Seldom Seen Places in the Drainage

Granted there is some flat water to paddle.  But, it’s not like the upper Otter Creek with the largest logjam east of the Mississippi River, I tried to explain to Burn. “Come on man”, I protested, “I’m taking you where few boaters have traveled. “

There isn’t even a fishermen trail, there are no campsites, or old fire rings. Can’t paddle here in the spring because the road is seasonal, and when the spring thaw goes out the road is impassable due to mud. By the time the road is passable the bugs are out in force, black flies, mosquitos, deer flies, noseeums. They can make the paddle into the whitewater seem much longer than it is.

How long is this long flat-water approach? I don’t know and I really don’t mind the paddle. One hot summer day we searched for a short cut. Dennis, Rio and I hiked in from the road where it was closest to the creek. After bushwacking around for most of the day, without map or compass or water, we staggered through the swamp that separates creek from road. Rio kept cool by wallowing through the mud, Dennis and Mike kept cool by… well, wallowing in the mud. 

Looking back upstream at Real Drop #3

Walking away from Countyline Creek

Anticipations were off the scale as rain had been coming down in the drainage for a few days. As chance would have it I was able to squeeze in some time for an assault on Countyline Creek.  However, time was tight, 10AM to 2PM. This is more than enough time for a casual paddle but gets tight when you have travel constraints. Last minute plans included my friends Burn and Nomad to meet mid morning. On my way home I got a call from another friend M243. The four of us were to converge at the get in/ take out at 10.

When I arrived I immediately walked over and peered through the dense foliage and across the East Branch of the Sacandaga River and spied the last falls. It looked ideal, with a sheet of water splashing over the mid-stream portion of the falls.

Eventually the late arrivals made their way and started suiting up. M243 and Pure hiked down and paddled over to the bottom of CLC to wait. A short walk up to the bottom falls and I was surprised to see much more water coming down than what I had thought. M243 and Nomad are not familiar with this creek so I pointed out some of the nuances of the last drop. Even at high water there is a piton rock on the right that continues to be in play and the river left chute drops into a sticky hole.

We regrouped and started hiking up stream and as soon as I saw the next drop I knew that this was not going to be good. This is the widest drop on the river and it was completely covered. Everything from here on up is narrower and steeper. The higher flow would push one gorge into another. I knew this from experience. This drop we were looking at had cost me a boat and a friendship. I really miss that boat.

So, I called it. “This isn’t the day”, I said. M243 was gracious, Nomad and Burn looked relieved. The crux was the time and group size. Burn and I had paddled this at about this level and I had even paddled it solo and survived. However, there was the potential for the group to get too spread out with the less familiar getting left behind as the more experienced got flushed downstream. There would be no way to boat scout and give verbal descriptions before dropping into the many gorges. Then people would be forced to get out and scout from shore and this takes time that I didn’t have to spare.

We hiked back down the short ways and paddled out and back across. Regrouping, we hopped on the East Branch of the Sacandaga and had a great, and relaxed, paddle/surf session.

Cheers.

Pick Two

Pick Two

Expense, Weight, Durability

How much money do you want to spend? This will greatly influence weight and durability. Rotomolded plastic is the cheapest yet most durable option. Sure you could find a chopper’d sprayed in vinylester/fiberglass boat cheaper BUT, it would not be more durable and would be much heavier. 

There is a relatively ‘new’ process called by different proprietary names, but they’re generally referred to as ‘Thermo-formed’.  These boats take plastic to the next level: they’re slightly lighter, maybe a tad less durable than roto-molded and more expensive.

On the other end of the continuums we have composite boats. They’re much lighter using vacuum bagging techniques, exotic materials such as Kevlar, carbon fiber, and/or honeycomb foam cores with epoxy resins. Options such as keel strips add significant durability and still more expense. Materials aside, hand made boats are time intensive and much more expensive.

Therefore, you can have a high performance boat that is light and durable but you will pay thousands of dollars or euros.  You can have a boat that is cheap and durable, but it will weigh significantly more.

This brings me to two boats that I would like to own. 

Rockpool Taran and the Wilderness Systems Zephyr

Rockpool Taran

I’ve never paddled one but this boat just screams at me. Long, composite, and wicked cool graphics. I have no idea what it would cost because I can’t find one in the U.S. It’s just not a long and fast boat that tracks straight. Supposedly it also surfs and turns without the aid of a rudder (although it comes with a rudder/skeg system).  Love at first sight… I can smell the resin…

Wilderness Systems Zephyr

OK, so here is a boat I could afford and really like to paddle. On the shorter side at 16 feet (the boat also comes in a 15.5 foot model but it’s a little tight on my legs) this boat has a ton of rocker which means it will turn and surf. (And it comes in Orange)

Technically, rocker is the shape of the hull when looking from the side. A flat-rocker’d boat will track straight and be slightly faster because of the long waterline. A rocker’d boat will be upturned at the end (think of a banana with the ends turned up) and will turn easier, but be a tad slower due to the shorter wetted waterline. 

If you have a cool picture of the Zephyr, send it.

Great Sacandaga is a Resevoir but it's called a Lake

Great Sacandaga Lake, collection point for water in the drainage, is really a reservoir. A reservoir built, ehhhh, around 1930 to hold back the water and prevent flooding on the Hudson River. I think also to augment commercial shipping and keep the salt water below Poughkeepsie during the summer when the flow of the Hudson is at its lowest. The name change to the Great Sacandaga Lake is most likely for aesthetics and to attract tourist. 

Where outcast pirates go.

June 8^th, near record high temp forecasted to 93F (ok, for some not that hot but humid) a group of us launched from the Northville DEC Boat ramp and paddled south towards the flooded Northampton Campground. The lake is relatively narrow in this stretch but within a few miles it opens up to an area that is six miles across. Here the winds from the west have more to work with and the fetch can create some large waves and whitecaps.

We paddled around a few islands, into and out of the wind, and then headed back north. There were a couple Bald Eagles riding the thermals and the mountains to the west were hazy with pollen. 

Change in weather, pace picks up.

Half way back the western clouds started to build and darken with a distant rumble of thunder. The forecast, while hot, did not predict any thunderstorms. However, we were not surprised by the change. The ‘nowcast’ was obviously more accurate. The paced picked up noticeably as we nonchalantly developed alternative plans should the front close us off. Even though I planned the trip the group was comfortable with sharing decisions, see Common Adventure Model in Outdoor Leadership.

Ominous Sky

We stuck to plan B and bypassed the lakeside Pub continuing back to our vehicles. The storm pretty much passed to our south with just a brief down pour to hasten securing boats.

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