Theft at Inlet

[PA Kayaker]

This is a sad post, but I wanted to make everyone aware. My wife and I parked our car at Inlet the morning of July 27th to spend a few days kayaking on Cranberry Lake and return via the Oswagatchie River. We returned to our car in the afternoon on July 30th to find our kayak carriers gone from the roof of our car. They were Malone Auto-loader XV J-style carriers (which I was very fond of).

That model does not offer a lock, but rather has plastic wingnuts that clamp the carriers to the roof bars so they are removable without tools. I didn't even think about it at the time, but had I known that theft was a risk, I would have taken them off and stored them inside the car. Lesson learned, I guess. I have been watching Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist to see if they get posted. I made some modifications to allow them to better fit the roof bars, so I could identify them pretty easily.

It pains me to no end that this happened. It's not the fact that I had to replace the carriers, but rather it's knowing there are people in this world who would do this. What did the thief think we would do when we got back to our car with no way to get our boats home?

After talking with the shop owner at Otto's Abode in Wanakena, he graciously helped me find a set of replacement racks. I had no cell service, so he let me hook into his WiFi and use his phone to call around. I drove out to Raquette River Outfitters to get two sets of Yakima kayak carriers ($420 -- oof) while my wife waited in Wanakena with our boats.

So if you are parking in at Inlet, please make sure everything is secured before you leave for a few days!

[stripperguy]

What a shame
I hope this incident hasn’t soured you on future ADK trips
Although I have a life time of never a theft problem in the ADK’s , I still keep my racks inside my vehicle whenever it’s parked. No sense offering up an easy target.

[PA Kayaker]

Originally Posted by stripperguy

What a shame
I hope this incident hasn’t soured you on future ADK trips
Although I have a life time of never a theft problem in the ADK’s , I still keep my racks inside my vehicle whenever it’s parked. No sense offering up an easy target.

Nope! Still had a great time despite this setback. The guy at Otto's must have been telling all the patrons who came in about it, because everyone who walked by my wife sitting outside with the boats apologized profusely, saying "we're not like this!"

[Schultzz]

Were you in the main lot near the gazebo? Or in St. Peters lot or somewhere else?

[Wldrns]

I was at the Follensby Clear launch parking lot a few weeks ago. There was a recent warning in the register log that someone had their kayak carrier stolen from there.

I've never had any problems in 40+ years of parking at trailheads and random roadside pull offs, but I do have a locking Thule canoe rack, and have always put a bike lock cable around my canoe thwart on those occasions when I have needed to leave it unattended on the car for any length of time.

[PA Kayaker]

Originally Posted by Schultzz

Were you in the main lot near the gazebo? Or in St. Peters lot or somewhere else?

We were parked at the end of Inlet Road, here:


This is the last known picture of our car with the racks still attached:

[Schultzz]

Thank you. Theft is a rotten thing even for bottom feeders to do. However, the area you parked would not have many people who could have observed the theft. I am sorry this happened to you I see you are from "Mad Anthony's" town.

[Golddragon214]

I was just there on 18 July 2020 and saw plenty of other vehicles with racks on their roofs and no sign of any funny business. I had parked there and walked the Moore Trail to Wanakena and back.

[Stillhunter]

Sorry to hear about the theft PA Kayaker... I have some family members who plan to park there and canoe the river next week and will tell them to lock things up. On a side note how was the Oswegatchie for paddling? Were there many log jams or beaver dams to contend with? Thanks.

[PA Kayaker]

Originally Posted by Stillhunter

Sorry to hear about the theft PA Kayaker... I have some family members who plan to park there and canoe the river next week and will tell them to lock things up. On a side note how was the Oswegatchie for paddling? Were there many log jams or beaver dams to contend with? Thanks.

We actually didn't paddle that far up, maybe only a few miles. As much as we love our sea kayaks, they weren't the best for navigating the tight bends of river, even with rudders. They are really made to travel in straight lines and they do that very well (especially my wife's Delta 15). We have a shorter, more "recreational" style kayak that would have been better suited for the river, and if we try it again, we'll take those.

That being said, we saw only few beaver dams in the section we paddled and they weren't a problem. A bigger problem was the shallow sections where we had to get out of the boats and walk them.

[Stillhunter]

Thank you for sharing this information on the river.
I will pass it along them.

[WBB]

[QUOTE=PA That being said, we saw only few beaver dams in the section we paddled and they weren't a problem. A bigger problem was the shallow sections where we had to get out of the boats and walk them.[/QUOTE]

The real fun doesn't start until you get above High Falls

[chairrock]

Originally Posted by PA Kayaker

We actually didn't paddle that far up, maybe only a few miles. As much as we love our sea kayaks, they weren't the best for navigating the tight bends of river, even with rudders. They are really made to travel in straight lines and they do that very well (especially my wife's Delta 15). We have a shorter, more "recreational" style kayak that would have been better suited for the river, and if we try it again, we'll take those.

That being said, we saw only few beaver dams in the section we paddled and they weren't a problem. A bigger problem was the shallow sections where we had to get out of the boats and walk them.

They are called "meanders". On the river your compass will do 360s. Any boat bigger than 16 foot is looking for headaches. IMHO> Like you said, , a sea kayak is not recommended. enjoy!

[Buckladd]

Way too much of this going on. I know of two kayaks being stolen from people's yards who live on the road into Hogtown. One, right out of guy's trucked.

If it ain't nailed down...

[Wldrns]

Meanders.... a dear friend, now long gone is quoted to having said: "the pleasantest distance between two points is the meander".... JJ

Seriously, there is nothing as enjoyable as paddling in a well performing canoe, healing it to the gunwale while maneuvering to round a steep meander. I love the meanders of the Oswegatchie. My most favorite portion of the 90 mile canoe race is negotiating the narrow fast winding curves of Browns Tract. Stony Creek offers another chance at more during the Cannonball-90.