Chapter 11- The River
Lock 9 To Lock 8 - Rotterdam Junction to Scotia
Discovery: Never a Good Time
To Get Hit in the Head
August 28, 2002, 70 degrees, Sunny
What a difference a week makes.
Goodbye grey, weeping sky. Hello blue, sunny sky.
Maalwyck Park is located off Route 5 just east of Scotia, across the river from Lock 8. Although most of this 57-acre Town of Glenfield park is dedicated to soccer fields, it features more than 1600 feet of river frontage. The riverbank west of the lock dam is lined with huge cottonwoods. There are several places along this bank to beach a canoe.
sat cockeyed in the river near the Lock 9 Canal Park .
We left the takeout vehicle in the parking
area near the dam and drove west on Route 5 to Lock 9. It was an easy carry
from the Canal Park parking lot to the hand launch below the lock. We pushed
off at 9:30 a.m. and headed for the bottom of the dam.
HEADS UP! . . . . . . . . . BACKPADDLE!
(Photos by Bridget Keesler and M. Paul Keesler)
A young man, fishing off the dock wall, told us he had caught a pickerel.
Three men on a pontoon boat were fishing the riprap on the other side of
the river. I fished the white water below the locks and continued
to cast to pools and eddies as we drifted down river. Just below the launch
site a huge chunk of concrete with a ballard in the middle sat cockeyed
in the river. Not one of these fish havens relinquished a single piscis.
The
first dwelling we saw on the north side of the river was a big house with
three brick chimneys. The riverbank below the house was lined with large
concrete blocks. Sure would like to know the history of this home on the
river.
At 10:15 we paddled into a small bay at the
mouth of Washout Creek. Crayfish crawled along the bottom. Bass food! I
tied on a big-lipped crankbait and cast to the upper end of the bay. A
fish took the plug. Monofilament sliced through the water headed for the
weeded shoreline. I raised the rod tip high, cranked the reel and worked
the fish to the side of the canoe. The gaping tooth-filled mouth of a 2-foot
northern pike was filled with my crankbait. As I reached down to lift the
fish from the water, it turned, twisted . . . and swam away with my $5
lure.
Just before the river turns south into
a horseshoe bend we saw a water tower, and a complex of buildings and large
pipes on our right. Subsequent research revealed this was a Schenectady
International Inc. facility that manufactures high-tech chemicals. Much
of it can be seen from Route 5S at Lower Rotterdam Junction.
The
shoreline on the other side of the river was lined with trees. A great
blue heron stood on the dead branch of a big willow. With a flap of its
giant wings it lifted off the branch and flew down river, silhouetted against
blue sky. Beautfiul!
We passed under a railroad bridge and rounded another
bend in the river. While enjoying the scenery---and peace and quiet---we
suddenly realized we were "pursued" by a large cruiser. Fortunately, they
saw us before we saw them and altered course. We turned the canoe into
their wake and waved "thank you."
A small tributary enters the river almost
in the middle of the horseshoe bend. After the cruiser passed we crossed
to the south side of the river to investigate the stone arch culvert the
trib passes through. We saw light at the other end of the "tunnel" and
paddled towards it. Halfway through light was also coming from the top
of the culvert. Closer examination revealed stones missing and others hanging
from the ceiling. Backpaddle!
(According to a topo map the culvert passes under
the remnants of the Old Erie Canal and possibly under Route 5s.)
Returning
to the river, we paddled slowly down the shoreline. The water was crystal
clear, so clear in fact that I saw a smallmouth bass that looked to be
about 3-4 pounds swimming among the rocks. It had no interest in my plastic
jig.
At 11:25 we stopped at the Rotterdam Kiwanis Park
and were surprised to discover a boat launch, picnic tables, truck-wheel
grills, pavilion and restrooms. While Bridget and I ate lunch at one of
the picnic tables, a couple arrived on bicycles and did the same. The location
of the park at the horseshoe bend provided an impressive view upstream
and overlooked a large campground with many boats tied to docks on the
north side of the river.
We returned to the river around noon. Just
east of the park is the mouth of the Plotter Kill. We headed in that direction
and discovered clear water running over a flat-rock streambed. We also
discovered a stone aqueduct spanning the stream, another remnant of the
Old Erie Canal.
Soon
after leaving the Potter Kill, we crossed the river to photograph two huge
weeping willows, discovering in the process there was a home or camp behind
them. I wondered if the original owners of this property ever anticipated
that the drooping branches of these magnificent trees would one-day block
their view of the river.
It was 12:15 when we passed under the Thruway Access
Bridge to Scotia and rounded another wide bend in the river. We could see
the signs on the approach to Route 5---West - Amsterdam, East - Scotia.
Downstream from the bridge, on the outside bend, a gravel highbank
had been profoundly eroded by the river. We could see the roof of a house
atop the bank. Precarious.
Where
the river straightened the highbank was tree-covered. There were several
homes on top of the bank and steps leading down to docks on the river.
The steps and docks hadn't been used for a long time and were in various
stages of disrepair.
The final leg of this discovery trip passed by Dalys
Island. Rather than paddle down the main river channel, we took the more
interesting tree-lined "inside passage." From the lower end of the island
it was only a half-mile paddle to Lock 8 and Maalwyck Park. We beached
the canoe near the dam at 12:50.
Follow the path of this discovery trip by clicking on Mohawk Valley Maps: by Maptech.
Type Rotterdam Junction select New York, press GO!
Return to Mohawk Valley Book-In-Progress Contents