The Blame Game

Ahhh… the Kunjamuck River, when you mention paddling the Kunjamuck River most paddlers think of paddling a canoe or recreational kayak up a narrow meandering deepwater vly.  Maybe only as far as the first beaver dam or until you’re fed up carrying over the next one or the next one, etc.  Getting out of your boat to carry over the multitude of beaver dams can be a daunting task. Although the dams are sturdy, the tops are a mesh of sharp sticks and limbs that are unstable to stand on and pull your boat up and over. In a 17foot sea kayak it can be difficult to wedge the boat in parallel with the dam. Especially in the narrower parts of the Kunjamuck and where there are over hanging brush and dead falls. At lower water levels the dams can be quite high as well, approaching four feet. But during the spring the water level floods the dams and it is possible to paddle over them. The Kunjamuck is a twisting maze of turns and backwater pools. Some of the turns are tight enough and linked together that maneuvering a 17foot sea kayak is a challenge and a great place to work on strokes. As it flows out of Elm Lake the river is wider.  Leaving the sounds of route 30 behind it quickly adds a wilderness feel even after passing under two logging bridges.

One little push...

On May 13^th, Friday the 13^th, Pete and I paddled across the Sacandaga River to Kunjamuck Bay and up through Elm Lake to the first large beaver dam. Pete was the only taker I could tempt into a paddle. Pete is from the other side of the Great Sacandaga Lake and an old seadog and veteran Blackburn Challenge finisher. Blackburn Challenge Link(He is not a quitter!) Although as I led us up the second dead end backwater he shouted at me, “you can’t blame me!” If not, then who? 

Upper Kunjamuck

Paddle strokes utilized included: the low and high angle forward strokes, backstroke, sculling and hanging draw, forward sweep off side sliding edge turns, low brace recovery, low brace, bow rudder, cross bow rudder, carved inside edge turns, stern draws, and rudder strokes. Fortunately we did not have to use any high braces, rolling or rescue maneuvers. 

Elm Lake

Wildlife encountered included geese, mergansers, mallards, red winged black birds, hawks, a dead pickerel and the ubiquitous Adirondack beavers. On the way out there was a May Fly hatch. But no rises indicating any fish were taking note of the hatch. There were a few plastic grocery bags snagged in the brush that we picked them up along the way. 

Great Range?

The black flies were just starting to emerge and were not a nuisance. The next phase of the black flies will be the swarms. They won’t be biting, but they will swarm around your face and be in your eyes, ears and even up the nose. After a week of the non-biting swarm phase and just when it becomes, intolerable they will begin to get hungry and start to bite. Welcome to the Adirondacks, they’re waiting.

"Work is the curse of the drinking classes."   Oscar Wilde

CountyLine Creek from a Different Perspective

Two days paddling Countyline Creek. It had rained all day Wednesday and the rivers rebounded quickly after the prior week of rain.  That evening we hiked into CLC and one thing for sure the water was rising not falling. We hopped on at a nice medium level. There were not many rocks exposed yet the water was not that pushy. It was a quick run out and there wasn’t time to take video or pictures.

The next morning (Happy Cinco De Mayo!) my plan was to get out early. The rivers had crested during the night and the levels were dropping fast. The trees had started budding and they were sucking up water. I got a late call from a friend who wanted to paddle and that delayed getting to the put in a couple hours. On the hike in we could see a water line and confirmed the creek was on the way down.  Instead of trying to capture still shots or video I mounted the Go-Pro aft facing and just started paddling. Although the level had dropped four to six inches overnight it was still a decent level. 

Video Here:  CountyLine Creek

Boondoggle to East Canada Creek

East Canada Creek is in my neighbor’s drainage and is a favorite paddle destination next valley to the west. We took the long way around to get to there, which included setting a shuttle for a completely different creek and paddling across a lake only to find the creek we intended to paddle way too low. So, we paddled all the way back across the lake and regrouped for plan B.

Our local choices were either seriously epic high water class V, the kind where when you launch everyone knows they most likely will be fending for themselves should something bad happen, or class III mediocrity.  Half the group was not keen to hike into any creeks. Besides, the beta was not forthcoming and the backup to the backup could result in more driving. Another option we considered was taken off the table due to road washouts from the recent flooding. So after a quick check of the USGS river levels we were no surer of the levels and where to proceed.  A quick call to a friend in Stratford and we had a first hand account of the level on East Canada Creek: “low side of medium and dropping.” Giddy up, we were going to East Canada Creek.

Due to the late nature of our start and the waterline on the rocks at the lower put-in we opted to start at Oregon Bridge. There was enough water to start further up but the road is seasonal and is not yet open. Plus we were anxious to get on the water.

We boogied on down to the first drop. Cable Car drop is the crux of the rapid but there is a fun lead in down the river right side. There is a sneak down the left for boaters not interested in running the main drop that ends in an eddy for a short carry. We all paddled down the right and scouted. There was a new log in the drop that Derek and John removed and we all had fairly clean lines. 

 Its more boogie water and a couple ledgey type rapids before the next big rapid: Triple Drop. There are three progressively larger ledge drops culminating in an eight-foot waterfall. The crux is the second drop, which is the narrowest and has ledges on both sides. This creates a nasty hole with a boil line more than a boat length downstream.  Like most times we boat scouted the first drop and got out to scout the second on the right. Sally was a little too far left coming off the first drop and the current was taking here backwards into the second drop when John and I grabbed her boat and pulled her back into the eddy.

We all had straightforward runs of the second drop but there were a couple of us that stalled out and had to paddle with a little more gusto to clear the backwash.

The third drop was at a nice level for a straight shot off the lip. We regrouped at the large eddy and finished out the rapid at the bottom.

There are multiple rapids and ledges to paddle all the way down to Mosey Dam. Good solid class III and easy IV at this level.  East Canada Creek is a great paddle and especially a good teaching platform for introductory Creeking. A left to right boof seems to dominate on many rapids. There are different routes through most rapids, which allows for easy to more difficult lines. From Mosey Dam down to Stratford is continuous class II with a couple III’s. This is a great section for novice boaters to practice on, although the first rapid after Mosey Dam is a solid class III. 

Link to video:
East Canada Creek Video  <Video Link