NFCT Maps 2 & 3: Rt 3 State Boat Launch to Union Falls Dam

Date(s): July 15th – 16th, 2009
Paddlers: Deb and JR

Campsites:
July 15th – Saranac River just before Permanent Rapids

Trail Notes:
(1) Portage in Saranac Lake Village goes through the police station parking lot.
(2) Portages on this section not always well marked where to get in or out, but we figured it out without too much trouble.

Paddle Report:
Link for pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=104278&id=577661105&l=5c910b3958

We managed to get away for a couple days and finish up this section that we skipped over last summer. It was a nice relaxing break; 2 days, only 29 miles, no 35 mph winds in our faces! After an interesting shuttle ride, we had dropped our truck at Union Falls Dam and were at the Rt 3 State Bridge Boat Launch below Saranac Lake Village. There were many more people out on a Wednesday morning than I had expected to see. It seemed like a Saturday!

We got out on the water around 10:30am. The weather was absolutely gorgeous! Right away we were enjoying the nice weather, lack of insane wind and the current floating us along effortlessly. Such a difference from our last trip! We paddled along the Saranac River and through the lock into Oseetah Lake. There were many boats out on the lake. Some fishing and some zooming around with water skiers behind them.

We paddled up to the dam in Saranac Lake Village and easily found the portage to get out. We pulled the boats up on shore and headed over to the picnic table there to have some lunch. After lunch there was a little bit of confusion where exactly the portage went from there. Once we figured out to go through the police station parking lot, we could see the sign for the Riverwalk that our portage follows. We made a slight deviation though, once we saw the entrance to the pedestrian bridge. The entrance had waist high walls and sharp turns. It would be quite tricky with a long, heavy boat. JR scouted out the path along the side of the river we were already on and found a fairly easy way back into the river.

From there we floated serenely down the Saranac River the rest of the day. Another mile or so took us through Saranac Lake Village and then out into a meandering marshy area. We goofed off for a while as the current was keeping us going at about 2+mph without any paddling. We saw many houses nearby and wondered what our campsite would be like. We paddled back and forth as the river meandered some more, took some pictures of the mountains in the background and looked for wildlife.

Shortly before our campsite we had a nice conversation with a woman sitting on the dock behind her house. She assured us there were a few campsites coming up before the Permanent Rapids. With JR up ahead, he found the campsite and pull off to scout it out. I could tell the meandering current was picking up again as it was harder to backpaddle and stay in the same spot while I was waiting for JR to okay the campsite. JR came back and said we might want to look at the other campsite that was supposed to be nearby because this one wasn’t the greatest.

I looked at the map again and realized this must already be the second site because the first one looks like it’s actually across the road that runs along the river. We both decided just to stay at this site. What a weird set-up! But it was someplace to sleep. The site was in between the road and the river and there really wasn’t a clearing to put your tent. It was more like a tractor path.

We set up the tent and got the fire started to get rid of some of the bugs. They were pretty vicious! We nibbled on some chips and realized we really weren’t that hungry. The fire was ready to cook on, but we decided just to throw some more logs on and maybe we’d cook later when we were hungry.

There wasn’t much of anywhere to sit and the bugs were terrible. We were both tired, probably from being in the sun all day. We didn’t really work that hard, compared to other trips, but still felt pretty tired. We decided just to go to bed. We had been lazy setting up the tent and didn’t stake out the rain fly or the side vents. During the night it started to rain so we had to close the rainfly. Only problem was that since we didn’t stake it out, it was directly on the mesh door and the side vents were flush against the tent as well. Later we both woke up because it was hard to breathe in there. There was one small vent at the top of the tent but everything else was sealed off from the rain and our laziness. We ended up opening the door and fanning air in during the lulls in the rain storms. Moral of the story: Stake the tent!! That’s what happens the one time you are lazy about setting up!

The next morning we were still alive and the rain had subsided. We got out and started making breakfast. Just as breakfast was ready, the rain started again. We sat in our rain jackets, under the trees, eating our breakfast burritos. JR played with the sap on a nearby tree to keep us entertained until the rain stopped again and we could pack up.

Back on the river for just a minute and then we got out to portage the Permanent Rapids. We probably would have been okay but decided not to chance it and just portage around. We found a couple more campsites along the portage that weren’t marked on the map. At the end of the portage there were a few campsites but they were already occupied. Got back into the river just as it opened up into Franklin Falls Pond.

An uneventful but very delightful paddle brought us to the portage between Franklin Falls Pond and Union Falls Pond. We sat at the Franklin Falls Pond boat launch and had some more snacks while enjoying the mountain views. We then walked our boats across the bridge and along the side of the road. We found a couple paths that led back down to the river and took the one that seemed the easiest. Good thing we ate at the boat launch. This was a decent put-in but the bugs were pretty bad. Hurry up, get in the boat and off we go!

A small stream section then opened up into Union Falls Pond. A look over our right shoulder gave great views of Whiteface Mountain. You could even see the big tourist building on top of the mountain! That was pretty neat. Then we heard some thunder and figured we should get paddling.

The sky alternated with darker cloud cover and thunder to lighter skies and sun. We made it to Union Falls Dam without getting rained on. The road there looked like it had rained not too long ago, but we must have missed it. HURRAY! We pulled the boats up onto land and went to get the truck. We loaded the boats and proceeded to take some pictures of the spectacular falls! There was a man made dam at the top but you could see all the rocks at the middle to bottom that must have been the original Union Falls. A look downstream gave us a sneak peak at the class III and IV (even class V if you go over Tefft Pond Falls!) rapids on the next 15 miles of river from here to Clayburg. Not today and not in these long boats! But maybe we’ll be back with some smaller boats for a day trip! =)