Chapter 12 - Tributuaries
Boonville Gorge - A Thing of
Beauty
| Discovery: Top to Bottom Part I | Discovery: Top to Bottom Part II |
| Disovery: Top to Bottom Part III | Discovery: Top to Bottom Part IV |
Ten
thousand years ago a glacial river cut through gravel, shale and limestone
to create Boonville Gorge. Over the years it's been the path of the Lansing
Kill, the Black River Canal and a road connecting Rome and Boonville. Today
it can be seen from Route 46, from the old canal towpath or by following
the Kill itself. No matter how you look at it, Boonville Gorge is a thing
of beauty.
I've driven through the gorge, visited Pixley Falls
State Park, cross-country skied the towpath trail and fished the lower
end of the Lansing Kill, so I thought I knew it well. Think again.
There are opposing waterfalls at the upper
end of Boonville Gorge. This one is created by the Lansing Kill,
the other by waters from the old Black River Canal.
Discovery: Top to Bottom Part One
June 18, 2002, 70 degrees, Sunny with Clouds
Boonville
Gorge starts in earnest about five miles south of the village of Boonville
where the waters of the Lansing Kill and the old Black River Canal plummet
over a pair of limestone falls. That's where we started this discovery
trip.
Denny Gillen parked his car near the entrance to
the towpath ski trail along Route 46. Just to the right of the bridge,
at the top of the Canal Falls, is a trail that leads to the bottom of the
upper Lansing Kill Falls. This is not a difficult trail, but it's not easy
either. It requires sure feet and frequent hand holds on the trees
that grow on the side of the gorge. The trail leads to a pile of wooded
rocks that provide a view of the opposing falls.
We spent 15 minutes viewing the falls and
casting to the pool below the Lansing Kill Falls. Although a couple of
trout tried to eat our gold spoons, we didn't catch anything. Just downstream
from the falls, piles of huge rocks, fallen trees and fast water made travel
difficult and dangerous. Wiser men would have climbed back up the trail,
but we took are chances and climbed and waded downstream where the going
was much easier.
We
didn't find any deep pools, but rock ledges and log piles created a number
of pools and runs where we caught a few small trout and lost a couple of
bigger fish.
Like most of the gorge, this area is heavily forested.
In many areas the forest floor was covered with waist-high ferns, and streamside
openings were decorated with white and purple phlox, buttercup, forget-me-nots
and white anemone. Deposits of shale chips revealed the tracks of a heavy
deer, and we were entertained by the antics of a kingfisher and an errant
duck that jumped off a pool and flew through the woods.
Although the sun was hot there was plenty of shade
and a breeze at the bottom of the gorge. And, oddly enough there were no
black flies or deer flies, just a few mosquitoes.
Hidden among the trees but revealed by the sound
of cascading water were several beautiful waterfalls on the sides of the
gorge. Most were mere trickles of water, but a couple were quite impressive.
White anemone, buttercups and forget-me-nots grew in abundance in Boonville Gorge.This towpath trail is quite unique. On one side is the gorge, on the other, the remnants of the canal and locks that raised and lowered boats through the gorge on the Black River Canal. Today this towpath is a groomed cross-country ski trail during the winter and a grassy hiking trail in the summer.
Flowers grew in abundance along this trail, and I was elated to discover a small patch of Blue Flag growing in the old canal bed. This native iris is nowhere near as common as the Yellow Flag iris that was introduced to this area by Europeans many years ago. I was too lazy and clean to climb down into the mud in the canal bed, so I enjoyed them from afar.
It was 1 o'clock when we loaded our gear in Denny's car and headed for Slim's Diner in Boonville for lunch. In three hours we had completed the first segment of a top to bottom discovery of Boonville Gorge.
Follow the path of this discovery trip by clicking on Mohawk Valley Maps: by Maptech.
Type Boonville select New York, press GO! Select Boonville Gorge State Park and use margin arrows to follow the Lansing Kill upstream to the start of the Gorge.
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