Chapter 11- The River
I-87 to Crescent Dam
Discovery: Crescent Lake
September 6, 2002, 65 degrees, Sunny
The twin I-87 (Northway) steel arch bridges are engineering marvels.
My son, Paul lives in Baton Rouge where he is an Aviation Safety Inspector
for the Federal Aviation Administration. Each summer when he comes north,
we usually canoe West Canada Creek. This year we canoed a 5-mile stretch
of the Mohawk River known as Crescent Lake.
After leaving Paul's truck at the boat launch near the
Number 2 Guard Gate across from Crescent Dam, we drove upriver to the north
end of the I-87 Bridge across from Dunsbach Ferry. While we unloaded the
canoe under the bridge, Paul marveled at the bridge construction.
The I-87 or Northway Bridge is actually two bridges:
one for northbound traffic, the other for southbound. Huge steel arches
span some 600 feet of the Mohawk River, supported on each end by massive
"pins" attached to concrete abutments. Amazing!
It was almost 10 o'clock when we launched the
canoe and headed down river. When the canal is open this section of the
Mohawk is a half-mile wide in some areas and known locally as Crescent
Lake. I haven't completed research on the history of this area, but had
assumed the lake, dam and the Village of Crescent were named after the
shape of the dam. Now I suspect the village was named after the bend in
the river and the dam and lake were named after it.
The Route 9 Bridge crosses the river at the Village of Crescent.
As we paddled on placid waters, through floating duck weed, beside great stands of phragmities and purple loosestrife, flushing ducks and herons, and spooking schools of minnows, it was hard to picture the river before the dam was built. Steep-sided outcrops of uplifted shale on some islands indicated it was not placid water, but a free-flowing stream running through a gorge.
This tour boat from the American Canadian Caribbean
Line was one of the few boats we saw on the river.
We passed the Diamond Reef
Yacht Club and Halfmoon Beach on the north shore before crossing to the
south shore where we canoed around small islands. When we returned to the
north shore, we passed a long wooden dock with only one boat tied to it.
Just across the river was a boat launch (Colonie Town Park). It was 10:25
when we paddled past the island opposite the Crescent Boat Club. There
was a duck blind at the north end of the island.
There was very little water going over Crescent Dam, so there was
no danger of going over in the canoe.
Considering the number of launches, clubs and boats tied to docks in this area, there was very little traffic. In addition to a couple of fishing boats we saw a pleasure boat, a modernistic tour boat of the American Canadian Caribbean Line and a tugboat that was on its way to the Tugboat Festival at Waterford. Every one of them slowed down when they saw our red canoe. We pointed the canoe into the waves and enjoyed the ride.
in the river above Crescent Dam
Although this is prime fishing water, I didn't fish
much, concentrating instead on paddling, taking photographs, watching wildlife,
exploring islands and talking with my son. I introduced Paul and his sister,
Bridget to canoeing when they were youngsters. In the past 30 years we've
canoed rivers, streams and lakes all over upstate New York. We recalled
their first "unassisted" canoeing adventure; two life-vested towheads paddling
out into an Adirondack Lake until they reached the end of their rope .
. . tied to a shoreline tree.
As we talked of past adventures, we settled into
a paddling rhythm that took us quickly past a large island and on to the
Route 9 Bridge and the Village of Crescent. To this point most of the buildings
along the river were on the north shore, but as we rounded the bend in
the river, we discovered there were more buildings, including a couple
of marinas, on the south shore.
We had paddled steadily for an hour and a half,
well past the time to stretch our legs and backs. A tiny island looked
like the answer to our prayers, so we headed in that direction, only to
discover it was posted. We had no choice but to continue to the island
between the dams. Backaches were forgotten when we encountered hundreds
of waterbirds, including gulls, ducks, cormorants, green herons, great
blue herons, egrets and others I couldn't identify. I've never seen so
many white egrets along northern waters. There had to be 15-20 along the
river just above the dam.
The island between the two sections of Crescent Dam was a surprise. When
we beached the canoe at the north end, we discovered the wooded island
was crisscrossed with trails and pockmarked by old campsites. As we walked
in a forest of oak, maple, cherry, birch, hemlock and pine, we discovered
the island had an interesting past. (There was no evidence of recent use.)
In addition to occasional piles of trash, we found a tree partially covered
with beer bottle caps and a cement marker that read "PARADISE ISLAND -
RYE BREAD - 1977-1997."
We continued our canoeing adventure by paddling down both sides of the
island and along the dams, flushing waterfowl at every turn. We beached
the canoe on the southeast side of the island near where it intersects
the dam. I wanted to take a photo of Paul and the canoe from the concrete
wall at the end of the dam. To get to the wall from where I beached the
canoe, I had to climb up on some downed trees and hop across tree trunks
before I could bust through brush to climb to the top of the wall.
launch across from Crescent Dam.
From the dam it was a short paddle to the boat launch
and Paul's truck. We lifted the canoe from the river at 1 o'clock. Plenty
of time to go to the Halfmoon Diner for lunch . . . and get home in time
for dinner.
Follow the path of this discovery trip by clicking on Mohawk Valley Maps: by Maptech.
Type Crescent select New York, press GO!
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