Sep 26, 2015 - OSWEGATCHIE RIVER upstream from the end of Inlet Rd in Fine. Five Ponds Wilderness Area. Water level low. Soon arrived at shallow rocky area, Bee Bee Rapid - best route close to shore on river L (on the R going upstream) then a breached beaver dam. Bear paw prints in the sand at Sam's Curve. Straight of the Woods. 3.6 miles to High Rock, nice view from 25' above the river. Griffin Rapids (not really rapids) in front of lean-to (site 38) - at top of rapids a shallow rocky section in front of site 37 was lined by some. Cage Lake Springhole (aka Buck Brook) Lean-to at 6.7 miles. Alders for a while then shores are high & treed - beautiful. Lined up Round Hill Rapids to footbridge (can also do a short carry on river L thru site 23). 10 miles & 6+! hours to campsite #22, the site of Walter Moore's (lumber) Camp, just past the footbridge. Sunny with temp in 60's.
Sep 27 - BIG SHALLOW POND hike, one of the 5 Ponds. The trail roughly parallels Wolf Creek for over a mile then pulls away to cross Big Shallow Outlet & follow that to the lean-to at the lovely pond with steep side of esker on N side. Saw 4 ducks (long-tailed?). 4 miles round-trip. Paddled upstream to scenic HIGH FALLS. I (a single-blader) got up Crooked Rapids but the rest of the gang (all double-bladers) needed help. Lots of tall white pines. Some beaver dams to go over. Moss Rock. 4 miles round-trip. Full moon eclipse that evening from the other side of the footbridge near camp. Sunny with temp in 70s, Low in 40s overnight.
Sep 28 - OSWEGATCHIE RIVER return. Ran Round Hill Rapids empty then loaded gear. Stopped at both lean-tos on the way back. Mostly cloudy but overnight low was in the mid 50s. Maples close to peak with purple, lots of red, orange, yellow & green; birch & beech still green. Quick cool swim in the river before going home. 10 miles, 4.5 hours.
Sep 23&24, 2012 - OSWEGATCHIE RIVER. Upstream against a fair current, mostly flat water, lots of twists & turns. High Rock. Griffin Rapids lean-to (not on the Adirondack Paddler's Map but newly refurbished). Buck Brook lean-to (lunch). Alders on shores for much of 1st half, gives way to higher drier banks with mixed woods with some very tall white pines in 2nd half. Lined up class I Round Hill Rapids immediately before the footbridge. Lined up another rapid ~0.5 miles beyond the footbridge. Had to get out for 3 beaver dams, poled up 3 others (others did more lift-overs than I did). 13 miles, 7.3 hours. Spent the night in the N lean-to at High Falls. Day 2: The day started out on an incendiary note when Benni's old Svea stove blew up.
5.3 hours (& less effort) to go back downstream stopping at both lean-tos & scouting out 3 other campsites. Was able to run or scoot over all beaver dams without having to get out. The O is always a great wilderness trip. Very nice fall foliage. Grey jays, wood ducks, gb herons, red-tailed hawk; chipmunks by day, mice by night at lean-tos - hang up all food or use a bear canister. Asters added some more color to shores. Wenonah Wilderness, a 15'4" solo canoe, was a very good choice, Royalex version for max durability.
Oct 7-11, 2006 - OSWEGATCHIE RIVER canoe camping. To the source or bust! Foliage well past peak. 60 beaver dams between put-in & the sources.
Oct 11 - Paddled the 15+ miles out in 5.5 hours with lunch at Cage Lake Springhole leanto which had been refurbished this year. Nehasanemobile was the only car left in the parking area.
Oct 10 - Day trip - Upstream, stopped at Deer Camp (camped there on a thru trip in the past). Passed Beaverdam & Headwaters Carry & ~1.5 miles further upstream, explored 2 branches. Easterly one petered out; westerly one ended at a beaver pond. 30 beaver dams en route.
Oct 9 - 9 beaver dams, couple of short class 1/1+ rapids to go up in the 2 miles to spectacular High Falls. Carried around falls & had lunch on top. 2 more miles, 9 more beaver dams to Camp Johnny (#11).
Oct 8 - Upstream 11 miles to campsite #22 just past footbridge. 2 1' beaver dams of note (1st comes soon into trip - we paddled up it on 3rd try), couple of log jams, Round Hill Rapid just before footbridge is best poled up. Stopped at High Rock for view, leanto at Griffin Rapids (no rapids) for lunch. Saw a canoe go by late afternoon - we were not to see any more people for rest of trip ~70 hours.
Oct. 7 - Stopped at new The Wild Center nature museum in Tupper Lake - spent about 1.5 hours (could easily have spent twice that) - not real big but very well done - the otter was great to watch. Camped at put-in at Inlet Landing - ~7 cars in parking area.
Lake Lila to Lows Lake Oswegatchie traverse trip.
Sep 14 - 16, 2002 - Oswegatchie River canoe camping, Five Ponds Wilderness Area (SW of Wanakena). MAP. Refs.: McMartin/Ingersoll's Discover the Northwestern Adirondacks (esp. if you also hike) & Jamieson/Morris' Adirondack Canoe Waters - North Flow (both of which any Adirondack paddler should have in their library anyway). Herbert Keith's Man of the Woods is a wonderful read on the river's history. Water level lowest I've seen. Camped Friday night at the large grassy parking area at the put-in. Sat - upriver about 10 miles & camp at Ross Rapids (not whitewater) - about 3 beaverdams & 2 logjams along the way & 1 shallow rapid had to be lined (BeeBee Rapid - all "rapids" are easy class 1) - stopped at High Rock (4 mile mark) for lunch & view of the snaking river from the 25' high rock. Saw 3 otters playing. From 1st leanto at Griffin Rapids on up all good campsites taken for 3+ miles. 90 years ago, Wilfred Morrison's Camp Betsy used to be a short distance below Ross Rapids & he would paddle up to get his mail being delivered by logging train - route of railroad is now a hiking trail & passes behind our campsite. Sunny early but clouding up late in day. Campfire ban still in effect. Storms overnight. Sun - showers early (tarp time). In afternoon, paddle 3 mi. up to High Falls - some beaverdams, short rapids that are better being poled up (we tended to line up) & a couple of downed trees to go over. High Falls a worthy destination. Takes 70 minutes to return to camp - less than half time it took us to get to the falls. Rain overnight. Mon - an almost perfect paddling day! Early clouds cleared, water was up a few inches & the current was now on our side, strikingly beautiful river! Early fall colors - maples are turning red. Stop at Griffin Rapids leanto for lunch - Bill Ingersoll (see book above) maintains this leanto as part of the Adopt-a-leanto Program. Some no-see-um, mosquito & fly activity still. Merrimack Baboosic, a 14' solo canoe, worked out well - especially fun with light load - turns well, very good acceleration out of the turns.
Sep. 27, 2001 - Big Trout Lake hike & lower Bog River paddle. Spent the night at Lake Eaton State Campsite near Long Lake - a scratchy throat early in the week had developed into a full-blown sore throat & I wanted a warm shower, restroom & clean running water - only about 6 other campers. No loons seen or heard on Lake Eaton. After breakfast at the Long Lake Diner drove back over to Lows Lower Dam & hiked the 1.4 mi. to (Big) Trout Lake over an uninteresting old jeep road (now closed to motor vehicles except snowmobiles in winter). Lake has sandy bottom near where trail hits it. Would be better to carry a canoe in - mostly used by fishermen going for brook & lake trout. Could be a good xc ski route - UMP calls for banning snowmobiles in the future if a new snowmobile trail from Long Lake to the Adirondack Railroad is built. Starts raining, head back.
The Bog River enters Tupper Lake at its southern end & a scenic falls can be explored near the Rt. 421 (Horseshoe Lake Rd.) bridge. Put-in is to the SW of the bridge above the falls. Paddled upstream for about 2 mi. River about 100' wide. Hillsides ablaze with color on either side - pretty. Eventually see 2 sets of rapids: the one to the right is the Bog River (~5 mi. below the Lower Dam) & one to the left is Round Lake Outlet. Waded thru shallows of the latter for short distance (those Chota Mukluks come in real handy) & paddled another 0.25 mi. of flatwater before reaching a stretch of major rapids (rapids upstream can be Class 4). Above these rapids is a bridge which may carry the new snowmobile route from Long Lake. The UMP calls for the building of new leantos at Big Trout Pond, Winding Falls on the lower Bog River (accessible by new trail to be built) & on a hill above Tupper Lake. Turned back, saw a mink swim across the river, pleasant paddle out. Got me a motel with view of Long Lake.
Sep. 23-26, 2001 - Bog River, Lows Lake, Oswegatchie River. A Unit Management Plan (UMP) is in the works for this area which will determine its future to recreationists.
Sat. - Shuttle a vehicle to Inlet (not to be confused with the Town of Inlet) west of Wanakena, our planned take-out on the East or Main Branch of the Oswegatchie River. Saw 3 seperate coyotes on roadsides south of Tupper Lake. Spent the night at Lows Lower Dam. Parking area quite full - UMP calls for a new 30 car parking area 2,000' from the dam & old parking area will be used for unloading & as a turn-around. Most people are leaving Sun. or Mon. Warm night.
Sun. - Mostly cloudy, a brief sprinkle as we set out &, of course, a headwind. Paddle upstream on the Bog River which is narrower & very picturesque here. Takes us just 45 min. to go into Hitchins Pond & the start of a 200 yd. carry around the upper dam. Foundations of a couple of A. A. Low's old buildings can be found here. The Bog River Flow above the dam averages about 200 yds. wide & is less intimate. In about 2.5 mi. from the Upper Dam we poke S thru a gap & take a southerly route around a large island past campsites 15 & 16 (Bog River/Lows Lake area has ~40 designated campsites). Continuing on the south shore we stop for lunch at campsite 18 on the W end of another island. Much of Lows Lake visible from here. Small rocky mountain humps line the N shore. Lots of prime fall color - the maples almost at peak. Half way across Lows' S shore we stop at Boone's Landing & admire the huge white pine which centers the campsite. A little further we stop at campsite 39 which is on a point looking W over a large bog mat - a small but more than acceptable site. Paddling across the bay we look at Moose Bay Landing but are disappointed in this little used site with a lot of blowdown - so back to #39. Loons call as we set up (Lows has one of the largest populations of loons in NYS) - sunny now & quite warm (70s). Plenty of energy left, so we paddle SE toward Bog Lake on what is technically the Bog River. An old road used to cross the river but the causeway is breached plus you can paddle thru a large culvert. Becomes more streamlike winding thru grassy shores - the maps do not show this as it truly is. Soon posted signs are seen from shore to shore - I believe that as long as we don't set foot on shore we have the right to paddle on thru - you decide for yourself. After a couple of beaver dams we reach Bog Lake & see the buildings of the Robinwood Club across the way. The club leased the land from International Paper but recently the Nature Conservancy has bought most of the land around Bog Lake & will probably transfer it to the State in the near future. This will then open up a route over to Lake Lila. We paddle the 1.5 mi. across Bog Lake & then head back to camp. Half way back, heard a pack of coyotes yipping, yelping, barking & howling for about a minute. Nice sunset over the bog. We saw no motorboats nor floatplanes on Lows Lake - the UMP suggests the immediate elimination of motorboats by the public (4 landowners will still be able to use theirs but not for commercial purposes) & the elimination of floatplane landings in 5 years.
Mon. - Warm night again but lot of moisture in the air & dew was over everything. See clouds in the W & a S wind often brings rain. Set out for W end of the lake & see a bald eagle perched on dead tree at W end of the bog. A few tamarack trees try to grow on the bog. The ranger meets us at the start of the carry to Big Dear Pond. Carry is anything from 0.7 to 1.0 mile depending which source you believe. Relatively easy, other than one short steep spot, & we are able to carry everything in one trip. Paddle the short distance across the pond. See a small hawk (maybe a northern harrier) zig-zagging over the boggy shoreline. Much of the 2.0 to 2.5 mi. carry to the Oswegatchie was affected by the big 1995 storm, a lot of trees lay across the ground & opened things up for raspberry bush growth (unfortunately we were a little late in the season to taste much of the fruit). Warm, humid & very windy. Doubled the carry for the most part. At about 0.75 mi. someone has nailed a mailbox to a tree stump with a notebook in it to log comments. At a little over one mile, trail climbs to a heighth of land & crude benches are found on either side of the trail - great spot for lunch. Trail then drops somewhat then levels out well before reaching our goal. One minute we are walking thru a lush green forest then things open up again as we pass thru a blowdown area & come out at Beaverdam on the Oswegatchie River. Skies have clouded over, occasional sprinkle. Paddle downstream in low water to Deer Camp about 1 mi. below Beaverdam. Looks well-used: a blue tarp covers some firewood, chainsaw log furniture, a bag of nails! (I carry it out the rest of trip - Real outdoorsmen don't need no stinkin' nails!) Despite increasing rain, we pass this site up & try for Camp Johnny, maybe 3 mi. further downstream. The low water makes for more beaverdams to lift over & more log obstructions which have to be negotiated. Rains harder & harder - pretty soon visibility is low but we press on (don't ever remember paddling in rain this hard before). An hour before dark, we reach Camp Johnny - occupied. The sole camper invites us to stay but after an hour of pelting rain the leantos 2 mi. downstream are beginning to sound good. Only another 40 min. & a few more big beaverdams & we're there. The leanto to the E of High Falls is open! Yes! An hour after our arrival a couple of backpackers from Buffalo arrived soaking wet & we invited them in. Much of their gear is wet including one sleeping bag - sometimes we have to learn the hard way. Despite the torrential rain which puddled in my canoe (thought I'd sprung a leak!), all of my gear stayed dry in the Sealline Propack.
Tue. - Actually have gone a little further into the trip than originally planned so had a day to rest. Guy from Camp Johnny stops to visit & tells us the water has come up so much on the river that there were no longer beaverdams to pull over. This guy was at Lake Lila during the 1995 storm & camped next door to woman who died. Brief shower early & late in day but some sun also. Take a walk for a mile in direction of Glasby Pond. Trail also quite impacted from storm & is sometimes narrow & brushy. See an old metal-tracked vehicle abandoned from years ago when area was heavily logged (some old-growth white pines can still be found). Still found it somewhat hard to relax & unwind. Spent some time at High Falls but decided they were too noisy - I like it real quiet. Read Nessmuk's "Woodcraft & Camping", a how-to written over 80 years ago (Nessmuk is no relation to Nehasane.) The Five Ponds Wilderness UMP calls for removing the 2 leantos at High Falls & the 2 leantos downstream. Still think that High Falls will be a major attraction & destination. 3 backpacking cops from Yonkers show up, don't have a tent, want to spend night in leanto with us. Wish they would just camp elsewhere with so many campsites around but leanto etiquette says let 'em in - bit of a squeeze. From now on I'm going to avoid camping at High Falls - I prefer more solitude.
Wed. - Cool night (below 40) but nice morning. Water level still way high - rapids below falls look real tempting. Paddle the 13 mi. to Inlet in under 4 hours which included a short break at High Rock. Water over all beaverdams & just couple of logjams gave us a momentary challenges. Had to duck under a low tree & the Five Ponds footbridge. Heard 2 gunshots. No-one camping in the 13 mi. below High Falls. Chilly (50s) when clouds blocked the sun. Bell Merlin II performed well in a variety of challenges. Felt a little more sluggish with some weight (paddler+gear=~275lbs.) in it than when doing day trips. Put the Propack in back which makes the canoe stern heavy making for excellent tracking & allowed bow to slide onto beaverdams easily. Harder tracking makes for a bit more work in the turns on the Oswegatchie - heeling the boat on edge helps greatly with this plus adds an element of fun. Sycopakka paddled an OT Pack canoe with a double-bladed paddle - despite a lot of yawing (bow moves side to side on each stroke) he was able to move along real well, more a credit to his strength. The Pack's design does not lend itself well to the single blade (I know...I used to own one.) From a purely aesthetic standpoint the double-blade doesn't do much for me but to each his own. From a practical standpoint, one can go faster & less-skilled paddlers can control their canoes better with the double-blades in average conditions. There is much beauty in watching a single-bladed paddle used skillfully - just watch any Bill Mason video.
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