The Fjord

Whenever we travel Route 73 on our way to Lake Placid, we always say that someday we are going to kayak on the two lakes between the mountains just north of Keene. Today was that day! These are the Lower and Upper Cascade Lakes with a small 100 ft. unnavigable stream between them that we had to portage around. This is truly a fjord, especially the lower lake which is long and skinny.

The views are spectacular and even though the wind was blowing quite a bit, we had no problem paddling, finding a bit of lee along the mountains. The weather in Keene was sunny and 83+ degrees, but at the top of the hill leading up to the lakes it was cloudy and 75 degrees. We launched at a scenic pull-off parking area called the 'Pitchoff Wall' and it worked quite well. This is all part of the High Peaks hiking trail system too.

Fallen Rock Zone: looked like there were lots of landslides through the years.

We portaged the kayaks from one lake to the other and are so glad we decided to do that. 

When we got to the end of the upper lake, we found the cascades that the lakes are named after. The waterfall had five different tiers. Not much water was flowing with our dry weather.

Heading back, the wind really kicked in, but we were going downwind so it was almost like sailing with our paddles out of the water. The end of the lower lake ends with a couple of beaver dams in the stream that continues south.

The only downside of this trip was the noise of the traffic on Rt. 73, but when there were no vehicles going by, it was as if we had stepped back in time. It certainly was a memorable day and we can cross this trip off our bucket list, although I am sure we will do this again next year. Below are the maps of the two lakes and we were surprised to see how deep they are.