Alistair!
I hear you're interested in David's "Ice-out" trip - here's what I can tell you about the route:
All the launches are good, and there are no rocky places that you might scratch your boat on. The landings are either muddy shores or coarse sandy beaches. The launch at Indian Carry on Upper SL is muddy/sandy, and the take-out at Bartlett Carry is mostly sandy. There is probably some gravel here and there (it's the Adirondacks!). The put-in at the other end of Bartlett Carry on Middle SL is more muddy, but no big rocks that I recall, and the water is good and deep. The landing at South Creek (food cache?) is muddy gravel. The beach by the LT at site #63 is sandy with pine needles. We can lock ourselves through the Upper Lock (bring long ropes for both ends of your boat). There will be a second carry at the Lower Locks because the lock tender will not be there and I don't think you can operate that larger lock yourself - so it's a 5 minute walk around that lock with a put-in by a dock. In Lake Oseetah, we stay in the marked channel to avoid old tree stumps. The entire Saranac River has a marked channel for power boats, so if we stay between the buoys we won't encounter any rocks or boulders. David says he'll go first and use his Titanium knee as an ice-breaker! The dates seem a few days early, but I think we will have enough open water in the lakes, and the river will certainly be open, if it's not already. Hope to see you soon. - Bob
I hear you're interested in David's "Ice-out" trip - here's what I can tell you about the route:
All the launches are good, and there are no rocky places that you might scratch your boat on. The landings are either muddy shores or coarse sandy beaches. The launch at Indian Carry on Upper SL is muddy/sandy, and the take-out at Bartlett Carry is mostly sandy. There is probably some gravel here and there (it's the Adirondacks!). The put-in at the other end of Bartlett Carry on Middle SL is more muddy, but no big rocks that I recall, and the water is good and deep. The landing at South Creek (food cache?) is muddy gravel. The beach by the LT at site #63 is sandy with pine needles. We can lock ourselves through the Upper Lock (bring long ropes for both ends of your boat). There will be a second carry at the Lower Locks because the lock tender will not be there and I don't think you can operate that larger lock yourself - so it's a 5 minute walk around that lock with a put-in by a dock. In Lake Oseetah, we stay in the marked channel to avoid old tree stumps. The entire Saranac River has a marked channel for power boats, so if we stay between the buoys we won't encounter any rocks or boulders. David says he'll go first and use his Titanium knee as an ice-breaker! The dates seem a few days early, but I think we will have enough open water in the lakes, and the river will certainly be open, if it's not already. Hope to see you soon. - Bob
