We left home on at 7:04 AM, (49 degrees) and proceeded up I-271 towards I-90 and on into New York. We hit the Ohio/Pennsylvania line at 8:48 AM (85.9 miles) and the Pennsylvania/New York line at 9:42 AM (130.6 miles). Tony called at 9:39 to say they were gassing up in Richfield, and so they were about 2 1/2 hours behind us. This year four of our paddling friends (Harold and Laurie, Ted and Tony) from OHCRA were joining us, and we are so glad to have the company.
We listened to "Sea Change" by Robert Parker, and that burned off the miles nicely. The weather was sunny, and very pleasant. We arrived at the motel on Old Forge at 3:43 PM (432.8 miles). We then drove up to the North Street Bridge on the Moose River, and the river level looked good. We also stopped in at Tickner's Canoe Livery to schedule our shuttle for Sunday. That night the six of us all ate dinner at the Knotty Pine, a restaurant adjacent to the motel, where we usually eat when we are in town. A birthday candle was provided by Sophia and stuck into a left over dinner roll, and the gang sang Happy 76th Birthday to me.
We left the motel at 7:31 AM (45 degrees) and went to Keyes Pancake House for breakfast. The place was packed! Usually the town in empty when we are there, but there was a gun show in town, and the weather was nice; so there were people around. Dan drove to the North Street Bridge, and left his van there. He rode up to the Rondaxe Lake Bridge in our van and we met up with the gang there. They had shuttled themselves, and would leave Ted's car and the trailer along side the road.
We all put in (at 9:24 AM) and paddled upstream to see Rondaxe Lake. It is the source of the Moose River and the dam was overflowing nicely. We took a few photos there, but it was foggy and overcast and not really pretty. We departed Rondaxe Lake at 9:40 AM and headed downstream. The river was as high as we have ever seen it, and there were really no obstructions or beaver dams to slow us down. The rain started in earnest, so Harold and Laurie stopped to put rain gear on. We joined them and did the same; then it more or less stopped raining. We continued down to the North Street Bridge where we arrived at 11:55 AM. The trip is about six miles, and usually takes us longer, but the high water helped speed things up. We ate lunch at the bridge, and Sophia and I opted to get out here. Dan had left our van here for us too. We did paddle downstream to investigate some sloughs for birds, but found absolutely none. We got off the river at 1:08 PM and loaded up our stuff. We then drove back up to Rondaxe Lake and I drove Ted's car and trailer back to Tickner's. I neglected to write down their arrival time, but Sophia spotted them from the highway bridge; so we met them at Tickner's dock. We picked up six Moosehead beers to drink after paddling the Moose River; which seemed appropriate. They were camping at Nick's Lake state campground, so we bought some chicken and sides to eat with them, and joined them at the campsite. We sat around the campfire for a little while after dinner, and then left to watch a little football on TV.
We departed the motel at 8:48 AM (47 degrees) after eating the motel breakfast. The others had to pack up, so we were later than normal for us. On the way we stopped at the put-in at Seventh Lake, and also at the bridge over Long Lake. We also stopped where the Route 421 crosses the Bog River to admire the falls.
We left Lows Lower Dam heading for Lows Upper Dam and got to the railroad bridge at 12:30; and the landing at 1:02. The weather was not very nice, and we all had rain gear on. The sun shone a little and then it would rain again. We ate lunch at the take out, and then Sophia, Tony and I hiked up (departed 1:21 and got to the top at 1:56) the trail to the top of Lows Ridge. It rained on the way up and down, but that stopped when we were at the top. The views were quite spectacular, and we took many photos. The fall color was the best we have ever seen in the area, and we were all impressed. We got back down to find Harold had built a fire in the fireplace left from an old house. We departed at 2:57, got to the railroad bridge at 3:22 and back to the take out at 3:48. The steady rain made us paddle more energetically I think. When we got the canoes loaded the rain cleared long enough for a beer. The four departed for Fish Creek State Campground, and we adjourned to the Shaheen Motel in Tupper Lake village, at 4:25 PM and 49 degrees). We ate next door at an almost empty Park Restaurant.
The others wanted a relaxing morning, and so Sophia and I departed Shaheen's at 9:08 AM and 47 degrees, arriving at the Fish Creek campground at 9:45 AM. They were camped next to the water on Square Pond, and so they paddled to the boat launch on Fish Creek. Sophia and I parked there and offloaded our stuff. We paddled out into the lake to meet them, and then we took off up Fish Creek at 12:04 PM. We stopped at a camp site on the way, and ate lunch. NO rain today, yet. We got to Floodwood Pond at 1:27 and across it at 2:02. We left our boats at the take out, and walked to St. Regis Canoe Outfitter's wilderness outpost. Dave Cilley himself was there, and everyone took advantage of his end of season prices on both new and rental gear. Then the four decided on a different route back to their campsite. They paddled to another outlet to Floodwood Pond, and into Rollins Pond. Sophia and I paddled back down Fish Creek. We departed at 3:00, got to Fish Creek at 3:26, Little Square Pond at 3:47 and the take out at 4:29. We loaded up, and drove to their campsite. No one was there, and as we turned around they showed up in the van and trailer. They were able to drive into a closed section of the park to pick up their canoes. We then departed for Saranac Lake village and our motel. We drove to Belvedere's for a so-so dinner, and back to the motel to see the baseball playoff between Detroit and Minneapolis.
It was a nasty rainy day, so we left the motel late. We picked up a lunch at the Lakeside deli, and decided to try the Saranac River down to the Lower Locks. The weather appeared to be clearing some, and we did see quite a bit of sun. We departed the dock at 11:35 AM and ate lunch (12:05 to 12:35) at the Adirondack Shelter part way down stream. While we were eating a flotilla of six canoes, paddled by young men, went hurrying by. It was raining quite a bit, and they looked like they had a schedule; we did not talk to them. We got to the lock (at 1:00) in the rain, and the lock tender was not there. The six canoes were just leaving the empty lock. I used the toilet, and we departed at 1:11. It was really tough paddling, as hard as we have ever had to paddle I would guess. The wind was right into our faces, it was raining, and there were no options other than to keep going. We stopped every ten or fifteen minutes for a breather by going close to shore and holding onto something. We got to the Adirondack Shelter at 1:44, and departed at 1:54. Finally getting back to the dock, where the sun was shining, at 2:29. There were two New York City firemen there that helped us out a little, and they were interesting to talk to. They had never been there before, and were going fishing into Lower Saranac Lake. We adjourned to the motel for a nap, and made reservations at Mirror Lake Inn in Lake Placid for our white table cloth dinner. The others were pub crawling in Saranac Lake, and we invited them to the motel to make arrangements for the next day. We were too tired to be good hosts, and only had a couple beers in our refrigerator.
The food was OK at the Mirror Lake Inn, but the service was quite slow. I think we may not do that again. They have remodeled the bar area, and it is now a bistro that overlooks Mirror Lake; and has a lighter menu. We will see how that goes. It was still raining when we got there, plus there was a big dinner event that took up all the parking. We did get a few cookies from the front desk clerk before we drove back to Saranac Lake.
We left the motel at 8:26 AM and 44 degrees. We hooked up at Axton Landing on the Raquette River, putting in at 10:29, and going up stream to Stony Creek. Then we paddled up Stony Creek past the new bridge at 10:51, where we turned around at 11:00. We got back to the river at 11:13 and headed downstream. Ted and I had shuttled his van and trailer to a take out on Route 3 earlier. We paddled downstream till we stopped for lunch at campsite (#13?) from 11:50 to 12:14. We arrived at the take out at 2:18 after a NO rain day. Sophia and I had never been on this section of the river, and found it quite nice. There was also some sun, and it was a fitting end to our paddling. After we loaded all the boats onto the trailer, we had a celebratory beer. Then we all packed into Ted's vehicle and drove back to Axton Landing.
After they had left, and just as we finished packing our gear, three men showed up. A father and two sons, and we talked paddling a little. They had not been in this area before, but had done some wilderness paddling in northern Canada. One of the younger men was building a home on Transit Road in Kent, New York. This is where Sophia's sister's home is, and they are less than a mile apart. Small world. Then it was back to the motel for a nap, and we ate dinner at Nonna Fina's restaurant in Saranac Lake village. It opened this summer, and was quite nice, and crowded. We had a lake side table, and watched the light fade over the mountains.
Departed motel at 8:22 and 48 degrees. Picked up lunch at the Lakeside Deli, and decided to take the Map Quest suggested route of Route 3 west to Watertown. It was not very pretty, and gave us bad directions to get around Watertown, which cost us half an hour. We arrived at Watertown at 11:31 and 119.7 miles from Saranac Lake. The others were about ten minutes ahead of us, and they were planning to drive all the way back to Ohio.
We went to a canoe dealer near Tina and Ray's home to get some gel-coat to repair the scratches in our canoe. We got to their home in time for a couple beers and then off to the Dudley's for dinner.
We departed 9:03 and 55 degrees (the first day out of the 40's). We stopped in Albion for lunch and then headed for the Thruway. We were listening to Janet Evanovich's book number 14, and it lasted the rest of the way home. We hit the NY/PA line at 11:45 and the PA/OH line at 12:53. We arrived home at 2:44 PM and 60 degrees. The total trip was 1285.6 miles. We did have a great time. It was nice sharing the area with interested paddlers. The colors were wonderful, and we really did see them on occasion. My photos are not so good because my camera is failing, but we will recall the trip with much pleasure.
