Pictures of Favorite Canoe Places

[Guest]

One if my favorites is the big, bad New River. The name is ironic because it's second in age only to the Nile. Starting somewhere in NC and passing thru VA, it absolutely flowers here in eastern West Virginia. The fishing is very good, the access reasonable, and it's never crowded. The scenery is first rate and compliments the many sites of historic and prehistoric interest. There's hiking and camping botanizing and birding, boating and loitering around in the woods and fields and along the river and its tributaries.

I like the the section between the Hinton dam and the Va line, a stretch on the order of 15-20 miles. Below the dam the river get pretty steep, so be prepared for CLASS II-IV. Above it's mostly flat with ledges every couple of miles. A few of these will put you thru CLASS III briefly, but they are easy to scout, and guide books can tell you exactly.

Last month I approached the mouth of a channel a few mile below the VA line. During my shoreline creep I pushed a bald eagle out of its perch high in a stream side sycamore. Not too shaken up, it rowed upstream a few hundred yards to mount into the top of another sycamore on the far side of the channel mouth I was aiming at.

150 yds off and I found myself, as well as the eagle, looking at a lot of splashing in the channel mouth. I could not make anything out of it, but the eagle was completely absorbed by the goings on directly below. Now oblivious of me, its neck was arched at a peculiar angle as it craned its head over for a good look. If you've seen a robin on your lawn giving a worm "The Look", you know what I mean.

When the splashing stopped the eagle resumed its characteristic severe dignity and flew away up river. A long way this time.

I was not satisfied and came in slow. In a few minutes 2 otters broke the surface in the middle of the main stem as I held in the channel mouth. They were 50 yards off my port bow. As startled and curious to see me as I was to see them, they "stood up" in the 15' deep flow to get a better look. That is, they were treading water and emergent about up to the middle of their rib cages. I wish that I could do that. Some times one, sometimes both at the same time.

Because I use pocket cameras with short focal length ranges, I don't get excited by the possibility of wildlife pictures. "About to be run over by a flock of enraged turkeys" would give me a chance. But something made me want to return the personal gesture of these two.

The problem was that as soon as I put down the paddle to go for my camera, the fast current lost me 25 yards and turned me 90 degrees away. I had one shot and it was close to being over my left shoulder. I got it.

The pair vanished. I watched for 5 minute over water that was open and flat for a very long way. Not a ripple. You've got to admire them.



Hello to Chethro, another West Virginian, over near Oak Hill. I like the looks of that lake. I could try it. The cove looks secluded and reminds me of my best bass pond where I grew up in eastern MA.


And to RavenWolf: I'm glad that you liked the review. Sometimes I use my pictures in support of a few efforts to protect natural areas around here. Mostly I do them to amuse myself. And I'm too unfocused to show. This is about my speed.


That's one of those rascally otters hot dogging in the left midground. The open ground in the left background is a state park camping area. A relaxed and lightly used RV type place that is well maintained and always decorous. In early historic and prehistoric times it was a well used Indian campground. Across the river is a village site last occupied in about 1500.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Everglades two weeks ago

 

[chethro]

Hello, Acer. Where was your pic taken at?

I've spent quite a bit of time fishing Blustone lake and the upper New to Indian Creek/ Bull Falls campground.

The Bluestone river where it meets the lake.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Local trip on Saco River ME (In May,not now!)

 

[Guest]

@ acer

The New is a big, bad river! I had a friend who went over a ledge and was caught in the spin cycle for what seemed to her like half of forever. Good bass fishing too! It's cool that it's so close for you.

 

[ScottB]

Nice! Keep the pictures coming!

 

[stripperguy]

I have been paddling as much of the Jessup river as I can...there are 3 distinct sections:
Lower Jessup, from Rt 30 n to Indian Lake
Upper Jessup, between Jessup River Rd (dirt, seasonal) bridge to Rt 30
Upper Upper Jessup, upstream from Jessup River Rd bridge.

The Lower Jessup is all flat, with some deadfalls and beaver dams that are easy to negotiate. A short walk downstream along a path takes you to Dug Mountain Brook Falls.
The Upper Jessup has many snags and beaver dams and some large logjams, but appears untouched by man.
The upper upper Jessup is bonier and even more quiet, haven't paddled all that's possible...yet.

Take a look

 

[Guest]

Hey man,

That's Shanklins Ferry.

I know the mouth of the Bluestone well, that view you posted, and was exactly there earlier in the week. Might go to it again this afternoon. Not bringing the boat though. Temps are in the 20s and the wind is whistling and the snow showers swirling. Just going to poke around. On the other hand I might go to River Trail at Pipestem and bushwack down to the river before it gets dark.

I don't fish anymore, but still find talking about it hard to resist. You could tell us stories here all day, and I'd have a good time. It is a great place. Have you worked the Bluestone River? Especially above Pipestem? I've started scouting it for a float. What I've seen so far is AA+.

 

[Guest]

PS,

YC, You GOTTA like that chickee moonlight picture.

Stripperguy, "Wow!". I envy the place. It's illegal to have boats like that in my area.

 

[chethro]

I don't know of any place to get on the Bluestone river near Pipestem. I always wanted to try to that trip as well.

 

[Guest]

You can take boats down on the tram, but that is done by reservation. Unfortunately, by the time the tram starts running in the spring there's no reliable water in the river: you need to wait for a good rain and then see what happens. Alternatively you can follow Canyon Rim Trail and then River Trail until the latter fords the river immediately above the lodge. But it's a steep downhill carry for something over a mile: 1100' vertical. I've done it with my Bob and gear, and it is a commitment.

You can get on at 6 miles below the lodge, 2 miles above the mouth. That's where the Little Bluestone comes in. Get there via Rt 3, Nimitz and Ellison Ridge Rd..

From there I have tracked a boat up about a third of the way to the lodge. Could pole my Bob all the way and will one day. That stretch between the lodge and the Little B is tasty and hardly visited by anyone. It's flat and CLASS I-II at good levels. In 5 years I've seen one mtn biker. A few fish around the lodge and the mouth of the Little B, but you soon lose them.

Other than the means I have outlined, the way to fish is by mtn bike. You might not be disappointed by what you find. There's not much traffic.

The 10 miles above the lodge is my new focus. There's a public put in underneath the Tnpk bridge and another at Brush Creek, a few miles below. The latter asks a one mile carry to the water, but it is easy. Of course, you can go down Brush Creek , but it is CLASS III-VI when it's runable, and it has a 35' falls too.

That's it in the way of public access for the upper 10. And I don't think there's any private access that's permanent or reasonable. The gorge is really tough here. I bushwacked one day and found a string of spectacular falls and pools on private land. The was river utterly secluded and beautiful where I came out. But carrying a boat and gear in would be something you'd have to think about.

At the end of the Brush Creek carry is a 100' stair step falls. The second picture shows a section of it. The first shows a falls and pool on the private land I crossed. The Tnpk to the resort run is known for its beauty, inaccessibility, and waterfalls on the steep creeks.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Some years back Shearwater and I and Robin were to meet on Little Tupper Lake in the Adirondacks. We thought we had arrived at the right tent . And that Robin was out..so we waited.
We should have known from the tent that we were wrong

Later in the dark the owner of the tent showed up in camo with a rifle. A nice guy but not Robin. The next morning we found the right person on a campsite about a mile away
The coffepot was ON!

DOH! The clues we missed!

 

[Guest]

chethro,

I can't stay away from the Bluestone River above Pipestem and found my way there again yesterday. Stop me before I trespass again.

The more I look the more falls I discover. The 10 mile float could takes days because I'll try to hike up every tributary just to see what's there.

 

[chethro]

I've been down the path at the tram. No way I would carry that! I've looked on Google maps and it looks like there is a road on the opposite side from Pipestem that connects to the Bluestone about halfway between Pipestem and Bluestone parks. I can't see where it connects to though.

Those are some nice pics.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Chiniguichi, a little north and east of Sudbury ON

 

[Guest]

I've been down the path at the tram. No way I would carry that! I've looked on Google maps and it looks like there is a road on the opposite side from Pipestem that connects to the Bluestone about halfway between Pipestem and Bluestone parks. I can't see where it connects to though.

Whoa! I answered this on the day after you posted. Or I thought that I did. No trace of it now.

That access is the mouth of the Little Bluestone River, which I mentioned in an earlier post. From Hinton take 3/20 toward Shady(Grove). When you get to the top of the mountain you are in Nimitz. Look for Ellison Ridge Road going off to the left. Follow it 5-7 miles. When you come back up to the top of the mountain again you'll be going along old farm fields for a mile. When you see a small group of houses a road goes off to the left and down to the mouth of the Little Bluestone on the Bluestone. There's a sign.

Near the river you enter state managed land(owned by the feds though, and from the resort on down the Bluestone has National Scenic River status) and there's parking.

It's a couple of miles downstream to the mouth and probably 6 upstream to the resort. A hike/bike/saddle trail more or less follows the river from the mouth to the resort, but except in the immediate vicinities of the Bluestone mouth, the Little Bluestone mouth and the resort, probably you won't find anyone else. As I said before, in 4 or 5 years I've seen one mtn biker(2 miles below the resort).

A road comes down Mountain Creek, on the same side as the lodge on the river at the resort, but it's a service road and gated at the top. Probably it is the same type carry as River Trail. And the only access to it is on private land. All of this per the park admin.

Hope this helps. Sorry for the delay.

 

[Robin]

Nice pictures. YC, seeing the lake at the end of a portage trail through the trees is a good feeling, especially on the last trip across.
Nice canoe, what does it say on the bow?

 

[yellowcanoe]

Hemlock Canoe Works. I pretty much use this canoe just for portaging trips in Temagami and Algonquin as the boat is light; 31 lbs of kevlar, s glass and carbon fiber and 15 feet long.

Another canoe place. My house is not quite visible ..

 

[Guest]

How about lower Saranac Lake

..or Valcour Island, Lake Champlain

 

[Guest]

WOW to Saranac!