NFCT Thru-Paddle 2015 – Page 5 – Laurie Apgar Chandler

Day 18: Canoe and Co. to Perkins Landing on Lake Memphremagog, Quebec (18.8 miles)

I left my pretty riverside perch wicked early, after enjoying a Grey Gables muffin and coffee. I have adapted well to cooking in my tent vestibule and eating while protected from bugs and weather. I would have appreciated the chance, though, to thank Frank and Rochelle again for their hospitality and for their dedication to the NFCT. I had won my night of camping from many that they donated to NFCT’s silent auction. I particularly loved the small, clean real restroom behind their home. And Rochelle’s small daughter brought me bananas and an apple.

The final miles of the Missisquoi were serene, although conditions were tougher on the North Branch, which leads to the town of Mansonville and ends this 74-mile upstream section.

PADDLER’S NOTE (and evidence of my navigational challenges): A couple was fishing at the Mansonville takeout and I was so focused on not disturbing their fishing that I did not notice the two portage signs, which were also partially obscured by vegetation. If you reach small rapids, you’ve gone too far. By the timeI figured it out and returned, I had a lovely audience of tourists offering help and the fisherman still with his tackle and self on the wooden steps. Oh well

Mansonville, where I lunched at the Owl’s Bread Boulangerie, is a pretty town founded in 1803 by Joseph Chandler and John Lewis. A round barn of Shaker construction, built in 1912, made an educational stop as I portaged through town.

A fluid and flexible schedule adds to the adventure of the trail…and so I ate my braised pork on milk bread with caramelized onion and apple sandwich with salad and fruit custard (wow!) and debated whether to go on. The weather looked iffy but the nice manager checked and said I was good to go. A portage, a paddle, a steep takeout where I used the official Diorio Access and met a friendly cyclist who tried hard to convince me to go back to Mansonville and walk from there.

PADDLER’S NOTE: Chemin Peabody, which comprises most of the Grand Portage , is being resurfaced.

The barns of the Grand Portage add charm to a climb that takes you up about 670 feet to cross the Missisquoi/St. Francis divide into a new watershed. Going down was a breeze, and breezy, as I walked to Perkins Landing to find Sydney and Marji Aveson there to welcome me. They had already set up camp after taking a shuttle around the Grand Portage.

TOTAL MILES: 269.4 miles

Day 17: Grey Gables Mansion, Richford, VT to Canoe and Co., Sutton, Quebec (12.1 miles)

My dreams about breakfast at Grey Gables had been growing over the hungry miles of paddling, but chef Tim was up to the task. Fresh fruit with yogurt and granola, white chocolate cranberry muffins, banana walnut pancakes with bacon, orange juice and coffee. Fuel of the finest kind for traveling upstream and crossing the border into Quebec. It would be an exciting day!

After consulting with Tim, I planned to paddle the difficult six miles of the Missisquoi River from Richford to the Canadian border. After the surprise of meeting two other through paddlers (daughter Sydney and her mother Marji) who were portaging past, I hugged Mom and Dad goodbye.

I made it 1.5 miles, but the river was getting progressively shallower and the current faster. There were also rapids ahead and the Canadian border closed at 4 pm. Back to the road, very carefully around the edge of a corn field. At least there weren’t any “No Trespassing” signs where you could see them from the river!

Downhill (how could that be on an upstream section?), dangerous (almost flattened by a speeding motorcycle), and delightful (countryside), are my alliteration for this walk to Canada.

Customs officers from both countries were helpful, not intimidating, and allowed me to leave my boat at the U.S. checkpoint while I just took my passport to check in with Canada.

Back on the river, I finally found folks enjoying the river…tubing, swimming, kayaking, sunbathing. After waving “bonjour” to many, it finally hit me. I could stop for a rest. I could swim. It was blissfully cool and relaxing and I took several dips enroute to my campsite at Canoe and Co.

TOTAL MILES: 250.6

Day 16: Campsite just before Twin Bridges on Missisquoi River to Grey Gables Mansion in Richford, VT (5.4 miles)

Yes, I only went 5.4 miles today, although it took me four hours. The current is picking up, the water is shallower, and (could it be?) I just may have been tired and needing a short day. Just past my improvised campsite, I passed under the Twin Bridges.

PADDLER’S NOTE: The Magoon Ledges, today’s biggest challenge, were definitely easier that the Samsonville Dam ruins yesterday. Also, Davis Park has a porta-potty, great if you end up camping there.

Mom and Dad met me here for a resupply and visit, so today was relaxing and there is not much to report. Back to bed until the famous Grey Gables breakfast!

TOTAL MILES: 238.5

Is a vegetarian pizza still vegetarian if you add bacon?

The Grey Gables Mansion B&B would be an amazing place to stay even if you weren’t coming off a muddy river! Owners Tim and Debbie say hello to all those through paddlers who are reading along.

Answers and insights…more on my NFCT 2015 through paddle

Well, I have been humbled, energized, and amazed by all of the comments and emails that I have been receiving along the way. Together with the generous, friendly folks that I have met and paddled with, you are making this journey a deeper, richer experience. And often cheering me up when I get down! I thought I could update you all best with this post, so here goes.

Q: You always sound so cheerful, but are there times that are tougher? A: At heart, I am a “look on the bright side” person and that is reflected in my writing. The toughest challenges so far, in no particular order, have been not feeling my best at the beginning, the difficulties of the portages, misplacing things (especially my credit card for a few days), and the pain and numbness in my hands. Luckily, I now have an arsenal of Aleve!

Q: How are your various aches and pains? A: Praise God that my eyesight has been back to normal since about the start of this adventure. The laryngitis and cough I had in the first week are gone. My left foot feels better every day and is very happy when I am paddling instead of walking. Perhaps the cold water immersion is soothing, too. How is that for looking on the bright side of constantly wet feet? My hands are as noted above, but otherwise I feel strong.

Q: Of what did Peter Macfarlane make his boat? A: Peter builds and sells boats and his business is called Otter Creek Smallcraft in Vermont. He completed his very wet 2013 through paddle of the NFCT (without wheels) in his “14′ solo Sylva Tripper cedar-strip canoe by Otter Creek Smallcraft.”

Another challenge is communication, especially getting my posts the way I want them, with infrequent time and access to a good internet connection. (Hence my middle of the night posting here at the Grey Gables Mansion B&B). Before I leave for the wilds of Canada, I would like to share a few photos that I will later add in to the appropriate days.

DSCN6746 — Mother and fawn on First Lake in the Fulton Chain of Lakes less than an hour from the start

DSCN6896 — Hanging out with Z (Zion) and Alton, while we were waiting for their group’s canoe to be recovered from a strainer

DSCN7136 — Nancy and Tom, trail angels of the finest kind, took kind care of me in Plattsburgh. Nancy later tried to track down my lost credit card, which she will be glad to hear is now found!

turtle cropped — Turtle in the Missisquoi wildlife refuge. Yes, Chris Gill, this is a wood turtle, right? Sadly, I know it is not a threatened spiny softshell turtle, which I had really hoped to spot there.

Day 15: Missisquoi River from behind the Abbey Restaurant to stealth campsite just before Twin Bridges (16.2 miles)

After a shorter day yesterday, I was up and on the trail by 6:30 a.m., first continuing down the rail trail less than a mile to the North Sheldon bridge. Visiting last night at the pub had armed me with local knowledge, which, combined with rereading Katina’s description, led me to put back onto the river there, rather than walking to Enosburg Falls as planned. It was a great decision, although it took ingenuity to get the gear and boat in at that bridge, down a steep bank. The solution? Slide the canoe down through heavy weeds instead of the slippery path!

Muddy, monotonous, and marvelous…those sections of the river where you can just stay in the boat and paddle. Most of today was like that. (Muggy, too, later in the day). Great blue herons and spotted sandpipers led me upstream, as I amused myself noting all of the animal tracks in the muddy banks. My phone was on and working for a bit and Megan called. “So are there more people on the trail there than in Maine?” she asked. That made me realize that the only people I had seen in boats on this river in days were the group at the Highgate Falls Carry!

IMG_1373-0 — Finished with Map 4…signed the kiosk by the Bridge of Flowers and Light, but there was no one to take my photo. This beautifully landscaped old bridge, once used to carry milk to creameries, was saved by a group of local citizens.

After leaving the easy portage through Enosburg Falls, I was hoping to find a restaurant meal. It was not to be, as I first missed a place recommended by Dennis at The Abbey and then tried to stop when I saw a true Vermont country store from the river. Pulling over to the easiest access from the bridge, I secured my boat and started walking up a tiny muddy stream. With every step, I sank deeper, until I was literally in mud to my knees, worried that if I lost a shoe I could never retrieve it. Humbly, I struggled back, clinging to the meager vegetation and paddled away, eating trail mix!

PADDLER’S NOTE: The most difficult challenge in this section is the Samsonville Dam ruins. It took me a long time to go the half mile (longer than descriptions indicate). Most of this was pulling and lining the boat, but the last bit was carrying gear and then canoe along the shore.

TOTAL MILES: 233.1

DSCN7240 — Caught by a thunderstorm and the lateness of the day, I stealth camped again, perched in a small clear spot right by a game trail. Before dark, I heard loud splashing and looked out my window. A doe was crossing the river right toward me. Suddenly, though, she whirled and ran back across the shallow water, pausing to look back, then snorting danger and disappearing.

Canada lilies always brighten up the miles of green river shore

Day 14: Stealth campsite near East Highgate to Missisquoi River behind The Abbey Restaurant (8.7 miles)

I’m glad I didn’t stay awake all night worrying about those rapids! Instead, I rested well and woke to bird song, as good as an alarm clock at about 4:15. The sun rose higher, stronger, conquering the early morning chill. And I conquered the rapids in a half hour, carrying my gear first, then lining the boat.

The river returned to its calm nature around a large oxbow. The multitude of birds, one with a flash of yellow, took me back in a flash to paddling into Lago Yojoa a year ago with Megan. Wow, does Honduras ever have fascinating birds!

Next up was the approach to the Sheldon Springs power facility. Remember not to rush, scout it well, and, yes, I made it to the regular low water portage that is totally wheelable. A friendly young man working there offered me a ride, but was happy to take my photo instead. (The rushing water in the background was the discharge that I successfully avoided.)

The welcome and accessibility at the hydroelectric projects in NY and VT reminds me of the North Maine Woods philosophy of opening wilderness roads and land for recreation. This facility, which actually produces way more electricity from a huge field of solar panels than from its run-of-river hydroelectric plant built in the 1910’s, lets paddlers camp on their grounds. (I learned a lot resting and eating my lunch in the shade of their lovely informational kiosk.)

Wheeled along the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail for a few miles to avoid Abbey Rapids and ended up at the hospitable Abbey Restaurant for the night, camping down by the river.

TOTAL MILES: 216.9

Day 13: The Swanton Motel to a stealth campsite just past East Highgate, VT on the Missisquoi River (12.3 miles)

This was a common view as I wound my way up the river, hugging that shore (and enjoying a great tail wind). My gift to myself was the whole morning in the motel and I didn’t get on the river until after noon. You can’t push all the time.

My companionship with the river’s shore brought me close to this Joe Pye Weed, the sweet smell of purple vetch, the surprising sight of a family of five baby ducks with no mother, and beaver, many beaver. Late in the evening, I came upon a family or colony of beaver, the two largest patrolling back and forth and tail slapping long after several little ones had slithered down the bank and plopped into the water. Very cool!

At the first of two portages (Highgate Falls), I met four Northeastern graduates who are section paddling the NFCT, going downstream here. They told me the portage trail was a mess (actually used stronger language) and I should have believed them! On and off the wheels three times and I still had to carry the boat at the end as a huge gully had washed out the road.

There is a pretty NFCT campsite at the start of this portage. John Mautner had signed the register and, in the comments, reported that a bear had swum across in front of his canoe. Now that is very cool! John is still about two days ahead of me.

A fine example of stealth camping after the second portage and before some rapids I will need to figure out in the morning. just enough flat dry ground under a tree to fit my tent and canoe hidden among the ferns. Goodnight!

TOTAL MILES: 208.2

Day 12: Knight Island on Lake Champlain to The Swanton Motel, Swanton, VT (26.1 miles)

Hero’s Welcome’s pastries lived up to their reputation and were a great motivator to get us up and on our way early, crossing from our campsite back to North Hero Island. Peter and I said goodbye to Dan, who was not feeling well, and headed home. Safe travels and awesome adventures in Alaska, Dan! By the way, I had a chocolate pastry with coffee, a giant ham and cheese pastry for lunch, and took a peach scone for the road.

Peter signing in at the NFCT kiosk…fun to read who else is paddling and valuable for safety purposes

I learned an incredible amount from Peter in the two days that he carved out of his busy summer Celtic music and fiddle lesson schedule. One huge discovery is that I am twisting my wrists too much, which is the likely cause of my numbness and pain. Now to try to unlearn a bad habit. Relax my hands, don’t have a death grip on the paddle, move my torso…lots to concentrate on as the miles go by.

As we started the 1.5 mile crossing from Stephenson Point to Clark Point, the skies let loose. “This would be the time to head straight for the closest shore,” said Peter. Luckily, we saw no lightning.

Our paddling today proved that we are both a little crazy, as we just kept going and going, warmed in the torrential rain by our exertion and stopping now and then to dump the water out of our boats. Peter’s car was parked at the Rt. 78 bridge, but he offered to go a little farther, giving me a chance to get some advice on upstream paddling.

I love this photo which captures the spirit of a day of challenges and discovery. Did you know that putting on a warm, dry layer under a soaking wet jacket will really warm you up?

As we entered the Missisquoi River, which I will paddle upstream, we were in a wildlife refuge full of birds. I was also on the lookout for the threatened Spiny Softshell Turtle, finally seeing and photographing a turtle after I left Peter, but I haven’t identified it yet.

So what did I learn about upstream paddling? Hug the shore on the inside of curves and I mean HUG IT. We wove in and out of trees draped over the river and paddled so close to grassy banks that there was barely room for a paddle. This is also, I have discovered, a great way to see wildlife!

I left Peter at Louie’s Landing after washing my boat at the Clean-Drain-Dry Station that the NFCT installed there to prevent the spread of invasive species. On to The Swanton Motel, where I don’t expect to leave tomorrow until checkout time. I was on Lake Champlain only 28 hours!

TOTAL MILES: 195.9

Day 11: Comfort Inn, Plattsburgh to Knight Island in Lake Champlain (17.9 miles)

This morning I woke very early to take full advantage of the hotel amenities: a second shower, scrumptious breakfast, and quickly writing blog entries. As some readers have noted, I have been behind but am writing from the perspective of that paddling day.

The taxi dropped me at my new friends’ house, where Nancy kindly offered to walk with me along the Saranac River Trail to the put-in for Lake Champlain. Along the way we saw the site of the first building in Plattsburgh (corner of Green and Bridge Sts. near the put-in) and a neat old train station, still in use.

On the Saranac River Trail going through the SUNY Plattsburgh campus.

Great that Nancy was there to take this photo…finished with Map 3 and New York!

Crossing Lake Champlain, the sixth largest lake in the U.S., had me a little apprehensive and I was glad I would have company. I would be meeting Peter Macfarlane (NFCT 2013) and Dan Brown (NFCT 2014) at Cumberland Head, which was 3 miles across a large bay. Getting there turned out to be the scariest part.

The strong south wind would make it a real workout to reach the point. I took the shortest route across, telling myself to just focus on the next few waves, the biggest about 3 feet. By the end, I was reciting the 23rd Psalm, and the crashing waves hurtled me to shore, on land but still a mile up the shore against the wind to the point. A call to Peter brought reassurance and I bravely headed out again as they paddled to meet me.

The Cumberland Head lighthouse comes into sight after you round the point – victory!

Dan was paddling his sea kayak, preparing for a wilderness trip to Alaska next week. Peter, a former kayak racer, had much to teach us both.

I tried a little surfing now that we had a tail wind, which would carry me up most of Lake Champlain.

My time with these friends was immensely helpful, both for my paddling technique and for practical stuff, like attaching my SPOT so it would stay facing upward. Peter had also planned the camping logistics, reserving a site with two lean-tos on Knight Island

The forecast rain held off until late afternoon, then we headed for the island, blown along by the storm. Peter seemed pleased that I was comfortable with the rougher conditions. Truthfully, it was exhilarating and I loved it!

And thanks, Peter, for taking all those great action shots.

Home for the night…you can see Peter’s canoe that he built and used for his 2013 NFCT trip, without taking portage wheels.

TOTAL MILES: 169.8

Day 10: Baker’s Acres Campground near Picketts Corners to Comfort Inn, Plattsburgh (20.0 miles)

Up early and on the water just before 7, with a family of Canada geese to see me off. The logistics of packing have fallen into a rhythm and the pot cozies are helping me be able to make coffee or a simple meal in the tent vestibule.

The first aches and pains of an extended expedition are arriving…the usual pain and numbness in my hands and a tender left foot, which I stumbled on twice during my long day of walking. Today more complicated portages, many around dams that sprinkle this river and are largely used to generate hydroelectric power.

At one point early on, I wheeled down a residential sidewalk, thinking of the people pulling out for a normal day of work while I was off on a grand adventure. Don’t forget- every day is a gift! – which I have been writing in the trail registers when there is room.

But I digress. Cadyville Dam, Kent Falls, Treadwell Miils Dam and the intriguing ruins of Indian Rapids Dam (which I combined into one portage per Dan Brown’s advice), and Imperial Mills Dam to end a long day! Much walking, navigating, and concentrating, while favoring my left foot. I also added a couple of miles of portaging above Morrisonville, where I walked after seeing the raging river and calling Dave at St. Regis for a consultation.

Decided after that to call it a day and not attempt the wild ride into Plattsburgh with the question marks of the Bridge St. rapids and detour around river remediation work.

Walked up from the Imperial Mills put-in into a neighborhood and straight to the blessing of two more trail angels, Tom and Nancy, who spotted me from their window! Tea, fruit, a freeze-dried chicken gumbo for the road, boat storage, a ride to the Comfort Inn, these Long Trail hikers knew just what I needed. The hotel, too, had all I needed with a laundry and a great restaurant, The Plattsburgh Brewery attached. I was in heaven.

TOTAL MILES: 151.9