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Paddling Around Lake Champlain
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Margy and Cathy at the Port Kent Ferry
dock, headed north to Plattsburgh's City Beach, 6/28/2004
Journal
Entries
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Lonesome turtle
South Bay

Fort Ticonderoga

April 5, 2005. The buds a on the trees are getting fatter, little ice remains, and a row boat awaits a warmer, gentler lake.

Two mallards swimming in the reflection of a mast of the Losi McClure.

The leaves are turning and the water is
getting colder.

Heading to Juniper Island on a perfect September day.

Exploring the Red Rock shore 
The turtle that held up a bridge, This turtle and several like it we found on the turtle platforms in Missisquoi Bay

Gunboat Philadelphia
Lake Champlain Maritime Museum 
Crown Point Bridge 
Eurasian Milfoil |

Mary Poppins with a paddle?

460 million year old cabbage fossil.

Sophie getting a free ride
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Margy
Holden and Cathy Frank |
Paddling
Around the Shoreline of Lake Champlain and its Major Islands,
Bit by Bit! |
WE DID IT!
Finally, we have finished our circumnavigation of Lake Champlain and its major islands, a distance
of close to 700 miles. But like a good book, finishing is bitter sweet. We really don't want to stop kayaking. So what's next - first we need to write our book and then we plan to kayak all the major rivers and creeks leading into Lake Champlain, as least as far as they are navigable from the lake. |
| We have observed the human life, wildlife,
geology, weather, and where appropriate, reflecting on the extraordinary
history that has transpired along the way. Always however, we
have been taken by the shear beauty of this remarkably diverse landscape. |
| © Copyright 2004 Cathy Frank, Margy Holden - Details |
|
Most
Recent Trips Appear First in this listing, however
the actual journal entries are in chronological order and
follow one another on this page for ease of reading. If
you would like to start at the begriming of these shorter
entries click
START
(08/04/06) Woods Island - - see below
(07/30/06) Four Brothers Islands - -
see below
(07/19/06) Watch Point to Chipman
loop - -
see below
(07/13/06) Schuyler Island - - see below
(07/07/06) Chipman Point - Benson
Landing loop- see below
(07/06/06) Carry Bay - -
see below
(06/21/06) Port Henry to Westport- - see below
(05/08/06) South Bay - - - see below
(12/08/05) A Paddler's View of Water Quality - see below
(10/03/05) Perkins Pier, Burlington to Redrocks Point
(09/30/05) West Bridport to Ticonderoga
(09/19/05) Crown Point to Port Henry - Bulwagga Bay
(09/16/05) Cedar-Fishbladder-Savage
Islands - Island Hopping
(09/08/05) Burton Island -So Close Yet So Far - see below
(09/01/05) Valcour and Crab Islands - An Historic Paddle - see below
(08/26/05) Where
are We? - Why We Haven't Been Paddling -see
below
(07/15/05) Mississquoi
Bay - An International Experience - see
below
(07/12/05) Incredible
Cliffs - Westport to Essex
(07/07/05 Keeler
Bay Revisited - see
below
(06/27/05) Island Hopping - Knight and
Butler Islands - see
below
(06/24/05) The Southern Lake - Whitehall
to Bensons Landing - see
below
(06/20/05) Crown Point Bridge to
Arnold Bay - see
below
(06/14/05) A
Short Paddle in a Mini Downpour - see
below
(04/11/05) Spring is Finally Here - see below
(04/06/05) Daily Changes - The Osprey are Back - see below
(04/01/05) A Rapidly Changing Lake, Shelburne Bay - see below
(03/09/05) A Ferry Ride through the Ice - see below
(01/29/05) Lake
Champlain Ice -see
below
(01/09/05) A Winter Walk on
the Malletts Bay Railway Causeway - see
below(12/30/04)
Red Rocks Park, on Foot -
see below
(11/06/04) Kayaks
Stored for the Season - see
below
(10/27/04) South Hero, Crescent
Bay - see
below
(10/07/04) Crown Point Bridge
to Putnam Creek and back - see
below
(10/01/04) Cumberland Head Ferry
to Plattsburgh Beach and back - see
below
( 9/30/04) Arnold Bay, Panton
to Kingsland Bay - see
below
( 9/22/04) Missisquoi Bay to HIghgate
Springs - see
below
( 9/20/04) Burlington, Juniper
Island, Shelburne Bay - see
below
( 9/13/04) Kingsland Bay to Little
Otter Creek, VT - see below
Earlier Journals: These are
longer articles which have their own separate pages.
(7/16/04) A
Dramatic Day on Malletts Bay - Inner Malletts Bay
(7/12/04) The Charlotte/Shelburne
Shore - Cedar Beach to Shelburne Beach
(7/09/04) Discovering
Willsboro Bay - Port Kent to Willsboro Bay
(6/28/04) Paddling
Through History - Port Kent to Plattsburgh
City Beach
(6/25/04) The Maiden
Voyage -
Shelburne Beach to Shelburne Bay
(6/15/04) How
Proficient at Kayaking Are We Anyway?
6/15/04)
Introduction
Summer 2004
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| (9/12/2004) After
a long break from paddling, due to family visits and vacations,
we are finally back on the water and feeling much the better
for it, taking advantage of our glorious September weather. |
| (09/13/2004) We
are now scheduling trips at a frantic pace, trying to
get as many trips as possible completed before the weather
turns too cold, too rough, or the days become too short for
us to continue. As a result we are (obviously) hopelessly
behind in our writing, as evidenced by the long list of "Coming
Soon". So we are now trying to
put a short paragraph up about each trip immediately after
we complete it with the promise of a more detailed journal
to follow...when the long Vermont winter sets in!. |
(9/13/2004) Kingsland
Bay to Little Otter Creek, VT ( 9 miles) New - This
was the first day back to paddling after a month's layoff
and we were rusty at everything. Our plan was to go from
the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum near Basin Harbor to Kingsland
Bay State Park starting early in the day. We got a later
than planned start when Margy got delayed by telephone calls.
When she finally got to my house she discovered she had forgotten
her spray skirt, not something to be without on a day where
the wind was forecast to increase to 10-20 MPH sometime in
the afternoon. Our plans continued to deteriorate from there.
On the drive down to Ferrisburg Margy took us down Spear
Street Extension and somewhere close to Ferrisburg we crossed
a 4 inch deep swath of what I though was mud that had run
out of a farmer's dirt driveway in one of our many rainstorms.
If only it had been just mud! Turns out it was more manure
than mud and my car has not smelled the same since despite
one trip to the carwash with a special undercoat washing!
We could not find the original place we wanted to spot a
car and when we got to Kingsland Bay State Park, our alternate
site, we found it closed for the season and a big gate across
the road. Fortunately for us we discovered the Ferrisburg
Beach just down the road about 100 yards. By then it was
time for lunch and the wind had already picked up to 10-20
mph from the south so we totally bagged our original plan,
postponed lunch ( we hadn't done anything to earn it anyway
except put the kayaks on top of the car) and decided to paddle
out of Kingsland Bay and into Little Otter Creek and back
again. That turned out to be the first smart decision we
had made all day. With a strong tail wind we wandered around
Kingsland Bay finding a beaver damn, a log full of turtles,
an osprey nest and a beautiful overnight camping site designated
as part of the Champlain Paddler's Trail. Once we rounded
the point and headed north east toward Little Otter Creek
we had the wind in our face but not much wave action. We
had been so impressed with LIttle Otter Creek the first time
we had been there (July 30) that we were hoping to return
in the fall when migrating birds might be more in evidence.
Perhaps it was the wind, be we saw no wildlife at all. The
water was a little higher than when we had been there a month
ago, but aside from that nothing had changed, including the
wind. We paddled hard up the creek about a mile to the boat
launch we had used in July, had a floating late lunch, turned
around and paddled back. There were more turtles on the log
on the way back. It would not be until the evening that I
would notice how much my car smelled of manure! |
(9/20/2004) Burlington,
Juniper Island, Shelburne Bay (11 miles) New - This
was perhaps the most glorious day either of us can ever remember
being out on the water. The sky was blue, the wind calm,
and the air warm and we had the lake to ourselves, it being
a Monday in late September. After a quick look around Burlington
Harbor, where we were dwarfed by the incoming ferry and outgoing
tour boat, the Ethan Allen III, we headed straight our to
Juniper. We were a little disappointed that the Lois McClure
was not in port, as we pasted by her dock at Perkins Pier.
We are still hopeful that we will catch up with her before
the season is over. Despite it's checkered history, Juniper
is a beautiful island with layers of "paint can" rock
comprising its steep shoreline. "Paint Can" rock
is my less than elegant but very function name for the gray
slate rock drizzled with white calcite that one sees in great
abundance along the Vermont side of the lake. Juniper is
privately owned and there were people at the boathouse on
the southeast shore so we did not stop dispute the fact that
it was time for lunch. "Let's have lunch on Rock Dunder" said
I naively!! It was impossible to get within 100 yards of
Rock Dunder without being offended by its stench. Indian
gods not withstanding, the gulls and cormorants had taken
over and we were not going to challenge their habitat. So
we had yet another floating lunch sharing Margy's lunch because
mine was securely stashed away in the front waterproof hatch
of my kayak. How useful! It was still so calm that the ferry
far to the north looked like it was floating above the water
and the distant northern horizon was hard to distinguish
because the blue gray of the water matched exactly the blue
gray of the sky. The contrails of the jets flying overheat
reflected perfectly in the water. Burlington was spectacular
from this distance and depending on where you were, you could
frame it with Mt. Mansfield, or Camel's Hump in the background.
We could have floated out there all day but we did have miles
ahead of us and a deadline with which to get Margy back in
time to go to work. As we approached Red Rocks I was wondering
what the big deal was about this point of land. It was not
until we got within 10-20 yards of the shore that I begin
to appreciate the sheer beauty of the rocks. Despite many
visits to Red Rocks Park by land I had never really seen
the rocks for which the place is named. They are beautiful
and we now have far more than enough pictures to prove it.
As we paddled down Shelburne Bay hugging the west facing
shore we passed the opening to the now infamous Potash Brook.
There was a fairly large flock of Canada geese hanging out
there, at least until we arrived, probably because of the
nutrients flowing from the brook. LIkewise there was another
group of geese at the opening to Monroe Brook further down
the shoreline. Clouds suddenly appeared from nowhere although
the wind did not pick up and we ended this beautiful day
under the cover of gray sky but the memory of the incredible
beauty of the morning will get us through many a dark winter
day. (Back)
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(9/22/2004) Missisquoi
Bay to HIghgate Springs (18 miles) New - We
went to Missisquoi Bay expecting to find the remnants of
the toxic algae bloom that had kept humans and pets out of
the water for most of August. Much to our surprise and delight
the water was not covered with green goo. Now we need to
learn what makes algae blooms go away. We saw the infamous
and protected spiny soft shell turtles sitting on their specially
built platform giving them a place to bask in the sun while
the long delayed and much needed new Missisquoi bridge is
being built. The day was spectacular, with lots of fall color
displayed by trees close to the water. We saw many herons.
There is a large rockery in the Missisquoi delta, but we
saw no Canada geese or ducks to speak of. Perhaps the ducks
noticed the duck blinds being put in place in preparation
for duck hunting season. We saw one small group of cormorants,
5 to 10 birds in total. There were also a fair number of
bass fisherman taking advantage of the incredible weather,
although according to their reports, the bass were not cooperating.
The lake level is so high that the shoreline appeared "squishy".
It was impossible to tell where the water stopped and land
started in the wide band of water reeds that buffer the shore.
Margy played a game with the illusive shore, trying to paddle
through as many reeds, and cutting as many corners as possible
without running aground. Sometimes she would disappear out
of sight only to pop out again down the shoreline. As a result
of the water level, there were not many places to get out
so we had a floating lunch, our lunches having been placed
in an easily accessible place in our cockpits before we set
off. No more locking them in an inaccessible kayak hatch!
We have learned that lesson well! Margy noted that the last
time she had been in this area the water level was lower
and there were lots of exposed sandy beaches and sandbars. We
paddled back from Highgate up Dead Creek to the Missisquoi
River and then down the river to where we had left our car,
a nice change of pace from paddling on the lake. (Back) |
(9/30/2004) Arnold
Bay, Panton to Kingsland Bay (15
miles) New - There
are spectacular pockets of fall color on the lakeshore and
the birds are migrating south in great numbers. We saw about
14 loons today as we paddled from Arnold Bay to Kingsland
Bay. As we paddled around Button Bay, wave upon wave of Canada
geese flew in, honking loudly, until there were perhaps a
thousand of them feeding in the bay. Further north we saw
an equal number of cormorants. We also spotted an otter,
a mink, a mole and one kayaker going the other way. We shared
a special unspoken camaraderie with the kayaker that we
three alone were out enjoying this most incredible fall day
on the lake, in a way no one in a larger boat could appreciate.
At the Maritime Museum we stopped to look at the gunboat
Philadelphia and found ourselves directly in the line of
sight of it's largest gun. When hailed by the gunboat guide
and asked if we were "friend or foe" , we quickly
answered "friend", realizing the vulnerability
of our position. It is clear that the sun is making its arc
further south in the sky, the days are getting shorter, the
water is clearly getting colder but we are hoping for at
least one more week, perhaps two, of paddling. Tomorrow we
head to Cumberland Head. (Back)
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(10/1/2004) Cumberland
Head Ferry to Plattsburgh Beach and back (10
miles) New -
Another day of "light and variable" winds predicted
for this short 10 miles round trip to complete the south
and east facing shores of the Cumberland Head peninsula.
The trip from the ferry to the beach was relaxing, with a
freshening tail wind most of the way and punctuated by the
presence of a large flock of Canada geese and snow geese
on the beach and swimming in the shallow water. They flew
away when we approached, about 500 of them, with the snow
geese, about a third of the flock, flying above the canada
geese. Is there a pecking order here or just self imposed
segregation? The wind picked up dramatically from the SE
as we headed back 4 miles directly into it. The closer we
got to rounding the point of Cumberland Head the stronger
the wind became. White caps abounded and most waves were
2 feet or greater -" light and variable" indeed!
The wind is a witch! It was clearly time to make us pay for
those three days of glorious clear, calm days of fall paddling.
Rounding the point placed us before the wind and it was a
wild ride the half mile back to the ferry dock. Several times,
independently, we both thought we were going to take an unplanned
swim. The water temperature is now 61 and we are both wearing
old windsurfing wetsuits. I kept looking back at Margy to
make sure she was upright. She could more easily see if I
was or was not upright but I am not sure what either of us
could have done to help the other, short of meeting on whatever
shore we washed up on. By 2:30 that afternoon Margy reported
from her vantage point on the shore of Grand Isle that the
wind had subsided and there were no whitecaps in sight. Did
we imagine that rough ride? The pile of wet kayaking clothing
and gear in the back of my car says "No Way ".
Note: I just learned from reading the Cruising Guide
to the Hudson River, Lake Champlain & the St. Lawrence
River,
that "in a southerly blow, the maxi um wave height will
be encountered near Cumberland Head." I don't think
either of us will argue with that statement. |
(10/7/2004) Crown
Point Bridge to Putnam Creek and back (14 miles) We
leap frogged over some shoreline we have not paddled yet,
choosing a loop route, starting on the New York side of the
Crown Point Bridge and paddling south to Putman Creek, east
across the lake where it is only half a mile wide, then north
along the Vermont shore back to the Crown Point Bridge. There
were a lot of advantages to this strategy, the most enticing
being that we did not have to drive two cars and spot one
at the end of our route. We also wanted to see if the snow
geese and Canada geese were congregating just off VT Route
17 around the Dead Creek area as they do each October on
their way south. We saw only one large flock of snow geese
in the field as we drove by both coming and going. Today's
trip was interesting and very different from what we had
become accustom to. The lake is not only narrow below the
bridge, it is also quite shallow. The channel is 20-27 feet
deep and only half a mile wide at its widest point. We
stayed close to the shoreline which was quite shallow (2-10
ft deep), and filled with eurasian milfoil in most places.
Also the water was quite murky. In the northern part of the
lake it is murky after a heavy rain particularly around the
mouths of major rivers and of course if there is an algae
bloom but rarely so other times. There had been no recent
rain to cause this murkiness. However this part of the lake
is surrounded by rich farm land, and good size farms. Indeed
there was a faint, and sometimes not so faint, smell of manure
everywhere. Margy said she could also smell the arid odor
of the paper plant at Ticonderoga, about 7 miles south. I
did not smell it until I could see it. As with our last paddling
day of forecasted "light
and variable winds", this day also presented us with
a 15 MPH south wind just as we were starting out. As with
our Cumberland Head trip the wind eventually diminished and
then died down, after, of course we had stopped paddling
into it and turned north hoping for a significant boast and
free ride. The wind is still a witch. The west shore has
many little unnamed points of land, points that provided
us a short respite from the south wind. We stopped briefly
in the lee of each for a short rest and to complain about
the added resistance of paddling through the eurasian milfoil.
It was like paddling through sticky spagetti.
(OK, so I have never paddled through sticky spagetti,
so I don't really know. But I have a good imagination.) We
did discover that there was sometimes a 10 yard band directly
off from shore where the milfoil was not as thick. We are
not sure why but we took advantage of it. Thanks to the milfoil
there was no cutting corners this day! WE followed that clear
band where ever it led us. We saw three flocks of geese flying
north. We wanted to tell them that they were going the wrong
way but they seemed to know what they were doing even if
we didn't. We saw 6 or 7 heron along the along the shore,
and many ducks. We passed two people filling
their small boat with duck hunting equipment. They asked
where we were going ( Putnam Creek) and commented that there
were lots of duck hunters down that way but then reflected
that we would probably not encounter them midday. It made
me stop to wonder if paddling in duck hunting season presented
any dangers to us, as their statement had implied. We certainly
didn't look like ducks even from a distance! But then again
maybe we would prematurely flush out some ducks that the
hunters were watching. In the end we decided that if the
weather holds for us one more week we will paddle the deep
west shore between the Essex ferry and Westport where ducks
will probably not abound, and stay out of the way of the
duck hunters. They deserve their turn too. The color was
still spectacular. We shared the lake with only three other
boats; one duck hunting boat , one sailboat, mast un-stepped,
heading south for warmer winter waters, I suspect, and one
intrepid sailor enjoying, as we were, the beauties of Lake
Champlain in the fall. It is a special time to be paddling. (Back)
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| (10/20/2004) Despite
two glorious days last week and now this wonderful, warm,
calm Wednesday, we have not been able to get back out on
the water. We are very frustrated, but the real world keeps
intruding on one or the other of us. The water temperature
is now 55 F and the nights are consistently in the 30s and
we feel limited in our choices of where to paddle because
of duck hunting season but we are determined to get one last
kayak in this fall. Neither of us dreamed we would be kayaking
this late in the season but I think part of us is drawn to
the challenge of paddling in these colder conditions. The
late October lake is different than the warm summer one but
it still holds a spell on us we cannot seem to shake. Perhaps
tomorrow! |
(10/27/2004) South
Hero, Crescent Bay (3 miles) We
retraced our steps on this short trip but it felt so good
to get back on the water after a two and a half week period
of not being able to take advantage of many glorious fall
days. The south facing shore protected us from a changeable
5-10 MPH NW, N, and NE wind for the most part, and the sun
even tried to poke through the clouds as the late afternoon
progressed. Margy arrived wearing rubber rain boots her granddaughters
had given her, thinking they would keep her feet warm when
we waded into the water. She looked more like Mary Poppins
with a paddle then my kayaking partner. The west end of Crescent
Bay, and Phelps Point have a good collection of fossils in
the vertical rocks. There are even a few of the 460 million
year old cabbage type fossils found at Goodsell Ridge in
Isle La Motte. With no waves to worry about, we could really
hug the rocky shore and look at the fossils. And with the
water level now at the lowest point it has been all season
(95.51ft.), almost 2 feet lower than it was in August and
early September, we saw zebra mussels attached to exposed
rocks and many more on the rocks just below the surface.
As we rounded Phelps Point and headed north a short distance
we came upon the largest duck blind we have ever seen on
the lake. It is a permanent blind made of large rocks. There
are even fossils in the rocks! It looks more like a WW II
coastal fortress than a duck blind. As we headed back around
Phelps Point and east along the sandy shore of Crescent Bay,
my irrepressible 9 pound dog Sophie insisted on following
us . She raced along the shore to keep up with our paddling
progress. It reminded me of the people who exercise their
dogs by allowing them to run along side their bikes. This
was not exactly what we had in mind however and before we
got to White's Beach where the road is close to the shore
I paddled in and retrieved her. She was delighted to get
in the kayak. She hates to be left behind as she has been
so many times this summer, and for good reason. She likes
to sit up tall in my lap and watch for birds and that puts
her head in the way of my paddle, forcing me to hold my arms
about a foot higher than is comfortable or efficient. And
sometimes she gets over exuberant when she spies a duck or
gull and I have to bribe her with a treat (always present
in my life jacket pocket) to keep her from jumping into the
water. The shore line was devoid of swim rafts and boats
on hoists ( this shore has far too much wind exposure to
simply anchor a boat in the water) and all the water lines
had been taken in for the winter. We did passed one old
waterline one end of which was floating on the surface. I
tried to convince Margy it was a mini "Champ" but
she was unwilling to stretch her imagination and instead
accused me of being full of nonsense (well, actually she
had a more descriptive term). It is amazing how different
one location on the lake can look and feel in different
seasons, or even different weather conditions. Each paddle
we take is so different, even when we retrace our steps.
It is proving hard for us to give up this paddling season
up. I wonder if there is an "iceboat" equivalent
for kayaks? Now that is an idea, a kayak that sits on blades,
similar to an iceboat, and paddles that have spikes on the
blade edges that could grip the ice. Then again cross country
skiing or snowshoeing would probably be more efficient.(Back) |
(11/6/2004) Alas,
We Put the Kayaks Away today, a for a
little while at least. Neither
of us is willing to say we will not kayak again until May
but we are able to agree that we will probably not get
back into the water until after the first of the year.
That does not mean we have abandoned "our" lake
(we've taken ownership over the course of the summer.).
Indeed neither of us can put it out of out minds. I still
find myself checking the weather and Marine Forecast each
morning before I read my email. And I still look at the
lake each day with a kayaker's eye ( what is the wind doing
today?) when I am able to grab a view at whatever distance.
Yesterday as the wind gusted to 30 MPH from the NW , and
snow squalls swept across the lake, with streaks of bright
silver light shining in isolated areas on the water in
between snow clouds, I thought the lake had never looked
so beautiful and dynamic. I was very thankful I was not
out on it however.
The other day I went back to Crescent
Bay. It had been almost two weeks since we last kayaked
there. The shoreline and water looked deserted at first
glance but in fact life abounded. There were at least
2 dozen ducks feeding in the water along the shore. Further
east the same number of Canada geese did the same although
they immediately flew away when Sophie the fearless,
raced down to let them know it was her beach they were
intruding on. And almost as a buffer between the two flocks,
there were about 100 gulls also feeding close to shore.
Closer to White's Beach two wind surfers, raced up and
down the shore. One can almost determine the strength of
the wind by whether there are wind surfers present. They
do not go out until the wind reaches 20 MPH. Despite their
sturdy looking wetsuits I got cold looking at them. There
was one lone kayak on the beach but far from the water's
edge, implying its owner had not ventured out in several weeks,
before the water level dropped still further. (Back)
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Saving Our Lakeshore and Natural Areas
Lake Champlain Land Trust One Main Street, Burlington, VT 05401 802.862.4150 or info@LCLT.org |
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