High Water Fun, Day One

Having not been to Ticonderoga in a week, we didn't realize how much more rain the north country had received. This was evident when we arrived in Ti at 10 AM yesterday and were kayaking at Paradox Lake by 11 AM. What a shock to arrive at the state park launch ramp, or at least what was left of the ramp. It was more like a beach.

We talked to a man that was uncovering his boat at his dock that was underwater, as were all the rest of the docks, or at least the ones that weren't floating. He said that 8" of rain had fallen and the lake was 2 1/2 ft. above normal.

It was fun kayaking over what is usually land, trees, and bushes. Dave even saw some underwater blueberry bushes, ready for the picking...or diving. 😉

How about a nice hammock nap over the water? You have to get your feet (and sometimes knees) wet to get there right now though.

With all the high water, we knew we would have great views of the raging LaChute River along the walking trails, so last evening we headed out. Two of the flood gates were open at the top of the river and it was mesmerizing to watch all the clear water being dumped out of Lake George to control the depth.

At the middle LaChute, the current was flying and there were no signs of the beavers, who must be hiding out. I hope they have a second floor to their lodges! We can usually walk across half this dam, but last night we couldn't even get past the grass trail. It looked like someone's plastic pool got washed away too, or maybe someone was trying to go down the falls in a barrel? 😉

This is such a pretty trail, especially right now with the high racing river...

This is called Richard's Dam and until now, the water had been 1-2 ft. below the top. It is interesting to watch how the water raises up over the edge before tumbling down.

The lower falls had all white water going over the dam. The power company must be loving it and hopefully putting all that energy to good use. We took one look at each other and said time for another one way trip down the river to Lake Champlain! More on that most memorable experience tomorrow. Stay tuned!