Chapter 11- The River
Lock 16 to Lock 15 (Fort Plain)
Discovery: Tip-A-Canoe & Fort Klock Too
December 1, 2001, 55 degrees, Cloudy
The look on their collective faces was priceless.
We beached the canoe near the mouth of a small stream, walked up to
the railroad tracks, climbed over some
flatbed railroad cars and climbed the hill to a fortified home that
was built in the 1750s. A small group of men, women and children were preparing
for a Christmas celebration when Bridget and I walked in wearing hip boots
and life jackets. The look on their collective faces was priceless.
I had explored almost 90 miles of the river when
surgery put me out of commission for three months, so I was chomping at
the bit to get back on the water. When the weather forecast for December
1st called for 50 degrees and partly sunny, I called on fellow Mohawk explorers
to join me on "one more run" before winter set in. Bridget answered my
call.
for some 250 years. We could see this fortified
homestead through the leafless trees.
For much of the year a series of dams keep the canal
at the 14-foot level, in effect creating a series of long lakes. However,
when the canal closes these dams are raised and the river flows freely
down the valley, providing a totally different canoeing experience.
When we left Bridget's Wrangler at the upper end
of the Lock 15 parking area at Fort Plain it was 9:30 a.m., 55 degrees
with the sun poking through an overcast sky. We crossed the river to Nelliston
and drove west on Route 5 towards St. Johnsville. Along the way we stopped
at the Hungry Bear Cafe for breakfast---fuel for the seven-mile paddle.
I had explored and fished this section of the river/canal
a few years earlier with Tom Christiano. We launched Tom's powerboat at
St. Johnsville, motored up to Lock 16 where the river and canal come together,
and then down to Lock 15, catching smallmouth bass and walleye at fish
havens Tom had located on previous trips. That time the canal was open,
full and placid.
When we launched the canoe at Lock 16 near Mindenville,
the river was anything but placid. The canal bank is quite high on the
south side, so we crossed over the lower lock dam and carried the canoe
and gear down a trail to the merging waters of the river and canal. The
previous night's rain had raised the water a foot or so, but with the canal
closed since November 2nd, the canal/river was a good five feet lower than
normal and there was plenty of current.
To get from the river to Fort Klock we had to climb
over the railroad cars. When we arrived wearing life
jackets and hip boots we received open-mouth stares
until we explained that we had come by canoe.
We launched the canoe in an eddy, paddled out into
a short stretch of rough water and let the current take the canoe. It was
11:15. Almost immediately a small flock of ducks jumped off the river
and flew downstream. I had planned to fish along the way, but the current
was so strong, we couldn't keep the canoe in place long enough for me to
cast. No matter, I had fished here before.
The strong current and wind at our back delivered
us to St. Johnsville in 15 minutes. The docking area and boat launch
looked strange with the water so low. As we moved down the river, I could
see why we had caught fish at some of the locations that Tom and I had
fished. Rock piles, bars and boulders stood out like sore thumbs. Some
of them were located just off stream outlets and, now barren, bays; the
best fish havens when the canal was full.
At 11:45 Bridget pointed out the restaurant where
we had breakfast. The small redbrick building next to the restaurant's
driveway was easy to spot through the leafless trees.
The lack of foliage was a real plus on this trip
because it also allowed us to see Fort Klock from the river. This fortified
stone home, which has survived wars and the ravages of time, has overlooked
the Mohawk River for some 250 years. Today it's a living museum and the
site of reenactments and celebrations that emphasize the rich history of
the area.
When we beached the canoe at the mouth of a small
stream and walked up the riverbank, my intention was to take a few photos
of the Fort and adjacent waterfalls, and return to the canoe. Trouble was,
between us and the Fort were railroad tracks. Normally that wouldn't be
a problem unless a train was coming, but for some reason one of the tracks
was being used as a siding (parking area) for a train of flatbed cars.
When we climbed onto the cars to take photos of the Fort, we saw activity
near the building.
What the heck. We climbed down the other side of
the railroad cars and walked up the bank, wearing our canoeing gear and
dressed like a couple of hicks from the sticks. After open-mouth stares,
a comment about not wanting mud in the building, and our explanation that
we had arrived by canoe, we were invited in to look around. Members of
the Fort Klock Restoration organization were preparing for their St. Nicholas
Day celebration the following day, so we went into a couple of ground floor
rooms, promised to come back by car, and went back to the river.
Our
next stop was at the mouth of Caroga Creek where we climbed the bank to
see if we could see the Palatine Church. Unfortunately, trees blocked the
view of the church although we could see farms and other buildings along
Route 5.
Downstream from Caroga Creek is a large island where
Tom and I had caught both walleye and smallmouths. With its exposed sloping
points and steep banks, it was easy to see why we caught so many
fish in this area.
We stopped at the mouth of Caroga Creek and climbed the bank to see the Palatine Church on Route 5.
On the south side of the river, opposite the lower
end of the island, is a stretch of high ground where a large Mohawk village
stood in the 1600s. This archaeological site was discovered when the Thruway
was under construction in the 1950s and subsequently destroyed when the
highway was completed. We could see tractor trailers traveling the Thruway.
A mile or so east, sitting atop another bluff, was a Revolutionary War
fort. Although it was sometimes called Fort Rensselaer, it was Fort Plain
to the farmers who relied on its protection. Today an American flag flies
where the fort once stood. We couldn't see the flag from the river, but
the river and much of the valley was once visible from the ramparts of
the wooden fortress.
takeout at Fort Plain reveals how low the
water is in the canal during the winter.
As we moved down the river the flock of ducks, which I couldn't identify, kept getting larger and larger, eventually numbering a couple dozen birds. That flock of ducks didn't prepare us for the sight that greeted us at Fort Plain.
As we passed the huge white building (road salt storage) on the north side of the river, and the village of Fort Plain came into view on the south side, the sky was suddenly alive with Canada geese. Some 200 birds took flight, flying upstream and down, and circling all around. A superb finale to a December outing on the Mohawk River.
For more information about Fort Klock click on: http://www.fortklock.com/
Follow the path of this discovery trip by clicking on Mohawk Valley Maps: by Maptech.
Type Mindenville select New York, press GO! Click on margin arrows to follow our progress down the Mohawk Valley.
