I am just back from a week in the Adirondacks. The trip started with 4-days/3-nights on the Oswegatchie. We did an up-and-back from Inlet to High Falls. We had three solo boats – a Guide, a Penobscot 15 and a Yellowstone Solo. If anyplace deserves the name “beaver-dam-land”, this is it.
We arrived at the put-in at Inlet on Friday at around 2:00, packed up our boats and headed upstream. The river meanders through a vast marsh lined with alder thickets and lots of beaver dams. About 3-miles upstream is High Rock – a massive outcropping that rises sharply from the river bank. We took a break to check out the view, but the site was already taken.
We continued upstream over numerous beaver dams. The shelter at Griffin Rapids was also taken, so we ended up at Buck Brook (#34). We gathered firewood, set up camp, had dinner and then settled in around the campfire for the night. The stars overhead were amazing with a clear view of the Milky Way arching across the sky. I was in bed by 10:00 and slept like a log.
I woke up around 7:00 and crawled out of the tent at around 7:30. We knew it would be short trip up to High Falls, so there was no rush to get going. We eat breakfast, packed up our gear and got on our way. The river continued to be challenging with lots of beaver dams, blow-downs and some shallow rapids.
We arrived at High Falls at around 1:00 and set up camp on the east side of the falls at Lean-to #2. I decided to check out the portage trail and campsites on the west side of the falls. The west side is much more active than the east side with hikers passing through pretty regularly on the Cranberry Lake 50.
After a relaxing afternoon, we had dinner and sat around the fire. Dan made Pineapple Flambe for dessert. It was cloudy, so it was not a good night for viewing the stars, but we still saw the space station race across the sky. I went to bed around 10:00.
I woke up at around 8:00, but stayed in the tent until around 8:30. This was our lay-over day, so there was no rush to get up. The forecast was for a chance of showers through-out the day. We decided to continue upstream above the falls. With empty boats it would be easier getting over the beaver dams.
Above the falls the river continued to meander through alder thickets with lots of beaver dams. We checked out Camp Johnny (#11) and the huge old growth pines near the site. We continued up stream climbing over beaver dams until we hit a huge dam just below site #8. We joked it was the Hoover Dam of beaver dams – the "Boover Dam". We decided we had lifted over enough beaver dams for one day and began our run back downstream.
It was a lot easier running back down over the beaver dams than it was to lift over them. We took a break for lunch on some large boulder before continuing down to the falls. That evening we had another great night for viewing the stars - amazing compared to what I normally see in light-polluted Rhode Island.
We were up early the next morning for the trip back to Inlet. It took us about 8-hours over two days to paddle up from Inlet to High Falls. It took about 4-hours to paddle back down. Many of the dams that we needed to lift over on the way up we were able to run on the way down. By mid-morning the clouds broke and the sun came out. Unfortunately, the battery in my camera died so I don’t have many pictures.
When we got back to Inlet I found that my car had a dead battery. Somehow, I had left my lights on. Fortunately, Aaron had a set of jumper cables. We stopped for a celebratory beer at Raquette River Brewing before heading on our ways – Aaron for home and Dan and I to Eaton Lake Campground for day trips with our local club.
More pictures here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/eckilson/albums/72177720335706953
We arrived at the put-in at Inlet on Friday at around 2:00, packed up our boats and headed upstream. The river meanders through a vast marsh lined with alder thickets and lots of beaver dams. About 3-miles upstream is High Rock – a massive outcropping that rises sharply from the river bank. We took a break to check out the view, but the site was already taken.
We continued upstream over numerous beaver dams. The shelter at Griffin Rapids was also taken, so we ended up at Buck Brook (#34). We gathered firewood, set up camp, had dinner and then settled in around the campfire for the night. The stars overhead were amazing with a clear view of the Milky Way arching across the sky. I was in bed by 10:00 and slept like a log.
I woke up around 7:00 and crawled out of the tent at around 7:30. We knew it would be short trip up to High Falls, so there was no rush to get going. We eat breakfast, packed up our gear and got on our way. The river continued to be challenging with lots of beaver dams, blow-downs and some shallow rapids.
We arrived at High Falls at around 1:00 and set up camp on the east side of the falls at Lean-to #2. I decided to check out the portage trail and campsites on the west side of the falls. The west side is much more active than the east side with hikers passing through pretty regularly on the Cranberry Lake 50.
After a relaxing afternoon, we had dinner and sat around the fire. Dan made Pineapple Flambe for dessert. It was cloudy, so it was not a good night for viewing the stars, but we still saw the space station race across the sky. I went to bed around 10:00.
I woke up at around 8:00, but stayed in the tent until around 8:30. This was our lay-over day, so there was no rush to get up. The forecast was for a chance of showers through-out the day. We decided to continue upstream above the falls. With empty boats it would be easier getting over the beaver dams.
Above the falls the river continued to meander through alder thickets with lots of beaver dams. We checked out Camp Johnny (#11) and the huge old growth pines near the site. We continued up stream climbing over beaver dams until we hit a huge dam just below site #8. We joked it was the Hoover Dam of beaver dams – the "Boover Dam". We decided we had lifted over enough beaver dams for one day and began our run back downstream.
It was a lot easier running back down over the beaver dams than it was to lift over them. We took a break for lunch on some large boulder before continuing down to the falls. That evening we had another great night for viewing the stars - amazing compared to what I normally see in light-polluted Rhode Island.
We were up early the next morning for the trip back to Inlet. It took us about 8-hours over two days to paddle up from Inlet to High Falls. It took about 4-hours to paddle back down. Many of the dams that we needed to lift over on the way up we were able to run on the way down. By mid-morning the clouds broke and the sun came out. Unfortunately, the battery in my camera died so I don’t have many pictures.
When we got back to Inlet I found that my car had a dead battery. Somehow, I had left my lights on. Fortunately, Aaron had a set of jumper cables. We stopped for a celebratory beer at Raquette River Brewing before heading on our ways – Aaron for home and Dan and I to Eaton Lake Campground for day trips with our local club.
More pictures here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/eckilson/albums/72177720335706953
