CNY Kayakers - Syracuse New York

Cindy Phillips

Friday 9/25: Walt, Dave L, Rick and Cindy met at 11:00 for a prepaddle paddle in Speculator at Lake Pleasant. Sunny skies with a few little clouds proved well for viewing the colorful foliage surrounding a small river going north out of the lake. At the appointed hour of 1:00 arrived Kim W, Ray, Mike, Karen, Phyllis, Nina and Hugh in the large parking lot next to the outlet and it was decided to go up the outlet instead of on the lake. Also enjoyed with the Adirondack view were the usual ducks, herons, a fishing boat or two, a dock at a point of a well-used hiking trail, and further on a beaver dam across the river at about 4 miles out. By this time Dave F had appeared and this small barrier was deemed surmountable with a little ramming

Kim Wojnowicz

and dismantling. Everyone crossed to continue a little further where another beaver dam was deemed not as surmountable and turned back for the 4 mile trip viewing the countryside. The historic Speculator Inn was adjourned to for an early dinner before the camping contingent proceeded to Lewey Lake campground to pitch tents and prepare for an evening campfire (thank you Jim and Mickey) with the remainder of the paddling campers who had arrived at their sites. Greg's S'mores were greatly enjoyed and plans for Saturday's pancake breakfast and a very scenic Indian Lake paddle anticipated. A fine group of over 30 happy campers.

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Kim Wojnowicz

Saturday morning thaw-
Yes, it was COLD Friday night. Someone said it dipped down to 33 degrees. The thermostat on the Hunter's site moved up very slowly as we ate breakfast. It reached about 38 degrees by the time we digested! The mist on the lake remained until approx 8:45 A.M., just too cold and heavy to lift itself up off the water. Mike & Greg flipped pancakes, Lynne added blueberries, bananas, M&Ms, or chocolate chips as requested. Bacon, sausage, fruit, coffee, juice, and pastries were added to the feast by the bundled-up attendees and our wonderful host & hostess, Jim and mitten-wearing Mickey. It was great to see Jim back to his normal self after a too long battle with some nasty bacteria. We thankfully loaded up on

Anne Schofield

Roger Harrod

on the plentiful carbs and fireplace warmth to prepare for the day's paddle and other activities. For some, that included finding a warmer place to sleep the following night
The anniversary paddles-
Today marked the anniversary of Gene's misfortunes. Last year at this time he was in great pain, but still launched his kayak in Indian Lake for his grandson Noah to paddle with Tish. Instead of getting into a boat he rested and then wisely

listened to those who convinced him to see a doctor, sooner than later. He was in surgery by the following Tuesday. It was a long recovery. Today, miraculously, he completed 10.5 - 11 miles. Victory! The biggest decision for him was whether to leave the warm clothes on for the paddle or to sit next to Roger and take off a few layers.

The early group of 3 kayakers set out to paddle along the perimeter of Indian Lake and accumulated over 20 miles. The later group consisted of 22 kayakers following explorer Walt. Some (9) paddled 8.5 miles (or more if they got adventurous on their way back). Some (8) paddled 10.5 - 11 miles before heading back to prepare for the evening. The final group of 5 paddled to Speculator.
Paddlers were Bob, Hugh, Dave F, Patti, Janice, Gary, Pam & Tim, Mike, Kathy, Jim, Dave L, Nina, Phyllis, Roger, Anne, Gene, Tish, Rick, Cindy P, Kim, Pete, Sue, Walt, and Pam with the colorful Tahe.
That's 25 of the 37 people who paddled, visited, camped, cooked, ate, painted, took pictures, and/or tagged along with a spouse/friend on this weekend of refreshing relaxation.

"Katching" a kayaker on Indian Lake -
The scenery was glorious. The high peaks were visible in the distance over the rolls and rolls of fall colored mountains. A heron proceeded to entertain us as he strutted his wedding march while we quietly floated by. Yes, we all stopped talking for this dignified looking bird.
The fishing kayaker proceeded to catch a lady kayaker on the arm with his hook. Then his line caught a whole kayak which was circling the group, which in turn wrapped around the neck of a second lady kayaker just minding her own business. That's 3 kayakers, 0 fish.
We stopped to stretch legs, munch, and take a group photo by one of the many unique rock piles. I never saw so much grass seemingly growing on bare rock. Does anyone else wish it was as prolific in the dirt in their yard? Gosh!

Pyro pig out-
Dinner was at site 121. Patti & Janice (the super hostesses) grilled some hot dogs and personally passed them out to be sure they were eaten this year. What a feast! There was shrimp cocktail, chili, a variety of luscious salads, fruit, pork chops, salsa rolls, cheeses, snacks of all sorts, and truly sinful desserts. This group knows how to put on a campground
banquet. There were lots of laughs around the roaring fire. The main roar came from the loads of papers the fisherman wanna-be piled on after the inspiring story about the pyro relative. Of course, it could not have been Mike making this blazing mess, since Kathy was caught red-handed, i.e. stick in one hand and paper in the other.

After dinner a few headed for home or warmer quarters to avoid breaking camp in the predicted Sunday morning rain. The 20 or so who stayed, found that it was considerably warmer than the night before. They woke up to a fine mist and reluctantly packed up for the drive home.

We missed Aneta & Robert & Bauer. I am happy to report that Bauer appears to be getting better. We also missed Patty. We hope that new grandchild arrived with a healthy squeal.