Last, Smallest, Shortest, but Certainly One of the Best: Canadice Lake.

I'll admit it. I'm feeling a little sentimental right now. Bear with me please :)

In my first post I laid out my paddling goals for this summer. Some were intentionally ambitious and others were intentionally ambiguous. At some point last spring it occurred to me (possibly caused by some senior year sentimentality) that I live in an incredibly beautiful region called the Finger Lakes that's lush with kayaking opportunities that I had never really taken advantage of. I set out to circumnavigate or paddle at least 15 miles on each of the11 Finger Lakes by the end of the year. It wasn't really a challenging goal, but it certainly took some great company, planning, dedication, and hours in the car. Over the past 6 months I managed to drag myself and my friends to 24 different bodies of water, and I loved every minute of it! I guess now it's time to make some new goals!

Today we (Heather, Jeff Bu., Nick, Ben, Rob, and I) paddled the perimeter of Canadice Lake (Iroquois for "Long Lake," even though it's the shortest one!). After a slight delay on my part due to a desire for Honey Crisp apples from Honeoye, we put in at the only official put-in: on the east side, about a mile down the lake.

We headed south towards the shallow/swampy part of the lake. Similar to Hemlock Lake, virtually none of the Canadice shores are developed, apart from a few random canoes/aluminum boats strewn in the woods. We immediately noticed (and played around in) the stands of dead trees in the water at the south end - a sight we haven't really seen on any of the other Finger Lakes. There were also many flocks of birds hanging out at the south end of the lake.

After dabbling around the south end for a while, we headed back up along the west shore where we scoped out a stopping point for lunch. From the water rings around the tree trunks it looked like the water level was fairly low. It was easy to find a rocky beach where we could get out and stretch our legs.

A big stink bug that found its way onto Jeff's pants...

By the time we headed out after lunch the water was so calm that you could see perfect reflections on the water:

 

Nick's boat perfectly matched the scenery today:

At the north end of the lake lies a dam that holds the water level of the lake higher than it would naturally be. It was fun to get out and explore it. There was a big concrete spillway to allow runoff in the case of a big rain storm.

It was mostly exciting as a great spot to shoot pictures from above:

We soon headed back towards the put-in where Rob and Ben practiced some rolling.  When we were back on land Heather pulled out a surprise bottle of sparkling wine and Rob threw in some delicious chocolate! We managed to get some funny looks from other boaters who were coming and going.

We ended the day at a Mexican restaurant in Canandaigua that Heather suggested. It was delicious and delightful. I'll leave you with this sunset on Canadice Lake:

Date: October 24th, 2010
Distance: 7 miles
Weather: Perfectly fall

Labor Day on Hemlock: A Different Kind of Finger Lake

This is the first year (ever) that Cornell has canceled school on Labor Day! We (Ben, Daniel, Amy, Rob, Anna, Julia, and I) decided to celebrate by tackling a far away Finger Lake: Hemlock Lake! It was a 2 hour drive across 5 other lakes to get there, but it was well worth it. We launched from the North Hemlock Boat Launch. The boat launch was about a mile down the lake. The DEC doesn't let people paddle north of there since that's where the water treatment plant pulls its water from.

Hemlock is characterized by the absence of lake houses along the shores, which makes for a very unique Finger Lakes paddling experience. According to the DEC website, Hemlock and Canadice (a smaller neighboring lake) used to have cottages, but in 1896 Rochester began buying up properties around the lake to protect the integrity of Rochester's water supply. In the early 1900s the city planted 3.7 million trees in previous agricultural areas. By 1947 all the properties around the lake, and many on the tributaries feeding the lake, had been purchased and their cottages removed. In June 2010 the majority of the property was sold to the state, and is now run by the DEC as the Hemlock-Canadice State Forest.

 

Rob, Anna, and a jet-lagged Julia headed back about half way down the lake. The remaining four of us arrived at the south end of the lake approximately 2.5 hours after we launched. The inlet at the south end of the lake is a wetlands area that has a long, winding channel. We didn't explore too much since we were ravenous, so we headed to the south Hemlock boat launch where we could stretch our legs and get a bite to eat.

On the way back the wind was with us, and the waves pushed us along. The return trip took a little under two hours. On the drive back to Ithaca we stopped for a delicious ice cream at Cayuga Creamery. Yum!

Date: September 6th, 2010 (Labor Day!)
Distance: 13 miles

Dear Canadice Lake, We'll be back for you soon!

3 Finger Lakes to go (out of 11): Canadice, Honeoye, and Otisco!