A lake house rest day. And a day off from blog writing. Hard to believe only three days left till the Atlantic Ocean.
A day off in Lake Saint Catherine VT
C2C Day 51 Saratoga Springs NY to Lake Saint Catherine VT
Three things I would have not believed at the start of this cross country adventure on the shores of Oregon back in 2018: a) a global pandemic would shut down the world b) the Denver Nuggets would win an NBA championship c) New York would be the rainiest state I would cross through.
Today’s ride of 62 miles started with rain. 55 degrees, and excellent air quality :). And an immediate wake-up call with steep hills right off the start – climbing up and away from Saratoga Lake on quiet farm roads. I had to remember how to frequently shift gears, using all 24. A radical departure from the canal paths which are incredibly flat, as you might imagine. By comparison, a long ride on a canal trail might use 3 or 4 gears total.
Despite the wet roads and light rain, the rolling scenery was very pleasant. And green.
Quite a bit of Revolutionary war history in this area. Which means more of my favorite Blue + Yellow NY informational signs. This one proudly proclaims that General Washington was a guest here at Sherwood’s Tavern back in 1783. If Yelp was available at the time, I’m guessing Washington would have left a favorable review.
On to the small hamlet of Fort Ann for some lunch with Jax and a dry spot away from the rain. Any dry spot will do.
Eventually I met up once again with New York’s Empire Trail, which has a North-South route in addition to the East-West Erie Canal trail we’ve been on or near since Buffalo. The North-South trail runs from New York City to the Canadian Border.
The Empire Trail is very well maintained with excellent signage. Today I spent some brief time on a beautiful section of the trail along the Champlain Canal.
As I made my way to the Vermont border, the rain intensified into a downpour. It was one last sucker punch from New York. Ha! I’ll miss those great trails and blue+yellow signs, but not the rain.
Just a few miles into Vermont is our place for the next two nights – a guest house on Lake Saint Catherine. Tomorrow is a rest day and hopefully clearing skies.
C2C Day 50 Little Falls to Saratoga Springs NY
After a great night in Little Falls (perhaps the best canal town we’ve stayed at so far), day 50 of this coast to coast adventure starts off cool and cloudy. The first trick is navigating the steep stairs from our third floor room at the Canal Side Inn.
Temps and air quality both in the 50s. The rain held off for most of the day, but made its appearance for the final 20 miles. Early on, the trail wound a bit into rock formations that create some cascading waterfalls in the area.
And one of these sharp rocks made its way into my front tire for the first flat of this 2023 segment. A special shout out to the Mohawk Valley Alpiners club for strategically placing a nice bench alongside the trail right where I needed it.
At several points, the ‘old’ abandoned canal would be on my right, and the ‘new’ active canal on the left. Here are a couple locks (I like to think of them as water elevators), one old and one new:
The best stop of the day was at a creek-side park, where Schoharie Creek meets the Mohawk River / Canal. Jax had a beautiful paddleboard ride amongst aqueduct ruins from the old canal. And we had the whole park to ourselves… except for the bald eagle that flew by low and waived hello while eyeing our lunch. The passing cars, trucks and trains were whizzing by too quickly to enjoy the beauty.
A nostalgic quote from a fellow passing traveler in this same area, as posted on a nearby interpretive sign, captured the sentiment we felt:
“The graceful winding curvature of the old canal, the meadows, and woods, the half-hidden church nestling among the leaves of its elms and pines, the neat secluded hamlet, the farmhouse… so disposed as to greet the eye of the passenger, will long be hopelessly looked for by him who flies through this scene” – James Fenimore Cooper, 1851.
Domagala.Bike 