Long and Round Ponds 2012, part two

Round Pond is our favorite of the two ponds on this paddle.  It is more secluded and as I mentioned in part one, is not accessible to motorboats, though I suppose a small fishing boat with a motor might be able to slip under the footbridge as we do in our kayaks.

Here is Brody, checking out Round Pond as we entered it from beneath the footbridge.

Here is a representation of the pretty reflections found on Round Pond in the morning.  Round Pond also gets less wind, so the water is usually close to ripple-free until late morning.

This little point of land is near the entrance to Round Pond, where there are many lily pads.

Once on Round Pond, if you turn left and paddle across the pond, you will find the inlet.  It's in the northeast corner of the pond.  Here is Brody, checking out a nice reflection as we head toward the inlet.

And another of those wonderful reflections on Round Pond:

We enjoy paddling the inlet.  It's quiet until you hear the distant sound of water over rocks.  Sometimes it's a rushing sound, but with less water flow, it's more of a bubbling.  But either way, it's a calming sound. 

Along the inlet there are rocks on the banks, and also more Joe-pye blossoms:

The stretch of inlet that is paddle-able is less than a mile.  Once you reach rocks in the stream, you will need to turn around.  I know it looks like it's possible to maneuver around those larger rocks and get past them to another section of flat water, but it's not possible if you want to stay in your kayak.  There are many more rocks under the water's surface and those are the ones that you will get hung up on.  But it's fun to try, since the water is shallow.  (The current is strong enough here at times to turn your boat as you are trying to make your way upstream.)

On the way back-- downstream from the rocks in the inlet, I stopped long enough to take a couple photos of a dead tree whose shape I liked:

I was experimenting with the black and white setting to see if I any of my photos look better in black and white.  So far, I don't think I've done a great job with the black and white composition.  I think most black and whites look better with less in the frame and more contrasts than what I see when we're kayaking.  What do you think?

On past paddles to this area we've seen a muskrat or two and once thought we saw an otter swimming, but only for a second or two, then the elusive rascal went under water and we lost him.  So, we can't be sure it was an otter.


Paddling back to Round Pond on the inlet, this is the view:

We heard some splashing in the water once back on Round Pond and looked out across the pond to see a deer trudging the last few feet to the banks of the pond!  It was out of the water and bounding into the woods before I could pull the camera out of the dry bag.  But that was fun to see, for sure.


Brody enjoyed the lily pads:

He gets excited when there's something in the water.  We're not sure if he thinks he can get out and walk on the lily pads or if he just wants to eat them!

But whatever the case, he really seems to enjoy checking out the blossoms as well as the pads.

This is a set-back on the northern side of Round Pond:

And another great reflection from that area:

And Brody, surveying the set-back with curious doggy wonder!  (And more beautiful reflections)

He very rarely faces me in the kayak, being curious enough that he must see where we are going and what might be happening in front of us.  So, I grab the camera quickly when he turns around.  I held him in place for this shot.

So that I could also get this close up:

Here is another photo of the footbridge, reflections and all, as we head back to Long Pond:

I took many common loon photos, but none came out very well since the loons stayed far away from us.  This is the best of them and shows only one loon, but there were two, fishing together.

Here is the put-in as viewed from the water.  It's a nice, easy, gradual sandy entry-- the type we prefer:

Long Pond and Round Pond are small but beautiful.  Although access is off a dirt road, the road has been well maintained with grating each time we've traveled here.  We were a bit disappointed by the beer cans and trash at the put-in which is not at all usual, unless something has changed in the past year.  (We didn't paddle here in 2011.)  But, all in all, it's still a great place to take a short, quiet paddle.

I'll leave you with one more reflection photo of Long Pond from this trip. 

I hope you're all having a great paddling season!  Please use the reactions check boxes to make a comment if you don't want to type in something.  Thanks for reading, and happy kayaking!

Long Pond and Round Pond 2012, part one

Hello everyone and happy summer!  We've been on vacation (at home, but busy with family from out of state visiting.)  I hope all of you are having a great time and are getting in lots of paddling.  We were busy building a deck so haven't gotten in as much paddling as we would have liked so far this year, but we've had some very nice trips so far.

Long Pond and Round Pond are another of our "go-to" places, so you may have read an earlier blog about these two pretty ponds.  But if you're a paddler, you know that each time you visit a favorite place, the experience is different.

We paddled here near the end of June on a Saturday morning.  There was no FFA camp activity and no one with camps was out and about during our paddle.  (FFA owns some shoreline and has many camp sessions throughout the summer and on weekends.)  We did chat with a couple in a canoe who had been camping on the esker between the 2 ponds.  They were the only people around that morning.

Long and Round Ponds are near Croghan, NY.  Route 812 is the main road through Croghan if you're looking on a map.  Belfort is another small village closer to the ponds.  The public access point is down a dirt road (Prentiss Road) that is usually well-maintained in the summer.    Long Pond has the FFA camp on one end and a couple of camps along its shores.  Round Pond has no camps on it and is therefore much more peaceful if you're paddling on a summer weekend.  Here is a look at Long Pond from near that access point:

Brody looks a little sleepy as we start out, but he was ready for a new kayaking adventure!

The morning was beautiful, as you can see.  There were some bugs out but with bug spray for us and Skin-So-Soft for Brody, we were all set.

The sun was in and out of the clouds that day, so Brody sometimes had his goggles on and sometimes didn't.
I think he's looking at his "daddy" in this photo.

This is the esker between the two ponds where the canoers were camping.  We've stopped here a few times to walk across the esker and look at Round Pond.  We didn't do that on this trip because of the campers there, but it's a pretty little walk, just up the slight hill and down the other side to the water.

Along the esker there are many different plants.  This flowering one is some type of mountain laurel, I think.  It's so pretty.  As are the many "weeds" we have when in blossom.

Long Pond and Round Pond are both great spots if you like reflections in your photographs.  I was intrigued by the brown-toned rocks under the shallow water as well as the reflections made by plants on shore.  I think this shot looks like an old-school double exposure-- or maybe just some kind of collage.  It's kind of hard to look at since your eyes don't know what to focus on,  but it's interesting, I think!

Here is the footbridge that marks the entrance to Round Pond.  You can paddle under it on the left-hand side where it's higher above the water.  The best thing about the footbridge is that it prevents motorboats from entering Round Pond!

 Well, I have more to tell you about Long and Round Ponds, but the photo uploader is giving me trouble again, so I am going to finish this post and continue with part two in a few days.

Happy paddling!

South Inlet, part two

Welcome to part two of my description of our paddle on the South Inlet of Raquette Lake over Memorial Day weekend.  I had planned to give a general idea of the location of each place we paddle for those reading my blog who aren't familiar with the Adirondacks or Northern New York state.  I forgot in part one, so let me remedy that:  South Inlet empties into Raquette Lake's South Bay, and both are aptly named, being on the southern end of the lake.  It's about 2 miles from the put-in to the rocky area where you have to turn around on South Inlet.  If you were able to travel further south (upstream) you would eventually find Sagamore Lake, part of historic Great Camp Sagamore.  Raquette Lake is between Old Forge and Blue Mountain Lake on Route 28.

When the current is weak or negligible or we're on a lake and want to change positions, we'll stretch out our legs over the kayak, as my husband is doing here:

As you can see, the water is quite calm, the sky a pretty blue, and although there were bugs, none seemed inclined to bother us while we were paddling.

Brody seemed interested in the beaver lodge, so I approached it quietly,  and tried to listen for activity inside.  I didn't hear anything, and based on Brody's reaction, I don't think he did either. As you can see, he has already turned his attention to something else across the water.  I'm not sure what, but probably his "daddy" in the other kayak.

Here is a view of the calm water as we paddled upstream from the put-in.  Are you tired of Brody's butt?  Seems he's always in my view finder now and I'm not used to zooming in for a quick shot, but I'll have to get better at it.  Pretty scenery always gives me a sense of peace, and although I enjoy other types of photos, those of nature alone are my favorites.

Speaking of nature, did you notice I added a "Words of Wisdom" area to the blog?  I found a quote I love and placed it there.  I'll probably change it once in a while.  Right now it's John Muir's words:

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.  

 Let me know if you agree with John Muir's quote.  I really do.  I feel it when we're kayaking.  I feel relaxed and renewed, at the very least, each time we're on the water.  How do you feel when you're paddling?


The water lilies had not yet bloomed on South Inlet at the end of May, but here is a photo from a July paddle a few years ago.

We also saw only a few black ducks, but I believe they were there, among the grasses and reeds.  They are very protective of their ducklings and we saw a family moving their babies quickly out of the water and into the grasses as we paddled by.  Here is a photo of some black ducks from the paddle in July:

And one of a very friendly guy who came close to my kayak, also on the July paddle.

I have one more photo from a July paddle that shows a very pretty set-back filling in with lily pads.  When we paddled here in May, the area was not this pretty since the lilies were just starting.

I have to tease my husband each time we kayak here because of the great blue heron.  You see, great blue herons are very good at standing completely still, and often on one leg.  Their coloring is meant to blend in with the dead branches and grasses around them as they fish, particularly in the bright sun when anything that reflects the sun can seem light gray or white in color.  We do see a great blue heron or two whenever we paddle here.  But, my husband often sees something that he THINKS is a great blue heron.  Here is an example:

See that shape in the middle of the photos along the shoreline?  It could be a heron, right?  It might be...

Or not!  Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to lie and say I haven't thought I saw a bird that ended up being a piece of driftwood.  It's happened to me too!  I just enjoy teasing my hubby about it.  Thankfully, he's a good sport.  When we see something that is not a great blue heron, but looked like one from a distance, we call it "Dick's Great Blue Heron."  As in,  "Yes, right by that group of water lilies-- it's Dick's Great Blue Heron!  Did you see it?"

And here is a photo of an actual great blue heron, even though it definitely looks like it could be driftwood!
 

This is a photo of the same heron as he flew away:

Both of those heron photos were also taken in July, a few years ago.

**Well, as I was looking through my South Inlet photos, I found a few that will now make me eat my words!  Remember I mentioned never having seen a common loon on South Inlet?  Well, here is proof from my own photos that I DID see a common loon on South Inlet.

This loon is on his/her nest.  I have not yet discovered if they are "playing dead," (my guess) trying to get as low as possible, or if this is just how they protect their egg.  If anyone knows, let me know!  All I can tell you is that he/she is definitely alive.

So, there are loons on South Inlet, at least sometimes!  I can almost positively say-- but my mistake keeps me from saying "absolutely"-- that's the only time we ever saw one, and we've paddled here almost every year for 7 years.  (Though not always at the same time of year.)**


South Inlet isn't real wide, but it sometimes feels like a lake, only with some twists and turns.  As you paddle further upstream the openness closes in a bit and the water begins to look more like a river.

Around the bend, barely visible in the middle of this photo, is a take-out area that is also part of a trail that begins from bridge at the put-in.  The water cascades over rocks in what some call a waterfall, but I imagine a waterfall as something with more height and a top and bottom that are noticeable.  If the definition for waterfall is simply water moving over rocks, then this fits that description.  But of course, what really matters is that you cannot paddle upstream any further once you reach this point.

There are a couple of places on the northern banks to take-out if you want to stop for lunch or just walk for a few minutes.  The first area is along the bank where there are tree roots which you can use to scoot close to shore.  The next area is smooth rock, and then there is another indent in the bank that works well.  All of these are along the left side (if paddling upstream) and are close together.  Be forewarned:  the bugs can be bad here in the spring and sometimes even later.  Once we didn't get out, and twice we've eaten a hurried lunch.  But other times, especially in the fall, you can get out and walk along the water to an area with big rocks in the sun where you can sit and have a picnic.

Here is one of the put-in areas.  The trail is in the middle of the photo, running left to right.

This is what you will see at the end of your upstream paddle on South Inlet:

In this area, a flowering bush we call "Swamp Apple" grows.  I have no idea what the true name for this plant is called.  Whatever it is, it's very pretty, bringing a burst of color to the banks of South Inlet. 

Here is a view from shore after our quick lunch. The bugs were out in the forest and we hurried to get back on the open water where there was a slight breeze and many less bugs.

South Inlet is a great place to paddle.  Just pick the time of year, choose a day when there should be less people around (if you want solitude, that is) and go paddling!

Please leave a comment, particularly if you have any thoughts on the John Muir quote and/or how paddling makes you feel.

Thanks, and happy kayaking!

** marks the paragraphs correcting my statement about not seeing loons from South Inlet, part one.