Day 210 (end of the Erie Canal)

Daily stats
Start: 7:15 AM - Lockport, NY (1 mile east)
Finish: 1:30 PM - Grand Island, NY
Time: 6:15
Daily dist: 20 miles
Total dist: 4000+
Companions: Jim Hooper (escorted me the last three miles)
Weather: Clear, high 80‘s, windy
Notes: Reached the end of the Erie Canal at about 12:45
Sorry about the lack luster pics, my camera was acting up again today.

Last night I ended up one mile behind the double lock number 34/35 so there was no going anywhere this morning until the lock opened at 7:00. This gave me a chance to sleep in a bit and plenty of time to get my boat back over the rocky bank of the canal. A couple big arm loads of tree branches that I picked up from where a trimmer had gone through did just the thing to pad the Ikkuma so I could slide it safely back into the water. Once floating I paddled an easy mile to the double lock which shares a door in the middle. The first chamber raises you over 25’ then the middle door opens and you move into the second chamber which raises you almost the same for a total rise of nearly 50’. The locks are the last on the canal and raise boats over the Niagara Escarpment which is the very ridge of rock that creates Niagara Falls. Locking through took a bit longer than normal when the lockmaster discovered that overnight some kids had stolen the light bulbs from an indicator on a gate control valve. A few minutes and a box of light bulbs later the lock raised me up to what is essentially Lake Erie elevation. One more lock is waiting for me on the edge of the Niagara River in Buffalo that will raise me about 6 more feet to bypass some very fast flowing water on the Niagara River.

Ikkuma on a bed of greens - branches to pad it over the rocky bank.

Interestingly at the top of the lock is one of the world’s widest bridges. Spanning the Erie Canal carrying no less than three roads and two parking lots the 399 foot long bridge felt more like a tunnel as I passed beneath it.

This 399' wide bridge seemed more like a tunnel than a bridge.

After paddling on solo for a couple more hours, I met up with Jim Hooper paddling the wooden boat he had described to me on the phone the night before. Jim had offered up some hospitality in the Buffalo area a few weeks back and I was happy to take him up on the offer. Not only does it give me a chance to take one last break before entering the Great Lakes, more importantly it gives me a chance to see Niagara Falls which I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time. Jim and I paddled together along the last mile of the Erie Canal and into the Niagara River and after two days of wondering where all the boat traffic went I found it there. It being a beautiful Saturday of a holiday weekend, the pleasure boaters were out in force. The chaos of all that traffic was quite a switch from the serene calm I’ve seen for the last two weeks on the canal. Despite the lively traffic, it did feel good to finish the canal and be back out on more open water. The enclosed tree lined banks of the canal can start to make a person feel a bit claustrophobic after a while.

The end of the Erie Canal - ask Olympus why the picture looks green.

From the end of the canal, we ran the gauntlet of speed boats across the river to Grand Island where his wife Sue drove down to pick us up. From there we went to their home and, as Jim had warned me, Sue loves to feed people and as soon as we arrived she set about dong just that, which is always OK with me. Before settling in for the evening Jim and I went for a ride to pick up the last of the maps I’ll need to get home and showed me around Buffalo a bit including the very nice waterfront and end of the old Erie Canal.