Sarum Boats: 2022

Adirondack Park Canoe Trip

July 15, 16, 2022

In November of 2021, I made a day-trip circuit of the Follensby Loop, in the St. Regis Canoe Area. I spent the night in Tupper Lake and got an early start the following morning. This was my second annual trip to the area, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. There is a video record of that trip on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7QZup_q2h8A This summer, I decided to ‘up the ante’ a bit and go for a longer loop with an overnight camp.

The pros of camping overnight, aside from the fun of the camping itself, is the ability to cover more distance, and get to some more remote waters. The cons are a heavier pack, with a tent, and additional food, and sleeping gear. I also packed a small solar panel, so I could keep my phone charged, and that served as my only camera.

I left Salisbury at 6:00 AM on Friday and made it to Paul Smith’s College by 10:30. Serendipitously, there was a canoe symposium going on that weekend at the college, and though I admired some great classic boats as I passed by, I did not linger. It took longer than I expected to park in a remote lot and gear up, but I was on the move by 11:30. I made quick progress through Lower St. Regis, Lake, Spitfire Lake, and Upper St. Regis Lake before arriving at Bog Pond and a series of short carries and small ponds.

At the south-east corner of St. Regis Pond, and the portage to Little Clear Pond I ran into a group of campers portaging their canoes and gear the other way. It was only a .6-mile carry, and flat, but I was happy that I could carry my pack and boat simultaneously and not make multiple trips.

As I left Little Clear I got my first hint of the ‘adventure’ I had set for myself. After toting my canoe across and up the shoulder of Rte. 30, I had difficulty finding the trail to Hatchery Brook. I was backtracking along the highway when a DEP ranger stopped his vehicle and gave me directions. It turned out that all I needed to do was bushwhack straight down the bank to the stream, which was a mercifully short distance, and the last real portage of the day.

The passage down Hatchery Brook was an adventure. While the water was always just deep enough to float the boat, I had to negotiate one beaver dam, one fallen log, a 2x8 bridge build by a landowner and two bridges. The first of these was high enough by laying down in the canoe I was able to drag myself under by gripping the bottom of the bridge. The second provided only inches of clearance, so I had to drag the boat over. Finally, just before reaching Upper Saranac Lake, the channel was blocked by the beginnings of a beaver dam, but this I was able to ‘run’ without too much scraping.

The paddle south on Upper Saranac was over the widest water I encountered on the trip. The long, open paddle passed without incident, under blue-bird skies. A little less than halfway down Upper Saranac Lake is Fish Creek Bay. The western end of the bay narrows to a channel connecting to Fish Creek Ponds. From the north end of the pond, Spider Creek connects to Follensby Clear Pond. Last November, this channel had been blocked by a beaver dam, but the dam had been breached in to two piles, and the channel was clear to paddle through.

At this point, I had been paddling for nearly eight hours, so I was happy to pull up on the first island with a campsite and settle in for the evening. I emptied the canoe and got my tent set up, as well as my hammock with a view of the pond. Though I didn’t strictly need a fire, I went ahead and got one going, if only for the ambience. Dinner was freeze-dried stew on the Jet-Boil™.

I’d been seeing recommendations for bear canisters in the ‘Dacks, and though I’ve never used one, except in Wyoming, I found a small one online and took it along. On Saturday, I did have a conversation with a paddling ranger, who told me that in that area, raccoons were more of a nuisance. I had spotted a notice at the carry to Bear Pond warning of ‘aggressive raccoons’ in that area.

At breakfast, I encountered a troop of aggressive ducks, who seemed intent on sharing. They wandered around my campsite, checking everything out, until I shooed them away. Packing up was quick and I was back on the water by 7:30. Spotted a mature bald eagle in the trees as I headed north on Follensby, which I took as a good omen.

This section of the route was familiar to me, as last year’s trip overlapped here. After a quick portage to Polliwog Pond, the carry across Floodwood Road and past the Saranac Inn golf course was just a warm-up for the longer carries to come. Rested and fresh, I enjoyed the paddle across Hoel Pond to the old railroad embankment. The portage goes over the path of the old train rails, but there is a big concrete culvert underneath. The far end of the culvert is about a foot above the water level of Turtle Pond. This time around, I scouted the culvert to make sure I could step down easily on the other end and walked the canoe through without having to unload. At the end of Turtle Pond was the carry that took the most out of me, about a mile and a quarter and over a ridge to get to Clamshell Pond. Clamshell is small, and I was soon out of the boat again, though the trail to Fish Pond was flat and only a half mile long.

Fish Pond is a beautiful, remote spot. At its eastern end I had a short carry to Mud Pond where I encountered, lounging at the portage boardwalk, the largest snapping turtle I have ever seen. Standing on the narrow planks, with my back to the water, I was happy that he/she went around me and quickly into the Pond.

From here, I started to see more people, a young couple, the ranger I mentioned earlier, anglers on St. Regis Pond. At the east end of St. Regis Pond, I was now retracing my route through the same series of short carries and small ponds to the St. Regis Lakes and Spitfire Lake.

I made it to Paul Smith’s by 5:30 in the afternoon, very tired, but satisfied with my accomplishment.

The drive home was as taxing as the paddling. I made a stop at the Stewarts in Keene Valley for snacks and caffeine. Then, fore-armed with an audio book, I made the long drive home at a modest pace.

Roger McKee

7/22/2022

Timeline

Left Lakeville, CT about 6:15, Friday morning

Arrived Paul Smith’s College (220 miles) 10:30 AM

Set off from boat launch: 11:30

July 15 Distance paddled/carried: 17/2 miles

Lower St. Regis Lake ~ Spitfire Lake ~ Upper St. Regis Lake

150-foot carry to Bog Pond

150-foot carry to Bear Pond

.25 mile carry to Little Long Pond

.25 carry to Green Pond