Chapter 81

9/13/2005 

Ch 81 Rebuilding the Dams                                         Beaver Dams and Pickerel                                 

Kayak Yaks Video sidetrip now uploaded 8/11/2008

This week I breached 2 or 3 dams allowing flood waters to gush forth. It was the man-made sort of disaster that made their engineer builders cringe at, ponder what went wrong and who to blame. Of course, the engineers were only small furry beavers, but still they had to rebuild once more.

Taking a few days off car swaps with the opportunity of weather and control of the Adirondack camp, I achieved a goal 30 years delayed. A 9 mile kayak trip down the picturesque upper West Branch of the Sacandaga River from Arietta to Shaker Place. With no one else around and miles from civilization there were only Great Blue Herons, hawks, eagles, loons galore and fat 20 inch Pickerel to entertain. One inquisitive Pickerel actually came up to the surface on his own to inspect the Kayak and boinked it with his snout, like Jaws.

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1385858316062796819QxdFAn

http://pages.prodigy.net/apnp/info3.html

Little damage was actually done to the beaver dams because with a little momentum and body shifting you can shoot right over the top. Biking back to the truck via bicycle was far quicker and only 6 miles without all the long meandering oxbows of the stream segments. Being out of cell phone contact, I wasn’t able to arrange a car swap till I got back to civilization. Am sending this installment out early as weather is beautiful and plan to be back in nature this upcoming week mountain hiking, canoeing, paddle boating, swimming etc. This sort of training camp is necessary to offset driving fatigue and restore circulation for prevention of DVT. http://www.preventdvt.org/

Attended the drawing for free Mustang at museum. Jamie Posada won (Queens resident & horse trainer at Saratoga).

Chapter 81B with video was put together 2 years later and placed here in proper chronological order.