Chapter 11- The River
West Branch to Lansing Kill
The Canyon
The most inaccessible section of the Mohawk River is in the steep-sided
valley between the West Branch and the Lansing Kill. Except for a few logging
roads, this six-mile heavily-wooded, slate and gravel Canyon, is only accessible
from each end.
To adequately explore and fish six miles of the
river on foot would require a two-day discovery trip. We could cover half
the distance the first day, camp the night where the Niagara Mohawk Power
Lines cross the Canyon, and then finish up the second day. Or we could
explore half the Canyon on two separate outings, taking our time one way
and hiking out the other. We chose the latter.
Discovery: Part I - Hillside to Power Lines
September 9, 2000, 65 degrees, Cloudy
We parked near the bridge in Hillside at 7:30 a.m.and headed upstream.
Joining me on this trip were sons, Gary and Mark Eychner and brother-in-law,
Denny Gillen. I had promised them a hike into wild country and a campfire
cookout when we reached the 3-mile mark at the power line crossing. I made
no promises regarding fishing.
Upstream
from Hillside the Mohawk River runs over rocks and cobblestones, past steep
walls of shale on one side and wooded hillsides and grassy lowlands on
the other. Clumps of purple aster and fields of goldenrod accentuated the
green and yellowing leaves of boxelder and scrub elm. Deer tracks became
more abundant as we progressed into the Canyon and a bear trail pointed
the way to wild country.
The river meanders through boulders and rocks, over shale outcrops, and between wooded hillsides and walls of shale.
At around 8 a.m. we flushed a great blue heron off
a deep pool where Mark caught a 9-inch brown trout. I'm not sure his success
was a result of skill or because of his entertaining dance when he slipped
on the algae-covered river bottom . . . and didn't fall in.
From then on most of the holes and runs we encountered
were over shale, providing very little cover for fish. In a few areas the
river cut swaths through gravel and rock, forming small pools and runs
that held a few fish, some of which we caught and released.
As we progressed further into the Canyon we saw
more and more beaver sign and deer tracks. In some areas the deer tracks
were so numerous the streamside mud and gravel bars looked like barnyards.
Deer trails crossed and ran parallel to the river just inside the woods.
From time to time, we followed the trails as we crisscrossed the bottom
of the Canyon.
At
8:25 we saw posted signs on the left side of the river, so we crossed to
the right side. In this area, poplar and willow grew streamside, while
most of the adjacent woodlands were maple and beech. In frequently flooded
areas, "bamboo", snakeroot and ferns grew streamside and just inside the
woods. On shale hillsides hemlock and birch dominated. There was practically
no vegetation on the eroding "walls" of shale.
As we progressed further into the Canyon, signs of
wildlife and the natural beauty of the forest increased dramatically.
Along one of the deer trails, I crossed rusted sections
of barbed wire fence, indicating this area of the Canyon was once pasture.
Indeed, we could smell the odor of cow manure coming from a dairy farm
high above the river. We could also hear heavy equipment; loggers harvesting
the Canyon's hardwood forest.
Two miles from the start of our trip we discovered
a beaver dam and pond in the middle of a large island. It was doubtful
this wood and mud creation would survive spring floods.
It was 11:30 when we reached the power lines and built a small fire on
a shale shelf beside the river. Mark, Denny and Gary had each caught four
trout, and I caught two. All of the trout were released but the two that
Denny and I had for lunch. We roasted hotdogs on forked sticks while the
trout, wrapped in aluminum foil, baked over the fire.
We were reminded that building a campfire on shale
is not a good idea when a series of small explosions scattered coals and
sent us scurrying out of range.
We roasted hotdogs, baked fish . . . and dodged coals . . .
at the bottom of the Mohawk Canyon.
With that surprise behind us, we ate hotdogs, fish
and cookies all washed down with sodas, and discussed what we had seen
that morning.
I pointed to the power lines running high overhead
and noted that a few years earlier an Army helicopter had cut those power
lines and had to land in the bottom of the Canyon. It took a few days to
repair the damaged helicopter and fly it out. It took more than a week
for Niagara Mohawk to replace the power lines.
At 12:50 we started back, this time following deer
trails and crossing through the woods whenever possible to cut across bends
and loops in the river. Despite the fact we were moving right along, it
took two hours to get back to the cars at Hillside.
We were all tired, but Denny and I were really dragging
our 60-plus year old butts and could hardly wait to get home and settle
back with a cool one. Mark and Gary, on the other hand, had much more ambitious
plans.
We were unanimous in our assessment of this discovery
trip. We had had a great day exploring the lower half of the Canyon, but
the fishing left much to be desired.
Follow the path of this discovery trip by clicking on Mohawk Valley Maps: by Maptech.
Type Westernville, select New York, press GO!
Click on margin arrows to follow the path of the Mohawk River north to Hillside and then west into the Canyon.
The Canyon Part II - West Branch to Power Lines
October 1, 2000, 38 degrees, Clear Sky
Denny was having problems with his foot and Gary had to work, so Mark
and I had to go it alone exploring the upper half of The Canyon. Preferring
an upstream approach to catch trout, we decided to hike in and then take
our time exploring and fishing on the way back.
It was 8:15 a.m. when I parked the Jeep near the
end of River Road just east of the hamlet of West Branch. Mark and I followed
the stream down to where it meets the Mohawk River. From there we made
tracks to the power lines.
We hiked along a logging road part of the way and
then crisscrossed the bottom of the Canyon, following deer trails through
the woods, avoiding loops and sharp bends in the river. The fall colors
had changed dramatically since our last trip. The yellows of poplar and
beech and the deep reds of maples seemed to light up the woods. The streamside
vegetation had changed also, most notably the dying and brittle "bamboo."
A few weeks earlier these dense-growing, 6 - 8-foot high "imports" were
almost impossible to walk through.
A wide loop in the river wrapped around a park-like
woodland where deer trails passed through large patches of myrtle and where
we discovered a number of buck rubs on saplings. We also discovered the
round-stone foundation of an old building. The foundation wasn't very big,
so we guessed it once supported a cabin built by a trapper, hunter or long-ago
logger. Nearby, next to a giant cherry tree, we found what appeared to
be a well. Except for a small hole, the well was capped with a large flat
stone.
At 10 o'clock we saw sagging arcs of steel glistening
in the mid-morning sun. Twenty minutes later we passed under the Power
Lines and stopped at our "exploding" fireplace. It was too early for lunch,
so we headed back upstream. 
The steep shale walls of the Canyon are fascinating.
Some are so jagged they look like they were struck indiscriminately by
a giant axe. Just around the bend, another wall looked like it had been
shaved flat and smooth by a huge plane. Others are partially covered with
hemlock and birch trees. One huge section of shale cliff had broken off,
slid to the bottom and rested streamside, trees growing from its top
A huge chunk of the shale cliff had slid to the bottom of the Canyon.
As we had discovered in the lower half of the Canyon,
pools and runs over pavement-like, shale did not hold fish. There just
wasn't enough cover for fish or for their natural food. We did manage to
get some hits and follows, and a couple of fish, in areas where the river
had cut through beds of gravel and rock.
I told Mark there had to be at least one good hole
under a waterfall in this stretch of the Canyon. Around noon we found it,
or the closest thing to it. We discovered a large deep pool cut into the
shale bottom. It was the plunge pool of a waterfalls that had eroded away
long ago. All that was left of the falls was a shale shelf. That pool,
the biggest and deepest in the Canyon, had collected a number of rocks,
boulders and a few logs, providing habitat for a few fish. 
When I dropped a Phoebe into the white water under
the shelf, a 10 1/2-inch brown trout ate it. A half-hour later I ate that
trout, baked in aluminum foil over an open fire. I also ate a roasted hotdog.
Mark ate two.
Before we left the area, Mark caught a small rainbow
trout from the big hole on a Rapala. Further upstream he caught another
rainbow and a 12-inch brown from a gravel run.
We passed high slip banks of gravel in addition
to walls of shale. Along one stretch, we discovered a gravel slide
above a wall of shale. We had just passed a gravel slip bank on our left
when we saw two deer running along the bottom of the Canyon. It was 2 o'clock.
Twenty minutes later we were back at the Jeep.
Exploring the upper half of the Canyon had been
a unique experience. It was a beautiful fall day, clear blue sky, colors
beyond imagination, wildlife and signs of wildlife, the site of an old
cabin, the variety of shale walls, the glacial deposited boulders, rocks
and gravel banks, the pavement-like stream bottom, the cookout, and a few
wild fish . . . all added up to a conservative 10.
Follow the path of this discovery trip by clicking on Mohawk Valley Maps: by Maptech.
Type West Branch , select New York, press GO!
Click on margin arrows to follow the path of the Mohawk River east into the Canyon.
