Let's Go Canoeing!

One enjoyment of the Labor Day weekend was a five-hour paddle up the St. Regis River from the tiny hamlet of Santa Clara. Our canoe is a wonderful 39# Wenonah Jensen, designed for touring and speed rather than for cargo and stability. It is a delight to paddle, and we launched at about noon on Sunday.

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At the launching site there is a weatherproof wooden log-box where we signed in and indicated our intentions ("canoe up river") and length of stay ("a few hours"). The river is wide here and the current not too strong. Ducks and great blue herons nervously took to the air as we paddled past them.

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About a mile or so upstream the river makes a sharp bend to the right and then again to the left, and from there on it begins to narrow and meander.

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There were two possible landing places for lunch, a rocky outcropping that seemed to have a small landing beside it, and a sandy shore. We chose the latter and put in for our picnic. ..

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Soon well-fed and back in the canoe, we surprised a muskrat. (You can just see his head near the center of the next photo).

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As the terrain flattens a bit, the river divides into several channels, in the process of making the ever so gradual natural change from navigable stream to eventual bog. The main course is swift-flowing and often longer than alternative routes, so we chose to try paddling through some of the shallows, often feeling our paddles gently bump the thick plants and even the bottom at times. We quickly learned which water plants grow in the shallowest places.

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In these shallows, the minnows are found. We saw thousands of them, most about an inch or two in length, and then we were surprised to spot this: (click on the photo for a slightly better look)

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We maneuvered the canoe closer so that I might get a photo of his front end, but when the canoe paddle accidentally clunked against the boat, he vanished in cloud of silt, gone to take refuge far from the floating golden menace.

A shrill "klee! klee!" above us announced the arrival of a large hawk. Holding onto some vegetation to keep us from being carried back downstream, we watched him circle and soar until an updraft carried him up and away out of our sight.

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The channel was narrow now and the current swift. About three hours had passed since leaving Santa Clara, and we had seen no other human beings except a man and a woman fishing from a rock not far from the launch. They would be the only people we would encounter during our five-hour paddle.

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Tired - and noting the sun's position - we turned around, smiling at the knowledge that the rest of the trip would be downstream and with the wind at our backs,
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but even with the cooperation of current and wind, we began to believe that someone had moved the launch site a couple of miles farther downstream than it was when we set out. We were weary!
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Finally back on dry land, the boat on top of the car, we headed to our favorite watering hole, the Casa del Sol in Saranac Lake. After tamales del dia and enchiladas, we drove the long ride home, tired but still glowing with the delights of the day. .

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I hope you have enjoyed our paddle. Thanks for keeping your weight centered and not tipping us over!

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