ALGonquin Bob
Well-known member
Part 1 of 3 (not as long as my last TR!)
RETURN TO “OS”
Bog River – Lows Lake – Oswegatchie Traverse
October 1991 & June 18-20, 2009
My PHOTOS:
1991 - http://tinyurl.com/1991Bob-OsTraverse
2009 - http://tinyurl.com/2009Bob-OsTraverse
Dan’s PHOTOS: http://tinyurl.com/DanOsTraverse09
October 1991: My first ever canoe trip longer than just a weekend. After doing diligent research in Paul Jamieson’s “Adirondack Canoe Waters North Flow” book, I borrowed my boss' boots and recruited my co-worker, Domenic, and Mark, a friend of Dom's. The three of us drove to the Adirondacks in 2 cars for a 35-mile paddling adventure that would take us 5 days. Because we had to rent canoes from Dave Cilley’s St. Regis Canoe Outfitters, our first and last days would include the additional hours it took us to drive to the outfitter for the boats and back-track to the put-in. On our way through Tupper Lake, we paused for photos with the tall wooden lumberjack that stands in the lakeside park along Route 3.
June 2009: In the 18 years since that big adventure, much has changed. For the area around the Oswegatchie, the biggest change came in the form of a severe storm, a microburst, that swept through the bordering Five Ponds Wilderness Area in the summer of 1995, leveling thousands of trees and changing the landscape for decades to come. Since then, I have done many more canoe and kayak trips, and beginning in 2000, I started hiking and backpacking. Last year, I began to have thoughts of repeating the Oswegatchie trip, but I would use the experience gained over the past decade, and perhaps be able to do it easier with my newer lightweight gear. After reading about other people’s trips on the Oswegatchie in various Internet forums and message boards, I decided to try this trip again in 2009. My co-worker, Dan, enthusiastically signed on for the trip to accomplish a long anticipated goal, and to check-off another adventure from his “Bucket List“. To save nearly three hundred dollars on the shuttle, Dan and I drove up in 2 cars, each with our own solo canoe. On our way through Tupper Lake, we paused for photos with the tall wooden lumberjack that still stands in the lakeside park, despite vandals’ attempts to burn him down a couple years ago.
1991: Looking back at my photographs of that trip, I see myself wearing jeans and a vinyl rain suit, and carrying lots of bulky gear. I carried a 2.5-gallon plastic jug for water and iodine tabs for purification. My old Coleman sleeping bag was huge compared to what I carry today, and my single burner stove required a small but heavy 1-pound bottle of propane as fuel. Our food would be hung from a tree or optimistically stashed in the woods overnight to hide it from bears or other hungry scavengers. We launched at Lows Lower Dam in the afternoon of a cold autumn day. When we carried up the trail toward the old upper dam, we passed the empty, windowless, wooden shell of Augustus Low’s Adirondack camp . Because of the extra driving for the rentals, we were still on the Bog River at the end of our first day. It was dark. We had paddled into a dead-end bay and out again. Heavy wet snow fell from the dark gray clouds above. We made camp on a small island that night, without even reaching the lake.
2009: We wore our synthetic wicking clothes, wool socks, and Gore-Tex (or equivalent) waterproof breathable shells. Everything I had fit in or on a moderate-sized daypack. My small 40-degree bag and 2-pound tent helped make for a lightweight pack. Dan brought a small MSR canister stove, and I carried a single fuel canister as back-up. Dan had his compact water filtration pump, while I had iodine tabs as back-up. We both carried a combination of Nalgene water bottles and very lightweight collapsible Nalgene or Platypus water storage containers. My new 8-ounce “Ursack” bear proof bag would hold all of our food at night and be tied securely to a tree to prevent theft by the residents of the forest. Since we had our own boats, we simply dropped Dan’s car off at Inlet, loaded both canoes onto my car, and drove directly to the put-in at Lows Lower Dam, built in 1903. We were on the water around 1, and made good time up the Bog River under cloudy sky and a light, misty rain. I held out hope that we might see a moose on this trip, since their numbers have been increasing in the past few years. While carrying around the upper dam, we walked past the stone foundations, fences, and fireplace that are the only indication that a grand home once stood there. We explored the remains and appreciated the remnant flower garden that was in bloom. Lows Upper Dam, originally built in 1907 to form Lows Lake, was rebuilt in 1993. There was some activity around the dam, with obvious signs of use, including a truck that was grading the gravel road, and a “No Parking” sign across from the dam. The put-in is now around the corner from the dam on an adjacent road, at a low wooden dock. Paddling up river, we soon reached the floating bog mat. It doesn’t quite block the river, and we were able to paddle past it while enjoying the various types of flora that grow on it, including many beautiful blue iris. The main remnant of the bog mat resides farther down on Lows Lake - we had a good view of it from campsite #28, just a short paddle across the lake from the carry trail. We stopped, the light rain persisted, and up went the solo tents. My green 8x10 tarp served as our dinner shelter, with my red canoe as a back rest. As darkness took hold of the day, loons provided a soothing melody.
RETURN TO “OS”
Bog River – Lows Lake – Oswegatchie Traverse
October 1991 & June 18-20, 2009
My PHOTOS:
1991 - http://tinyurl.com/1991Bob-OsTraverse
2009 - http://tinyurl.com/2009Bob-OsTraverse
Dan’s PHOTOS: http://tinyurl.com/DanOsTraverse09
October 1991: My first ever canoe trip longer than just a weekend. After doing diligent research in Paul Jamieson’s “Adirondack Canoe Waters North Flow” book, I borrowed my boss' boots and recruited my co-worker, Domenic, and Mark, a friend of Dom's. The three of us drove to the Adirondacks in 2 cars for a 35-mile paddling adventure that would take us 5 days. Because we had to rent canoes from Dave Cilley’s St. Regis Canoe Outfitters, our first and last days would include the additional hours it took us to drive to the outfitter for the boats and back-track to the put-in. On our way through Tupper Lake, we paused for photos with the tall wooden lumberjack that stands in the lakeside park along Route 3.
June 2009: In the 18 years since that big adventure, much has changed. For the area around the Oswegatchie, the biggest change came in the form of a severe storm, a microburst, that swept through the bordering Five Ponds Wilderness Area in the summer of 1995, leveling thousands of trees and changing the landscape for decades to come. Since then, I have done many more canoe and kayak trips, and beginning in 2000, I started hiking and backpacking. Last year, I began to have thoughts of repeating the Oswegatchie trip, but I would use the experience gained over the past decade, and perhaps be able to do it easier with my newer lightweight gear. After reading about other people’s trips on the Oswegatchie in various Internet forums and message boards, I decided to try this trip again in 2009. My co-worker, Dan, enthusiastically signed on for the trip to accomplish a long anticipated goal, and to check-off another adventure from his “Bucket List“. To save nearly three hundred dollars on the shuttle, Dan and I drove up in 2 cars, each with our own solo canoe. On our way through Tupper Lake, we paused for photos with the tall wooden lumberjack that still stands in the lakeside park, despite vandals’ attempts to burn him down a couple years ago.
1991: Looking back at my photographs of that trip, I see myself wearing jeans and a vinyl rain suit, and carrying lots of bulky gear. I carried a 2.5-gallon plastic jug for water and iodine tabs for purification. My old Coleman sleeping bag was huge compared to what I carry today, and my single burner stove required a small but heavy 1-pound bottle of propane as fuel. Our food would be hung from a tree or optimistically stashed in the woods overnight to hide it from bears or other hungry scavengers. We launched at Lows Lower Dam in the afternoon of a cold autumn day. When we carried up the trail toward the old upper dam, we passed the empty, windowless, wooden shell of Augustus Low’s Adirondack camp . Because of the extra driving for the rentals, we were still on the Bog River at the end of our first day. It was dark. We had paddled into a dead-end bay and out again. Heavy wet snow fell from the dark gray clouds above. We made camp on a small island that night, without even reaching the lake.
2009: We wore our synthetic wicking clothes, wool socks, and Gore-Tex (or equivalent) waterproof breathable shells. Everything I had fit in or on a moderate-sized daypack. My small 40-degree bag and 2-pound tent helped make for a lightweight pack. Dan brought a small MSR canister stove, and I carried a single fuel canister as back-up. Dan had his compact water filtration pump, while I had iodine tabs as back-up. We both carried a combination of Nalgene water bottles and very lightweight collapsible Nalgene or Platypus water storage containers. My new 8-ounce “Ursack” bear proof bag would hold all of our food at night and be tied securely to a tree to prevent theft by the residents of the forest. Since we had our own boats, we simply dropped Dan’s car off at Inlet, loaded both canoes onto my car, and drove directly to the put-in at Lows Lower Dam, built in 1903. We were on the water around 1, and made good time up the Bog River under cloudy sky and a light, misty rain. I held out hope that we might see a moose on this trip, since their numbers have been increasing in the past few years. While carrying around the upper dam, we walked past the stone foundations, fences, and fireplace that are the only indication that a grand home once stood there. We explored the remains and appreciated the remnant flower garden that was in bloom. Lows Upper Dam, originally built in 1907 to form Lows Lake, was rebuilt in 1993. There was some activity around the dam, with obvious signs of use, including a truck that was grading the gravel road, and a “No Parking” sign across from the dam. The put-in is now around the corner from the dam on an adjacent road, at a low wooden dock. Paddling up river, we soon reached the floating bog mat. It doesn’t quite block the river, and we were able to paddle past it while enjoying the various types of flora that grow on it, including many beautiful blue iris. The main remnant of the bog mat resides farther down on Lows Lake - we had a good view of it from campsite #28, just a short paddle across the lake from the carry trail. We stopped, the light rain persisted, and up went the solo tents. My green 8x10 tarp served as our dinner shelter, with my red canoe as a back rest. As darkness took hold of the day, loons provided a soothing melody.
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