Day 2 - Orwell VT to Kingsbury NY

 

Orwell VT to Kingsbury NY

Champlain Canal Lock #9

35.6 miles, 9:15 in the seat

3 locks

 Just finished a sumptuous repast prepared by a chef ending in ‘Dee.’ I’ve got a pasta refrain going on this trip. When I’m on my own, I eat like a teenager. But I do love what ‘Dee does with the sauce … delicate, savory, a bit sweet, nes pah?

 Three highlights today:

1.  A following wind all the way, which really enables the boat to glide between strokes.  A flat water 35 mile day is, for me, about 7700 strokes. Today, because the wind enabled me to cruise at hull speed with reduced cadence, it was a lot less. Every little bit helps. Don’t know if my luck will hold on wind, but I’ve had two favorable days … one from the south, today from the northeast. Go figure!!

2. Locks take time. I was in the seat for an extra hour today for essentially identical mileage, the difference being the transit of three locks on the Champlain Canal. The lockkeepers have been wonderful – they’ve put me right through – but it’s still a pause. But the lock folks have great stories and wonderful pride in their canal and the lock stations … what a resource, and this year it’s free!   

3. An epiphany! I’ll be passing through seven lakes on this row. Up to now, I’ve been focused on mostly two, and how they are each dealing with septic issues (Keuka and Lake George,) but if I do make it all the way to Hammondsport, I’ll have wet my bottom in Lake George, Lake Champlain, Oneida Lake, Cross Lake, Cayuga Lake, Seneca Lake, and Keuka Lake. Seven lakes … seven hills of Rome … seven rooms of gloom … the Seven Sisters colleges … Gentle reader, this is how one spends his/her time for 9+ hours in a fiendishly small wooden boat under a baking sun trying to fulfill what is now a public obligation while eating ‘O’s and Dee at the end of the day.

More on these lakes as I get to ‘em, but I’ll just say that southern Champlain faces a huge challenge with its agricultural runoff … and with its interconnection with the ecosystems of the Hudson and, really, the world, through the Champlain Canal.  

Does my memory serve me right that in the 40’s or 50’s, a canal was considered to connect Lake George to it all? It would have been so easy. It would have been so tragic.

Let’s give a cheer for clear heads and a commitment to the common good … yesterday, today, and tomorrow!

Gotta sleep.

Map of the Champlain Canal