North Branch of the Moose River, part one

Hi everyone!  I'm starting off with what is now a familiar to sight to any of you who have been faithfully reading my blog:  a photo of Brody, leading the way.  This time, upstream on the North Branch of the Moose River.

Before I get started with my description of our paddle, I want to say hello to some people we met on Francis Lake over Labor Day weekend.  None of us exchanged names, but I'd like to say it was great talking with a some guys who live in Maryland and who have paddled the Adirondacks since the '70's.  They were thinking of camping either on Soft Maple or Francis Lake and wondered if we knew of any campsites at Francis.  There is one that we know of, on the esker that I have mentioned in my blogs about Francis Lake.  I'd also like to say hello to two women, one of whom had their dog with them.  Once I introduced Brody, one  women knew I was the one with the kayaking blog!  It seems Brody is famous and has become my Kayaking Embassador!  If I wouldn't have pulled Brody out of his booster seat to introduce him, I would never have known I was meeting someone who follows my blog!  We enjoyed talking with them and wish them lots of happy paddling in the future.

GPS coordinates for the North Street put-in of the North Branch of the Moose River:
 43. 44.034 & 74.58.137
The North Branch of the Moose flows southwest north of Old Forge and ends up merging with the main branch of the Moose west of Thendara. There are a few places to put-in along the river's winding path-- at North Street and at Rondaxe Road.  In most cases you would use 2 cars or be shuttled by one of the outfitting companies in the Old Forge area such as Mountainman Outdoor Supply.  BUT if you are up for a bit of paddling (or maybe more if the water is not as low as it has been this year) you can do some kayaking or canoeing on the river without the need for 2 cars, and without paying anyone to shuttle you.

It's easy to find the North Street put-in considering it's right in the town of Old Forge.  Just follow the road out of town where it turns to dirt in less than a couple of miles.  There is development happening all along this street/road, but the homes are well off the road.  It is my understanding that some kind of arrangements were made so that the land developer would keep an area before the river undeveloped, wild.  It is my hope that it will be enough to allow this river--which is popular, but still a great wilderness waterway- to stay that way.

For this paddle, unlike others we've taken here in the past, we paddled upstream from the put-in.  The morning started off cloudy, as the photo below shows.  But there was bright blue sky peeking through the clouds and the forecast was for fair skies.  The wind was supposed to be blowing, which is why we choose a river for our paddle on this day in August, rather than an open lake.

The north branch of the Moose River is a twisting, turning, oxbowing, river with so many bends it's impossible to be sure which direction you're heading at any given time.  The big twists and turns create some large sandy beaches on the inside curves like the one below:

Where the sun happened to be shining, everything had a yellowish cast to it.  It was a morning of sunlight and shadows, and we never knew how long either would last as the clouds blew by above us.

Brody seems to be saying, "What?" as he actually turns to look at me while I have the camera ready, for once!

The photo below shows the kind of morning it was, with the clouds making everything dark once again.  The clouds blowing across the sun caused Brody and I to be chilled, but then the sun would make an appearance and we'd warm up really fast.  Luckily, the sun beat out the clouds by late morning.

 Brody is on alert!  Usually it's ducks that get his attention and that was the case on this day. They are on the dead tree in the water, and one has already left that perch, paddling in the middle of the photo.

By the time we got closer, all of the black ducks but one had left their perch and were moving upstream away from us.  This guy seemed inclined to trust us, and finished his grooming as we paddled by.  Brody watched him intently until we rounded a bend.

With the sun behind these dead trees, a photo (or maybe more) of their silhouettes was in order! 

I really like examining the shape of things, especially trees.  

And in this one, I didn't realize how the suns rays were "doing their thing" until I got ready to post this photo in the blog. 

OK, I admit it.  I took WAY too many photos of the dead trees... here are the last 2 you will need to look at.  Which do you like better, the reflection or the close-up?

The upstream paddling wasn't difficult, but we did have to paddle with regular strokes in order to move forward.  Most areas had a noticeable current, but there were some wide spots that had barely any current so we were able to take a break in those spots.  One of the best things about all of the exposed sandy banks (keep in mind that there would be smaller and less of these during a normal season of rain rather than this very dry one of 2012) is that they are great places for a quick stretch.  Brody's ready to take a short walk with me once I'm done with the camera.

We heard many more birds than we saw, but we got lucky and actually spotted this one in the bushes along the river, flitting from branch to branch. 

I got a better shot at him/her in the next photo, allowing me to identify it as a chestnut-sided warbler.  At least, that is my opinion, based on my very limited knowledge of bird identification!

Although we've seen these birds in the Adirondacks before, I was never quick enough with the camera to get a photo.  So, this was an accomplishment for me, despite the fact that he/she is partially hidden by the branch.

I took a lot of photos during this kayaking trip.  The sky turned out to be bright blue for the afternoon and the temperature was a bit cooler than it had been, making for a very pleasant day.  There was also a breeze that came across the river, cooling us, but not effecting our paddling much at all.

I have a lot more to tell you and show you about the North Branch of the Moose River, but for now I'll leave you with this slightly out of sequential order photo of Brody, taken further upstream where we stopped for our lunch.  Stay tuned for photos of Brody, who on this day we called "Beach Dog."  (Rather than his OTHER moniker of "Swamp Dog" which he received while swamping it on Limekiln Lake.)

Thanks for reading, and 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!

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!