Day 209

Daily stats
Start: 6:15 AM - Clarkson, NY (between Brockport and Holley)
Finish: 7:00 PM - Lockport, NY (1 mile east)
Time: 12:45
Daily dist: 30 miles
Total dist: 4000+
Companions: None
Weather: Clear, high 80‘s, calm
Notes: Took a nice hour and a half lunch break in Medina.

It was once again a very quiet day on the Erie canal. Even after spending eleven hours on the water, I only saw one other west-bound boat and only a few headed east. A person would have to be crazy to complain about a lack of boat traffic, and I’m not, I’m just beginning to wonder where everybody is. Being the start of a holiday weekend I half expected to see more boats on the water. Just the same the peace and quiet on the canal today was fantastic.

Rooftops at water level

The canal, from Rochester to Lockport runs largely atop embankments piled up to 60 feet above the surrounding countryside. Rather than build dozens more locks to take boats up and down over the hills in the area, the engineers decided to simply elevate the canal to bridge from high spot to high spot. As you paddle along you often can look out at roof tops and the upper branches of trees level to the water you’re paddling. A very interesting spot I found on the map and explored today is where a road actually goes under the canal through a small tunnel. After tying the Ikkuma to the rocks on shore and scrambling down the grassy sides of the embankment I walked through the tunnel and back up the other side… just because you can. About a mile or two further on I stopped in a town called Medina at one of the few low floating docks to be found on the western half of the canal. I had hoped to get a look at a spot where a river actually flows under the canal but the trees that line the river itself blocked the view. The stop was not a total loss, I took the opportunity to have a real lunch at a canal side restaurant which was way better than my usual trail mix and candy bar.

Culvert Road goes under the Erie Canal via this small tunnel

With a belly full of clam chowder and a “monster” burger, I was feeling strong, and when I reached my planned take out for the day I decided to continue on a couple more hours to what I thought would be a good take out just east of Lockport. The marina/boat ramp area I had seen on the map was actually crawling with people (at least now I know where everybody was) so I paddled a bit further on and pulled out at a wide grassy spot along the old tow path (now running/biking path) and set up camp. This will be my last night on the Erie Canal tomorrow (Saturday) I’m meeting up with a local paddler who will be escorting me into the Buffalo area. Sunday will be a day off to tour the town and celebrate the 4th of July.

Last night on the Erie Canal. I'm going to miss the lush green lawns to camp on