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Little Tupper Lake paddle to Inlet on the Oswegatchie, 7/8 - 7/15/20

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  • #16
    Originally posted by montcalm View Post
    Well honestly the crocs faired no worse than heavy boots so they can’t be too bad. It’s hard to find the right aquatic footwear for the Adirondacks. I prefer neoprene waders if it weren’t for the weight. Neoprene knee high boots are great too.
    Crocs admittedly aren't the best water shoe, but they also have the advantage of being a comfortable (and light) camp shoe. As I was already carrying a pair of trail runners for the portages, I was trying to keep my weight down. I did consider a proper pair of water shoes also, but in the end decided against them. Apart from the one almost-mishap on the beaver dam, the Crocs worked perfectly well.

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    • #17
      Originally posted by TrailBlaser View Post
      Thanks for posting a great trip report and photos. It not only connected my visits to the individual areas of your trip, but the Oswegatchie portion brought back memories of the many trips I made up and down that river when I had my guide service (Five Ponds Guide Service), worked as an ASF on the river and adopted/maintained four of the leantos on the Five Ponds trail (Big/Little Shallow, Wolf and Sand) back in the late 80s-early 90s. It was interesting to hear that campsites on the Oswegatchie were missing numbers. That was the case back in the late 80s as well. On one extended trip on the river, I renumbered all the sites up to the Robinson River (including one that had been skipped during the previous numbering). Back then Pine Ridge still had the old growth white pines; I would always stop there and sit among them. One time, while walking into them, I tripped and did a face plant. When I got up, a deer antler was wrapped around my ankle. That antler still sits on a bookshelf in my home office. Thanks again for bringing back so many treasured memories.
      With 46 sites, some of them little used, I don't doubt that it's been an ongoing effort to keep them all marked. In addition to signs falling down on their own as they age (and the tree grows out and around the nails), I'm sure that a few folks over the years have also purposefully taken down the signs for their "favorite campsite," so as to discourage others from finding and using it- a problem that I've witnessed elsewhere in the Adirondacks.

      In any case, though, it seems like it's time for another enterprising DEC employee to head back with the objective of once again trying to re-mark them all.

      It's sort of coincidentally funny that the count ended up at 46- sort of makes me want to become an "Oswegatchie 46er," by spending a night in each campsite on the river. Since the lean-tos are counted among the numbered sites, that puts me at 6 down, 40 to go. (41 to go if we're counting the two High Rock sites separately.)

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      • #18
        Excellent report and photos, and a welcome escape from the current deep snow and cold of winter. Lila to Inlet has long been on my bucket list- I've done Little Tupper to Lila and the Oswegatchie from Inlet to High Falls in the past. I loved revisiting some of the places I've been through your photos, thanks!

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        • #19
          Originally posted by DSettahr View Post
          With 46 sites, some of them little used, I don't doubt that it's been an ongoing effort to keep them all marked. In addition to signs falling down on their own as they age (and the tree grows out and around the nails), I'm sure that a few folks over the years have also purposefully taken down the signs for their "favorite campsite," so as to discourage others from finding and using it- a problem that I've witnessed elsewhere in the Adirondacks.

          In any case, though, it seems like it's time for another enterprising DEC employee to head back with the objective of once again trying to re-mark them all.

          It's sort of coincidentally funny that the count ended up at 46- sort of makes me want to become an "Oswegatchie 46er," by spending a night in each campsite on the river. Since the lean-tos are counted among the numbered sites, that puts me at 6 down, 40 to go. (41 to go if we're counting the two High Rock sites separately.)
          I think "Oswegatchie '46er" is a great idea. I plan to paddle it again this season and will be making note of how many of the sites I stayed at over the years. I had favorites I stayed at more frequently for various reasons and still think of going back to them in the future. Thanks again for a great report and photos.
          "Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing."
          - Henry David Thoreau

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          • #20
            Thank you for taking the time to post the report and pictures. It's nice to think of summer trips in the winter. I made my first visit to Low's in 2019 and made a day trip down to Lila and back. I'm very much looking forward to getting back there, and also to exploring Lila and Little Tupper. On my return trip from Lila I paddled under the RR track and took the canoe out on the upstream side, where there was a channel that ran parallel to the embankment. It was a bit less steep than going in on the downstream side, but not much.

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            • #21
              Great write-up, is the route published, or did you wing it? I would like to try this at some point.
              Two Beavers

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              • #22
                Originally posted by Edb 46 er View Post
                Great write-up, is the route published, or did you wing it? I would like to try this at some point.
                It's fairly well known. There are a number of canoe trips in that area and this is (one of) the longest trips possible. And the longest "wilderness" trip.

                It's the combination of these 3:

                A challenging route with portages marked but still being cleared. A nice sense of remoteness in a wilderness area that is off limits to motors. It's best to cartop the canoe to Little Tupper Lake (or have us deliver the boat) and then have us shuttle your car to Lake Lila.


                This has become a relatively popular wilderness trip. There are three possible day hikes from this route to low mountains that provide great views over the canoe route.  These include Frederica Mountain, Grass Pond Mountain and Low's Ridge.


                Up the Bog River and Low's Lake followed by a portage to Big Deer Pond. Then a 2.2-mile carry to the upper Oswegatchie River in the Five Ponds Wilderness. Two or more days down the Oswegatchie to the take-out at Inlet. Many optional side hikes.


                Of course without the Bog River section... but there's nothing from stopping you from adding that in too.

                Some have went even farther and carried this trip into Cranberry lake and looped back around through 5 ponds WA with the long carry between Grass Pond and Cranberry. You could also add in Round Pond and other parts of the Bog River.

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                • #23
                  Thank you,

                  for sharing your trip report
                  and the routes.

                  Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
                  Two Beavers

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                  • #24
                    Yeah, it's a somewhat well known route. If you get the paddler's map, the full route is shown on that. It's also described in detail in the paddler's guide (albeit in different sections).

                    Smaller stretches of it can easily be completed in 2-3 days and are moderately popular.

                    And of course, the big lakes (Little Tupper, Lila, and Lows) can be very popular, since these can be enjoyed with minimal (or no) portaging.

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                    • #25
                      Originally posted by Zach View Post
                      Thank you for taking the time to post the report and pictures. It's nice to think of summer trips in the winter. I made my first visit to Low's in 2019 and made a day trip down to Lila and back. I'm very much looking forward to getting back there, and also to exploring Lila and Little Tupper. On my return trip from Lila I paddled under the RR track and took the canoe out on the upstream side, where there was a channel that ran parallel to the embankment. It was a bit less steep than going in on the downstream side, but not much.
                      Yeah, I checked out both sides of the railroad tracks before getting out. Neither was great for an easy boat exit.

                      There's also some sunken wooden pylons directly under the bridge that are good to keep an eye out for if/when paddling under the bridge.

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                      • #26
                        D,
                        Nice, thorough TR, love the pics.
                        There’s also a take out directly from Harrington Pond to the tracks but in lower water conditions it might not be the best.

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                        • #27
                          Another thing I've wondered about before is what effect the refurbishment of the rail corridor will have on the part of the carry from Clear to Hardigan that goes along the tracks. Are people allowed to carry canoes on an active railway? Around here the CSX tracks are all marked with no trespassing signs where they cross roads, but it may be different for a scenic railroad, for all I know.

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                          • #28
                            That rail corridor is owned by the state, I believe, rather than a private entity. Also, it is used as an active snowmobile trail in the winter. And furthermore, it's not really "active" with regards to train traffic. It was getting very little use when the scenic railway was operating- the train would traverse once up to Lake Placid in the spring, then once back down to Remsen in the winter. There was also some infrequent use by maintenance trains- to cut vegetation, make minor repairs, etc. But even then, all rail traffic was limited to a pretty slow speed, due to the poor condition of the tracks.

                            On top of that, a decent stretch of the Jackrabbit Trail follows the same railroad, so it's not without precedent that is open to multiple uses.

                            And now that the scenic railroad has ceased operations in Lake Placid, I don't think the corridor has gotten much- if any- of even the limited train use it was getting before. The northern end has already started to get brushy in spots in just a few years.

                            Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

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                            • #29
                              That's a good point about the ownership. I should have been clearer when I wrote before, I know the line is not in use currently, but I was thinking that now that the state is having the section of the line from Big Moose to Tupper rebuilt that it would be becoming more active and that the paddling season and the scenic train season will overlap pretty completely, I imagine.

                              I don't know how the contractor that is rebuilding the tracks will feel about heavily loaded pedestrians wandering through when they're working on that stretch. I would think that when they're replacing ties and the like it would not be convenient. On my day trip to Lake Lila in August 2019 I climbed Mt Federica, and as I recall where the trail crossed the rails were covered with a few inches of sand and gravel that had washed down onto them, so it looked like nothing had been through there on the rails for a while.

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                              • #30
                                Originally posted by DSettahr View Post
                                Yeah, it's a somewhat well known route. If you get the paddler's map, the full route is shown on that. It's also described in detail in the paddler's guide (albeit in different sections).

                                Smaller stretches of it can easily be completed in 2-3 days and are moderately popular.

                                And of course, the big lakes (Little Tupper, Lila, and Lows) can be very popular, since these can be enjoyed with minimal (or no) portaging.
                                I think part of the issue for a lot of people not gravitating toward the long route are the portages, and the amount of gear (food) you need to carry to complete.

                                I'd probably try this in 5 days, and I think that'd be reasonable from what I know of doing this piecewise. But even so, that's a fair deal of food to carry and have to deal with the long carries. With a tandem it's downright brutal.

                                You look at the numbers and you're like... 2 miles isn't that far... until you have your canoe and your pack on your back and 1/2 mile later you're thinking "this is the worst freakin' thing in the world, get it off me!" And you take a break and realize you're only a 1/4 of the way there. Then you finally reach the end of your carry and think, "I'm absolutely NEVER doing that again...", but on this trip... you realize that's just the start...

                                This is definitely the kind of trip I'd want to do in a solo canoe and carry as little gear as possible.

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