Our first week on the trail has been great, mostly. We won't be updating our blog as much as we thought we might. After a few portages, the idea of a tablet with keyboard to keep you all in the loop seemed less romantic. Along with a few other extraneous items, it was shipped home in Saranac Lake. I (Calvin) am eating my words of over confidence in my construction of our canoe cart/ wheels. My design was off to a great start, and while it did not yet fail, it did not instill confidence for the long haul. Still not entirely impressed with commercially available solutions, we've ended up with a Suspenz cart, with additional cross bars to support our long boat. With this experience behind us, I am confident that with a welder in my hands again, I could modify my original design slightly and surpass what you can buy. My Bow Babe Beth's Better Blue Barrel Backpack System, which turns the 60l barrel into a rolley suitcase on smooth carries has proven to be a great solution thus far!
So where are we now?
Well, we're in Plattsburgh, but we have to go backwards a bit before going forward. We ran into a bit of trouble on the Saranac River in a section known as Trail Rapids. We are not experienced whitewater paddlers, and with a loaded boat, we quickly found ourselves in over our heads (literally). It was a very scary experience, but we are OK. Aside from the necessary skills, we were prepared, and entered with caution after significant scouting of the section. Our preparation for worst case scenario worked to our benefit after finding ourselves in that situation. We changed to dry clothes, and bushwhacked to a road in the pouring rain. Within a few miles of walking, we came to a house with a landline to call for help, and continued walking until we got picked up in Clayburgh by a friend . In the last 3 days we've dried out, and done some Kevlar boat repair. We never set out for a whitewater expedition, and our moment of blunder has convinced us to proceed with even more caution and perhaps we will end up walking a bit more than we hoped to, but safety and completion are goals 1 and 2.
Tomorrow morning, May 26th we will be back on route, starting in Clayburgh, where we previously walked to. We expect to be on Champlain this weekend, and hopefully weather cooperates so we aren't held up before our crossing.
