Paradox
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After resolving a myriad of tedious work related baggage, Ishmael and I met up at a sandwich shop in Saranac Lake, NY and then spotted a car at the Saranac Inn boat launch. We headed for the Ampersand Bay boat launch and geared up for the weekend. About 4:30 pm we paddled out onto Lower Saranac Lake directly into a 10-20 mph breeze on our way to campsite 66 on the Northern shore of Middle Saranac Lake. We were both somewhat surprised that we arrived at the southwestern tip of the lake in 1:10. We were not pressing it as we stopped several times to marvel at the beauty of the lake. We commented to each other how fortunate we were to be able to frequent this area and enjoy the weather which was clear and wonderful. The granite, the clear warm water, the loons and the lack of human incursion was wonderful. The Saranac River channel was calm and as we came into Upper Locks, a fisherman who was heading into Lower Saranac Lake held up his passing to wait for us and operated the lock while we sat in our kayaks and passed directly through. We shot the breeze with him while he did all the work, and headed into the Middle Saranac channel in 3 minutes flat.
The channel switchbacks several times before ending in Middle Saranac Lake. Less than a half mile brought us to our evenings destination: Campsite 66 on the Northern shore of Middle Saranac Lake. It is a large campsite with room for several tents. I had reserved campsite 66 for the $38 non-NY-resident fee earlier in the week at reserveamerica.com.
GPS track
We pitched our tent, collected fire wood, grilled some burgers and corn, and generally had a relaxing evening listening to the loon calls and telling jokes. A campfire was visible through the trees about 1/4 mile to the east and one on First Island directly south. Other than the two campfires the only evidence of human incursion is occasional traffic sounds on Rt 3 across the lake. Seven beers was barely enough for a Friday night after an 8 mile paddle.
We packed up at a leasurely pace on Saturday morning while we waited for the fog to clear from the warm lake in the 33 degree temperatures. We paddled out at 9:00am onto a calm lake and saw only one other group of campers/fisherman on Halfway Island.
GPS track and pictures
We arrived at the Bartlett Carry and started the drudgery of carrying the kayaks up the hill and then down to Upper Saranac Lake. The carry is about 1/2 a mile long. We organized it such that we would carry one kayak about a hundred yards and go back and get the other and carry it past the other one a hundred feet or so. In this way it took us about 3/4 of an hour to get both kayaks and gear from Middle Saranac Lake to Upper Saranac Lake.
GPS track and pictures
We had lunch at the Western end of the Carry and headed out onto Upper Saranac Lake. Upper Saranac Lake has much more private property and the development that goes along with it than the previous two lakes. However, there were very few powerboats on this beautiful Saturday. We paddled North on the lake enroute to Buck Island.
The campsites on Upper Saranac Lake do not require reservations. We decided to check out campsites as we headed North until we found the ideal spot. We found #11 on Buck Island first and instantly decided it was the place to be. The site has an easy landing and is quite flat. It also has views to the South, West, and North. After unloading and putting up the tent we decided a beer run was in order. We paddled into Saranac Inn and after some mucking about, got some beer in Saranac Lake and paddled back to our campsite. We checked out some other campsites along the way and decided we had the best of the lot.
GPS track and pictures
Back at the site I had a chance to scope things out a bit and became a bit critical of the previous occupiers of this site. Many of the trees had been hacked by an axe/machette sometime this season. Also there was a very curious bit of chainsaw work. A 24" diameter pine had been cut off about 10 -12' about the ground. How one could accomplish this is a mystery to me. It seems to me one would need some very heavy machinery to accomplish this safely.
Another nice campfire on Saturday evening (started with the Magnesium block) and on Sunday we headed out into the fog to Saranac Inn. En route we saw a bald eagle on Green Island.
Gps track and pictures
The channel switchbacks several times before ending in Middle Saranac Lake. Less than a half mile brought us to our evenings destination: Campsite 66 on the Northern shore of Middle Saranac Lake. It is a large campsite with room for several tents. I had reserved campsite 66 for the $38 non-NY-resident fee earlier in the week at reserveamerica.com.
GPS track
We pitched our tent, collected fire wood, grilled some burgers and corn, and generally had a relaxing evening listening to the loon calls and telling jokes. A campfire was visible through the trees about 1/4 mile to the east and one on First Island directly south. Other than the two campfires the only evidence of human incursion is occasional traffic sounds on Rt 3 across the lake. Seven beers was barely enough for a Friday night after an 8 mile paddle.
We packed up at a leasurely pace on Saturday morning while we waited for the fog to clear from the warm lake in the 33 degree temperatures. We paddled out at 9:00am onto a calm lake and saw only one other group of campers/fisherman on Halfway Island.
GPS track and pictures
We arrived at the Bartlett Carry and started the drudgery of carrying the kayaks up the hill and then down to Upper Saranac Lake. The carry is about 1/2 a mile long. We organized it such that we would carry one kayak about a hundred yards and go back and get the other and carry it past the other one a hundred feet or so. In this way it took us about 3/4 of an hour to get both kayaks and gear from Middle Saranac Lake to Upper Saranac Lake.
GPS track and pictures
We had lunch at the Western end of the Carry and headed out onto Upper Saranac Lake. Upper Saranac Lake has much more private property and the development that goes along with it than the previous two lakes. However, there were very few powerboats on this beautiful Saturday. We paddled North on the lake enroute to Buck Island.
The campsites on Upper Saranac Lake do not require reservations. We decided to check out campsites as we headed North until we found the ideal spot. We found #11 on Buck Island first and instantly decided it was the place to be. The site has an easy landing and is quite flat. It also has views to the South, West, and North. After unloading and putting up the tent we decided a beer run was in order. We paddled into Saranac Inn and after some mucking about, got some beer in Saranac Lake and paddled back to our campsite. We checked out some other campsites along the way and decided we had the best of the lot.
GPS track and pictures
Back at the site I had a chance to scope things out a bit and became a bit critical of the previous occupiers of this site. Many of the trees had been hacked by an axe/machette sometime this season. Also there was a very curious bit of chainsaw work. A 24" diameter pine had been cut off about 10 -12' about the ground. How one could accomplish this is a mystery to me. It seems to me one would need some very heavy machinery to accomplish this safely.
Another nice campfire on Saturday evening (started with the Magnesium block) and on Sunday we headed out into the fog to Saranac Inn. En route we saw a bald eagle on Green Island.
Gps track and pictures
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Can't make it that weekend.
