Portage path down to Saranac Lake
10 miles / 16 km (not including paddling to and back from the camp registration office) - Stoney Creek Ponds - Saranac Lakes campsite 55
Grey day and windy
EQUIPMENT FAILURES
Multifuel Stove
This morning we had no tea with breakfast because our newly purchased “product of the year” as proclaimed by the Dutch Outdoor Sport Magazine has been extremely temperamental since the start of the trip.
It is a Primus Omnilite T1 which can be run on gas, coleman fuel or kerosene if the head is exchanged. It was expensive. I paid Eur 236 (316 USD on today’s exchange rate) which included a fuel bottle.
Before we left we used it for a week in Italy running it on gas with no problems. We ran it in the garden for about ½ hour on Coleman fuel to test it at home at that worked fine.
Since arrival in the US we have been using only Coleman Premium Blend fuel with the burner. Geoff spent hours last night taking it to pieces and repeated the process this morning and again this evening at the campsite.
It is now 6.40 pm and we finally have a cup of tea.
Canoe cart
About 5 years ago I purchased for our canoe club 3 canoe carts of type Zolzer Goldy 1. They have worked well for the club but now on reconsideration we only do short portages, mainly 200 meters at a time to paddle into town or carry around weirs. Our Eckla cart looked quite fragile in comparison and I purchased a Zolzer Goldy II cart with airless tires for Eur 180 (USD 240) which I also tried out on a weekend camping trip with short portages before setting out on the NFCT. Actually the frame of the canoe cart is good but the wheels are RUBBISH.
TODAY
This morning we only woke at 7 and were away by 9. By 13.30 we had completed the 2 portages and entered the Saranac Lake system.
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Portage path down to Saranac Lake |
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We had a tail wind across Middle Saranac Lake but had difficulty finding the exit into waterway with the locks.
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Exit marked by buoy |
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After operating the lock (wickets are much easier than the German system of winding screws on gates to open and close shutter doors) we read in our notes that we could have shot a Class II rapid. What a missed opportunity.
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We arrived at the office of the Saranac State Campground around 16.30 and persuaded them to allocate us site 55 which was only a 10 minute paddle back from the office. We had noted this number on paddling to the office as being a nice site. The site is great, high on a promontory, the only draw back is motorboats pass on the way to the landing by the park office.
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