Up A Lazy River

Although the water is muddy, the Mohawk River, and the small creeks that run into it, are worthy of kayak exploration. It's very convenient and close by, so Pink and I headed out from the launch ramp, with the Alplaus Creek as our destination. I've done this trip before, but was curious how far up the creek I could go after last year's floods from Irene. There were many downed trees and snags in the creek, but I maneuvered around them, finding enough water to still float in (about 2" in places).

This looks to be a very old Willow tree that may be the next to fall over. I've never seen a tree so gnarly, but it sure gives it character.

Many houses line the shore, but I found this one little pebble beach to get out and walk around on.

You don't see a heron in this photo, do you? He thought he was quite camouflaged.

These old power lines were picturesque, especially with the clear blue sky behind them.

I love the contrast in this photo between the brown muddy water, the bright green grass, and once again that crisp blue sky.

End of the line for me. The water was actually flowing over the shallows, making mini-rapids. Even if I could stay floating, there was a downed tree across the whole creek.

View from the creek as I approached the Mohawk River.

As I left the mouth of the Alplaus, I realized that the wind had changed direction and I had to paddle both upwind and up-current.

 It took awhile, but I found a bit of both wind and sun protection, paddling close to the woody northern shore. I guess it wasn't such a lazy river after all!