footbridge.

Across Round Pond is the inlet to the ponds.  We headed there and couldn't believe the amount of pine pollen in the water.

This is not foam or scum, it is just tons of pollen floating on the water's surface.  Anyone with allergies should now understand why they may be having symptoms!

Along the inlet we heard a bird's call and saw him land in this tree.  I was able to snap a shot before he took off.  It's a Cedar waxwing-- I love their black masks-- makes them very interesting to look at.

The inlet area is a bit more protected by trees and so there were less ripples on the surface, allowing for some reflection photos.  As you can see, except for the wind, it was a beautiful day for a paddle.  The sun was warm and the ponds were quiet-- not a soul to be seen or heard.

Brody enjoyed himself as he always does.  He likes being closer to the shore where he can imagine there is a bird, duck or maybe a muskrat to sniff out.

Long and Round Ponds are beautiful to paddle.  We usually see deer here, though we didn't on this trip.  We always see loons and there are many birds singing away in the trees.  

I will be back soon with part two of Long Pond and Round Pond.

Happy Kayaking!

Red Lake and Indian River May 2013

Last weekend we were able to get in a paddle at Red Lake.  It is a small lake with an outlet to the Indian River.  Red Lake is north of the little town of Theresa, NY in Jefferson County (west of the Adirondack Park.)

As you can see, it was a pretty day for a paddle.  Brody is keeping an eye on that red kayak ahead of us!  He doesn't want his daddy to get too far away.

The road to Red Lake leads to a parking area and a boat launch.  It is a gradual grade and is used by both car top carrier boats as well as motor boats.  There is a swampy area to the right of the put-in which means lots of mosquitoes this time of year.  There were enough of them that we worked double-time to get the kayaks off the car, gear stowed (oh, and bug spray applied, incuding Skin-So-Soft all over Brody) and the kayaks in the water. 

Once on the water, there was a slight breeze most of the time.  When it died down, the bugs hovered, but luckily the soft breeze picked back up within a few minutes.

Cliffs march along the eastern shore of Red Lake for most of its length.  There are a few houses and camps above the cliffs, but none in the area where I took this photo.

This photo of my husband will give you a better idea of the cliffs.  They rise quite high on the right, and although it looks like there is a break in the cliffs before you see the rocks on the left, the cliff does continue on behind the trees close to the water.  I would say they are about 50-60 feet high in most areas.

Here is a view of the lake looking toward its northern end where there are no cliffs.  We did not explore that area on this trip, but we did on a paddle we took in 2008.

 In 2008, we paddled Red Lake in October.  This is the northwestern part of the lake:

Again, looking north, Brody is checking things out.  There were a number of fisherman on the lake on this day.  All of the boats were smaller fishing ones, so we weren't disturbed much by their noise.

Here is a close up of some of the rocky banks of Red Lake.

We at our lunch drifting in the middle of the lake to avoid the worst of the flying insects.  We shared our wraps with Brody-- he was very appreciative and I got lots of kisses on the nose in thanks!

Along the cliffs in the fall, we saw a brilliantly colored tree (probably a sugar maple-- not positive though.)  It looked as if the tree was painted onto the cliff.

After lunch, we decided to head along the outlet which leads to Indian River so that we could paddle for a while on the river.  Here is the outlet which is on the western side of the lake, just north of the put-in which is a bit to the left of this photo.

Although we didn't see many birds other than red winged black birds, we heard tons of them. I wish I was able to identify them all by their songs.  This must be an area where the birds stop to rest before flying over the St. Lawrence River (less than an hour from this area as the crow flies) because as we were driving down the road to the lake, we met a group of bird watchers, all sporting binoculars, and being led by a (presumably) knowledgeable guide.

Brody has his ears up and turned as he tries to figure out where the bird song is coming from.

Another shot of the outlet as we head to the Indian River:

Once on the river, we saw a few more birds such as a great blue heron, and the bird that Brody has noticed:

A turkey vulture.  He was eating something along the bank of the river.  As we approached, he flew to a nearby tree and waited for us to go before flying back down to finish his meal.  Turkey vultures are pretty big birds with a wingspan around 6 feet, yet they can weigh as little as 4 or 5 pounds. 

Here is a pretty shot of the river-- there was a current, but it was barely noticeable.

 
Here is what the river looked like in October 2008:
 

And that year, we spotted a green heron on some dead wood just as we entered the outlet, on our way back to the lake:

 

 I was able to get quite a few photos of the heron.  He moved with stealth as he hunted either fish or frogs in the water.  We enjoyed watching him make his way across these branches.

Although there are motor boats on Red Lake, we found the fishermen polite and very willing to slow down to lessen their wakes as they passed us.  Many were very impressed with Brody as well!

I would have had more photos to share, but for the first time on a kayaking trip, I left the memory card out of the camera!  Despite changing the photo size to allow more photos, I still wasn't able to get that many.  I blame the problem on the fact that the computer I now have, a reburbished one with lots of memory, has a slot for the SD card rather than using a card reader-- very convenient-- but easy to leave the card in the computer!


I will leave you with this photo of Brody and the outlet.  He has a little bit of a sad expression on his face because I was calling him a "little turd."  He did not want to turn around and show me his face! He finally complied!

I hope you have all been able to get out and paddle over this holiday weekend.  Unfortunately it has been very cold and rainy here in northern New York.  We broke 50 late this afternoon and it's looking up for tomorrow.  So, wish us luck-- we may just get a paddle in before the work week begins.

Happy Kayaking!