Chapter 11 - The River
Discovery: Birds Eye View - Part One
July 6, 2000 - 50 degrees, partly cloudy, 9 a.m.
Steve
completed the checklist and yelled, "Clear."
Rotors cast flickering shadows as the engine whined up to speed.
Through the headsets, "Check Intercom."
I adjusted the volume and replied, "Sounds good."
With a slight vibration . . . liftoff.
Horses ran across the pasture. They had played this game before.
over Fort Hunter at the mouth of Schoharie Creek.
Steve Burton and his wife, Judith are veterinarians. When
they're not working and raising their two children, Steve flies a helicopter
and Judith rides horses.
I had flown with Steve while researching Kuyahoora-Discovering
West Canada Valley. A mutual friend had told Steve I wanted to fly
over the valley to gather information and photographs for a book. After
our first meeting, Steve agreed to fly me wherever I needed to go if I
paid for the fuel. I was euphoric. Chartering a helicopter would cost thousands
of dollars more.
We flew West Canada Valley five times, learning
more and more about the valley . . . and about taking photographs from
a helicopter. Our adventures are featured in Kuyahoora.
Steve agreed to continue our adventures when I told
him about the Mohawk book. Poor weather and an engine overhaul delayed
our first Mohawk trip until July 6, 2000.
The weather on that day didn't look promising. Heavy
cloud cover was predicted for later that morning, so our plan was to fly
directly to the mouth of Schoharie Creek and then fly up the valley from
there, taking as many photographs as possible before the clouds moved in.
Although a bright cloudy day can provide enough light for good photographs,
heavy cloud cover can reduce light considerably. Another drawback to taking
aerial photographs under clouds is that they reflect white or grey off
water. I much prefer blue to black water.
We were flying with the doors on. On previous flights
we discovered that Steve's 1974 Bell Ranger Jet III helicopter vibrated
slightly with the door off. He couldn't feel it in the controls but I could
see it in the camera lens. And with the door off, top speed was 85 knots
rather than 120.
Once we were airborne, I was able to move freely
in the back seats, poking the camera lens through the sliding door panels
on each side of the helicopter. I had learned long ago not to take photos
through the windows---too many reflections and some distortion.
Steve set the GPS for the Fulton County Airport
near Johnstown. When we were 500 feet above the ground, he flew east, over
Hinckley Lake and some 40 miles of woodlands before sighting the airport
20 minutes after liftoff. From there it was only a short run to the mouth
of Schoharie Creek.
The clouds were already moving in, so we circled
the area, taking as many photographs as possible before the clouds reflected
white in the water. Because of the cloud cover we decided to turn our adventure
into a scouting mission. In addition to getting to know the valley from
the air, I would take a few photos of some of the important landmarks and
historical sites.
Our next stop was The Noses; that narrow gap in
the valley where the river/canal, railroad and three highways pass through,
and where some 10,000 years ago a glacial river cut through the Appalachian
Plateau. As we circled overhead I told Steve that my daughter, Bridget
and I had climbed Little Nose in April and planned to return the following
year to climb Big Nose.
At Canajoharie, we flew up the creek to photograph
the famous "pot that cleans itself." I mistakenly photographed the
plunge pool below the waterfalls, not realizing the actual Canajoharie
was just upstream around the bend. I discovered the real thing during a
walk up the creek a month or so later. Take a look
Just west of the village of Fort Plain is a large bird's-eye-view-sign
noting the location of the fort the village was named after. This fort,
which was also called Fort Rensselaer during the Revolutionary War, figured
significantly in the failure of the British to control the Mohawk Valley.
The Fort Plain area was also the site of a number of Indian villages.
Several miles west we "stopped" over the General
Nicholas Herkimer home. The hero of the Battle of Oriskany lived here for
many years, and died here in August 1777 from wounds suffered during the
battle. Today the home and grounds are a historical monument that is open
to the public
Just west of Herkimer's Home is the village of Little
Falls. We circled the area while I took photos of the canal, river, falls
and Moss Island. When I had the film developed, I was astounded at the
quality of the photos I took that morning. See: Little
Falls
From Little Falls we moved rapidly up the valley,
crossing Herkimer, Mohawk, Ilion, Frankfort and Utica before turning north
at Rome. We made one turn over Rome so I could take a few snapshots of
Fort Stanwix. With the cloud cover getting heavier, we'd have to return
for better photographs.
I also took a couple of shots of Delta Lake before
we continued up the river, turning west at Hillside and flying over the
Canyon. I pointed out the power lines that crossed the Canyon, and reminded
Steve that a few years before an Army helicopter had cut those lines while
attempting to fly under them. Fortunately, no one was injured and after
some repairs the helicopter was able to return to base in Watertown.
It took the Power Company over a week to replace the cut lines.
We had difficulty locating the river at the west
end of the Canyon because of tree cover, but after a couple of passes we
got back on track and followed the river north to West Leyden and on up
to its source on Mohawk Hill. From there it was a straight flight to Steve's
place near Remsen. We landed at 11:30.
The flight plan for our next bird's eye view discovery trip starts
at the mouth of the Mohawk River, near Cohoes.
Stay tuned.
