The Adirondacks never disappoint: a wild and crazy paddle in the St Regis wilderness
Beaver dams, portages and unplanned adventures
The oops factor: how we still made it a great day
Our paddle adventure in the St. Regis Wilderness didn’t unfold the way we planned it - but that’s what adventure is all about……you never know what may happen. The best part is now I have some fond memories (and laughs) to look back on.
Sunrises are the best in the Adirondacks
A beautiful and misty sunrise greeted us early on September 11. My husband and I enjoyed our morning brew and breakfast before we gathered our gear and loaded our canoes. As usual, we didn’t rush to the water at sunrise. After all, it was cold and foggy. We finally slid our canoes into the pond around 10:30 and headed towards the Fish Creek channel. We estimated that our paddle would take us around 4 to 5 hours to complete our planned route.
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If you missed the first part of this story, you can catch up here:
Our prime launching place
One of the advantages of the location of our campsite is its proximity to the water with numerous paddling options. The St Regis Wilderness is known for its famous water trails with options for loops - where you can start paddling at one spot and serpentine through several ponds (or small lakes) and streams and return to where you launch.
Our planned route is a loop
On the map below, our start is denoted by the red pin. Our plan is to paddle from Fish Creek Pond through the twisting Fish Creek channel and find the channel opening to Copperas Pond. Then paddle to the end of Copperas Pond and take our canoes out of the water to portage them on a trail to Whey Pond.
To be honest - this is our first attempt at a loop adventure on the water. We have experienced in paddling several of these ponds. Last year, we portaged (carried) our canoes between at least two of them. Today’s portage will be our longest.
Our portage (or carry) to Whey is about 528 meters (about 3/10 of a mile). Once we reach Whey Pond, we have a longer paddle across Whey (about 2000 meters or 1.2 miles) to reach a shorter portage to get to Rollins Pond. At this point, we plan to take a short break before slipping our canoes into Rollins Pond to start the long paddle up Rollins to Floodwood Pond and back to the Fish Creek channel.
We anticipate low water in the narrow channel between Rollins and Floodwood Pond and may have to portage or push the canoes through.
When it comes to adventure, I like to say I have a back-up plan and sometimes even a back-up plan to the original back-up plan. I consider this essential when planning a trip like this. The real secret is learning to flow with whatever the day brings.
Estimating time to finish the loop
From our research, this loop usually takes about 3 to 4 hours. We anticipate it taking us longer - probably 4 to 5 hours. This will depend on how long it takes us to move or “portage” the canoes either on the designated portage trails or in low water. The red arrow below denotes the longer portage trail. We may experience some low water in the narrow channels and may need to step out of our canoes and “drag” them or “push” them through. Hence, wearing taller paddle boots is preferred.
Gear Summary
This is a list of the gear that we carried in our canoes. We each have a Hornbeck canoe - mine weighs about 15 pounds and his canoe weighs about 25 pounds unloaded. In our canoes, we each have a kayak paddle (and a shorter (spare) paddle, snacks, water, tie rope, rain gear, dry socks, extra dry top. I also have in my canoe the medical kit, emergency bivy, whistle, pocketknife and emergency reflective device. In case we are do not get back before dark, Larry has two headlamps. We each wore a PFD, paddling gloves, paddling wet boots (neoprene), long quick-dry pants, sun shirt, hat, sunglasses. All of our stuff is packed into a waterproof dry bag that can be carried as a backpack. I have a paper map and a digital map on my phone and a back-up power supply.
Recommended local outfitter for gear, guidebooks and maps: St Regis Canoe Outfitters in Saranac Lake, New York
Portage practice
We have at least two land portages on this trip - the longest being 528 meters (about 3/10 of a mile) and the other - a short flat one - about 177 meters (about 1/10 of mile).
The longer portage is basically a typical Adirondack hiking trail - rocks, roots and some ups and downs. The shorter portage is much easier - flat and wide.
To help us prepare for these portages, we practiced at home with our canoes to decide how we should carry or portage each canoe. Larry’s canoe and gear is much heavier (probably about 30 to 35 pounds) than mine so we both need to carry his canoe on the longer portage. We decided in advance to help each other out with our canoes on both portages.
Portage (Carry): From the French porter, “to carry.” The act of transporting a canoe or kayak and gear overland between two bodies of water or around an obstacle such as rapids, a dam, or falls. In the Adirondacks, portages are often called carries and can range from a few steps to more than a mile, linking chains of lakes and ponds into classic canoe routes. - via Etymology
Below: hoisting and carrying my 15 pound Hornbeck unloaded is easy but add in gear, your paddle and traversing a rocky and root-filled trail makes it more of a challenge.
How the day unfolded and unraveled
A little background on my adventures with my husband. Since we met, we have embarked on numerous adventures together - hiking Mt St Helens, Mt Whitney, Mt Katahdin, Mt Elbert, Mt Humphries in Arizona, an epic rim to rim hike of the Grand Canyon and more. This “little” paddle adventure is in our area of experience. But you never know how these things go until you do them.
My husband and I are notorious for taking our time on our outdoor pursuits……that is, taking longer than planned. We have learned over the years to build in extra time to accommodate this or have back-up plans or bail-out points.
Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Starting out: navigating Fish Creek’s twists and turns
Our paddle through the Fish Creek channel turned into an adventure all its own. The narrow waterway demanded every bit of our attention - intense, winding, and at times a little wild. The channel twisted and turned, with a lot of overhanging branches and lots of downed trees to maneuver around. It was beautiful, yes - but also mentally demanding - the kind of stretch where you can feel both the thrill and the work of paddling.
A few beaver dams forced us to pause, scout, and then figure out how to safely maneuver our canoes through. At one point, my canoe got stuck on a sunken tree branch and I had to paddle back and forth several times to get off of it.
At last, the channel opened up and we were able to see the turn to enter Copperas Pond. To help with live navigation, I use a digital GAIA map (loaded on my iPhone) which shows our location, the channels, the connecting ponds and the approximate location of each portage spot.
Copperas Pond is a smaller pond and crossing it went quickly. Of course, we are still working with fresh arms. Our first (and longest) portage awaits on the far side of - a reminder that every hard-won stretch simply leads to the next chapter of the journey.
Portage to Whey Pond
We loaded Larry’s canoe first (heaviest) and hoisted our dry bags on our back and trudged off on the portage trail. We took a few brief rest stops along the way. The first carry went rather well - no falls or stumbles. We hiked back to my canoe and repeated. All told, the portage took about 30 - 40 minutes or so. We probably could have done it faster but we did take a snack break before we started.
The nice thing about our first and longest portage was that it was early in our day - when our muscles are still somewhat fresh.
Launching into Whey Pond
After a short break (another) at the launch site (photo above) to Whey, we gently lowered our canoes down a steep embankment covered with roots and rocks. I pushed off first and paddled a little out into the lake.
Our paddle across Whey Pond to our next portage trail is about 2,000 meters (about 1.2 miles). I checked my digital map on GAIA to determine in what direction we should be paddling to get to the next portage trail. It seemed straight ahead but I could not see the end of Whey Pond when I started paddling.
Headwinds and hard strokes
As I pushed off, I could immediately feel the wind pressing hard against me. To lessen the force, I hugged the shoreline, with the hope that the trees might offer a little protection. Intermittent gusts pummeled the sides of my Hornbeck. Every stroke demanded extra effort just to keep my boat straight.
The lake was empty - no other paddlers in sight - leaving the whole expanse to just us and the wind. Before too long, Larry caught up and decided to steer even closer to the shore. He dug in with stronger strokes, pulled ahead and passed me.
Larry arrived at the end of Whey Pond before me. We both disembarked and pulled our canoes up on a small sandy beach area. We were tired from the hard paddle but relieved to be back on land.
Do you have a memory to share about an adventure that did not go as planned? How did it turn out?
The forgotten dry bag: decision time
As we adjusted our gear in our canoes to start the short portage to Rollins, Larry realized that his dry bag was missing from his canoe. Oops. Our hearts sank. Larry was pretty sure he left it on the bank at the beginning of Whey. I had pushed my canoe in first and started paddling before him. He must have gotten in his canoe and left the dry bag on the shore.
We both looked back at the wide expanse of Whey Pond from which we had paddled hard to get where we were. What do we do now?
Reality hit us - we had to go back for the dry bag. That meant a 1.2-mile paddle across Whey, and then what? Neither of us had the energy - or the mental strength - to do that long portage again.
Our choices were narrowing: either retrace our steps and push on with the original loop, or stop here, stash the canoes, and hike out to the van. Luckily, this spot had road access, though the hike was no small thing - about three miles and at least 45 minutes to 1 hour on foot. Of course, we were wearing paddle shoes - not the best for hiking.
Back and forth and back
By the time we finished paddling back and forth to retrieve the dry bag and stash the canoes, it was close to 3 PM. We had covered 9,624 meters (about 6 miles) in just over four hours, between paddling and portaging. The hard strokes into the wind and our portage hikes had tired our arms and legs.
Below: my GAIA map showing my back and forth and back. Unfortunately, the map does not show the wind we faced on each lap…..
Tired, achy, and weighing our options, the big question became clear - to us - what was the smartest way to call it a day?
One forgotten dry bag had shifted the entire course of our adventure. Exhausted, racing the daylight, and weighing every option, we stood at a crossroads. Do we push on through the loop, or leave the canoes and hike out? What would you do?
In the end, adventures aren’t defined by flawless plans but by how we meet the twists along the way. For us, it was about adjusting, laughing at ourselves and finding joy in the unexpected turns. To be honest, our slower start and our willingness to let go of the “perfect plan” opened the door to moments we never could have scheduled - and memories we’ll look back upon and laugh.
If you like this post, you may like the following:
The BREIA Trails: a year-round recreation destination in the western Adirondacks of New York
BREIA: a private trail system available to the community for the pursuit of outdoor recreation
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Woah! I’ve paddled into a headwind once or twice before and that’s no joke! What a tough decision to do another loop to go back for the dry bag. What was in it? I’d be tempted to cut it as a loss! 😂
What an adventure! Glad you were able to find an alternate way to get back to the car without having to do that portage again.
I'm curious about how you started solo paddling. I know there are canoes designed for solo paddlers and since it is so hard for me to find a buddy to canoe with, the idea has been intriguing. Using a kayak paddle makes sense to me, but I'd love to hear more about your canoe and any tips for going solo.