Chapter 12 - Tributaries
Black Creek
Surprises at Every Turn
Black Creek is a major tributary of West Canada Creek. Its lower
section features eight miles of easy canoeing water that meanders through
some of the wildest country in the Mohawk Valley.
July 12, 2004, 75 degrees, Party Sunny
Every summer when son, Paul comes north from his home in Baton Rouge,
we try to spend at least one day canoeing. This year he specifically requested
a trip on Black Creek near Grant. As a teenager he and his friends
had paddled upstream from the village. He recalls seeing beaver houses
and ducks along the way. I suggested we canoe from Route 8 downstream to
Grant, noting that it would take about four hours, and we would see some
wild and interesting country.
Discovering this single Black Flag blossom was a special treat
.
I told Paul that when we passed under the Fisher Road Bridge we would enter an Adirondack-like wilderness. Some sections run through a boreal forest of black spruce and balsam, others run by sloping banks of hardwood and hemlock. Underlying it all are deposits of silt or clay that, when exposed by the creek, form a variety of interesting ‘outcrops.’ Some look like layers of shale or limestone. Others are sculptured by nature and critters, creating unique patterns that are often mirrored in the water. Although not as plentiful this late in the summer, we could also expect to see wildlife and wildflowers.
When we passed under the Fisher Road Bridge at
11 o'clock, we canoed right into the “gaping jaws” of deer flies on the
prowl. As long as we kept paddling, creating wind in our faces, or there
was a breeze coming up the creek, they didn't sink their “teeth” into exposed
flesh.
Despite
these ever-present pests, we stopped long enough to photograph the one
remaining blossom in a clump of blue flag, our only native iris. The only
other wildflowers we saw in this area were elderberry blossoms.
Just downstream from a pair of old concrete abutments---3.5-mile
mark--- we flushed a ruffed grouse. Twenty minutes later we played tag
with a wood duck and four very vocal ducklings that struggled to stay ahead
of the canoe and follow mom into streamside brush.
Although there was very little beaver sign in Black
Creek itself, we discovered beaver dams near the mouths of several tributaries.
Smart beavers. A dam on the creek would be washed away in the spring.
A mowed area on the right side of the creek announced
the Pardeeville Corners Bridge---5.5-mile mark. A half-mile or so below
the bridge we discovered a fallfish nest. Fallfish spawn in the spring
over piles of pebbles constructed by the male---one pebble at a time---carried
in its mouth. The creek was down, so much of the tub-size nest was above
water.
The remainder of the trip was through a wide, winding
estuary of mud and silt banks, high grass and shrubs. It was here that
bank beavers and other critters had dug holes in the silt, and where artful
patterns reflected in the water. Almost magically our haloes of deer flies
disappeared. Another surprise was a lighthouse in Grant. The sign next
to the lighthouse read “ Edwards Point, Grant, NY.”
We were surprised to discover a lighthouse at Edward's Point in Grant.
We beached the canoe on limestone ledgerock on the right side of the creek, just downstream from the Grant Bridge, completing this 8-mile discovery trip at 1:30, an hour ahead of schedule.
(For more information on Black Creek read Kuyahoora Discovering West Canada Valley.)
Type Grant , select New York, press GO!
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