Lake

Song of the Paddle

/ adkjoe / 3 Comments

This weekend I drove 260 miles round trip to Hemlock Canoe Works in the western Finger Lakes region of New York to test paddle they’re Peregrine. The Peregrine is a 15′ 9″ solo canoe and this particular one weighs in at 32 pounds. With its slotted spruce gunwales, butternut decks and walnut inserts, she’s a beauty!

I’m use to light weight pack canoes where the paddler sits on the bottom of the boat. I actually have two of these built by two different New York canoe builders. In my limited experience with solo canoes I believe traditionally the paddler kneels. Well I have a hard time kneeling since my knee surgery back in 2019. I spent over an hour sitting and paddling this canoe and over an hour kneeling in it as well.

Sitting: This canoe is setup for kneeling but I found it very stable while I was sitting and paddling. I also liked how I was able to move my legs around.

Kneeling: Once in the kneeling position this canoe became rock solid stable and it paddled more efficiently. I really liked it! With that said for some reason I was ok and my knees did not bother me.

I do plan on having it setup with the seat lower for sitting but will keep the shorter drops if I feel like kneeling.

This demo canoe will become available around mid October so I put a deposit on it giving me first choice at purchase of it. Is it October yet!

I consider myself extremely fortunate to have three beautiful canoes built right here in New York.

Cheers!

Hemlock Canoe Works “Peregrine” Canadice Lake © Joe Geronimo

Looking north up Canadice Lake from a Hemlock Canoe Works Peregrine. © Joe Geronimo

Finished with my time paddling a Hemlock Canoe Works Peregrine on Canadice Lake. © Joe Geronimo

Cayuga-Seneca Canal

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This week has been fun as my wife and I have spent it relaxing at our families lake house. My cousin and his wife own a summer home on the same small lake also. A few days ago the four of us decided to take a ride to the Cayuga-Seneca Canal in Waterloo, NY for an afternoon of locks and paddling.

The Cayuga-Seneca Canal is approximately 20 miles long linking Cayuga Lake with Seneca Lake or vice versa. Our plan was to launch from Oak Island in Waterloo, pass through lock CS4 (14.5 feet lift) and head east towards Seneca Falls. The highest single lift on the canal is found at Locks CS2 and CS3 in Seneca Falls. Each having a lift of 24.5 feet for a total lift of 49.0 feet. Our hopes were dashed as lock CS 2/3 is closed and under construction until early-mid August.

Paddling along we only saw one boat heading towards Seneca Lake. This boat was huge and traveling at the canal speed limit of 10MPH still produced a very large wake. But that was it, no other boats or paddlers did we see. Ducks, Herons, turtles, various types of birds were in abundance along the canal. I even spotted a very large tree that beavers had been hard at work on.

We spent several hours enjoying our time on the water, however it was hot and breezy requiring us to stop at Three Brothers Winery & Warhorse Brewing a few miles away in Geneva, NY. We had also wanted to stop at Bottomless Brewing in Geneva as well but they are closed on Mondays.

This was a fun day and look forward to paddling more of the canal in the future, cheers!

Entering Lock CS4 (Eastbound) Cayuga Seneca Canal Waterloo NY July 20th 2020. © Joe Geronimo

I’m holding onto the rope lines waiting to descend the 14.5 feet in Lock CS4 Waterloo NY July 20th 2020. © Joe Geronimo

Exiting Lock CS4 after descending 14.5 feet (eastbound) Waterloo, NY July 20th 2020. © Joe Geronimo

Paddling along the Cayuga Seneca Canal July 20th 2020. © Joe Geronimo

Making our way along the Cayuga Seneca Canal July 20th 2020. © Joe Geronimo

My cousin Chris and his wife Dawn along the Cayuga Seneca Canal July 20th 2020. © Joe Geronimo

Entering lock CS4 (westbound) July 20th 2020. © Joe Geronimo

 

Almost there! Waiting for the lock doors to open to continue July 20th 2020. © Joe Geronimo

 

This is an image of the double locks CS 2/3 in Seneca Falls, NY  I took a few years ago. © Joe Geronimo

 

 

Camp Meal

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I really do not like dehydrating food, I find it to be more hassle than worth. However since I have a lot of free time these days I decided to dehydrate some food to pass the time.

Packing light weight is an integral part of my canoe camping adventures. Some of my trips require carrying distances between ponds and lakes. One way to keep things light are dehydrated meals.

I did some experimenting with pasta and sauce. It rehydrates really easy and packs a caloric punch after a long day.

I started with one pound of cooked rotini pasta, a 16oz jar of pasta sauce plus 4 more ounces, one can sliced mushrooms drained and 1 cup frozen peas. I used rotini because a lot of the research I’ve done shows that it holds the sauce better. After cooking, draining and letting the pasta completely cool I combined all ingredients in a bowl covered it with plastic wrap and placed in the fridge overnight.

The next morning I spread the pasta over my dehydrator trays and let it go for 9 hours. Once dehydrated I put it into a ziplock bag and weighed it. It weighed in at 18 ounces.

Yesterday afternoon I weighed out 8 ounces and began the rehydration process. Once the water was boiled I covered the pasta leaving just a little exposed, covered it and let sit exactly 20 minutes. The rehydration time was just about perfect and the taste was great. My wife even enjoyed tasting it as well.

Maybe this dehydrating food isn’t so bad!

 

The Struggle is Real

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Since the beginning of the year I have been running consistently and on a plan. I’ve also noticed small gains as my fitness slowly makes improvements. However I’ve also paid more attention to my bad runs where I’ve begun to notice a pattern emerging. In the past this is something I have not given any attention so I am intrigued to say the least.

My “Bad Runs” runs that I believe should have felt less effortless or where my heart rate seems higher than it should are due to several things in my opinion.

#1. Sleep or the lack of: Most mornings I get up at 0330 to be at work by 0430. I find it very difficult to go to bed before 8PM. I’m currently getting on average 6 hours per night. When I come home from work I try to take at least a 2 hour nap most days. I feel that sleep or proper rest plays a HUGE roll in the quality of our lives.

#2. Feeling Rushed: If I don’t give myself down time between work,life, etc and a run my heart rate has the tendency to be higher as well. I firmly believe if there is not a transition period that this definitely affects attitude, approach and performance. Also time constraints fall into this category as well.  I’m keeping a close eye on this one.

#3.Fear: Fear of getting hurt again rules the roost here, as does fear of failing in my workout. This is just a major part of my personality or as my wife calls it “The Mr. Excess” clause. As much as I want to say she’s crazy I can’t because she is 100% correct. Over the years I’ve struggled with this in many aspects. I’ve had this predetermined notion if you aren’t running big miles or fast paces you’re really not running. This is absolute foolish thinking on my part and a major reason of why I’m always injured.

The Positive: This past Sunday was my long run (8 Miles). This would be my longest run in well over a year. I got a good nights sleep, woke early and took the time to do my pre-run stretching, rolling and mentally eased myself into the workout. I was rewarded with a great run!

As I move forward I hope to learn and grow with this process. I also hope that even when I have a bad run/workout I can move past it and live for the next day.

Question: Do you struggle with anything similar?

Cheers!

Long run (8 Miles). This was a great run in my opinion.

My go to breakfast and post run fuel is:
“Chocolate Oatmeal” with raisins. 1 cup quick oats, 1 ounce serving raisins, 1 Tbsp mini chocolate chips and 3 packets Stevia sweetener.

 

 

Picture Perfect Morning

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Earlier this month I was canoe camping with a friend in the Adirondacks on a lake 30 miles northwest of Lake George. Despite a few day paddlers we had the whole lake to ourselves. The northern end of the lake has a few homes and camps along its shoreline. In the early evening hours we could hear across the lake someone playing a trumpet and as dusk turned to night the milky way painted the sky. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many stars!

The next morning fog rolled across the water while temperatures dipped to around 45 degree, I was cold. Quickly I restarted the campfire for some warmth along with my twig stove in order to boil water for coffee and oatmeal.

It truly was a picture perfect morning!

The Beach & Beer Life

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On Thursday May 16th I picked up my new to me Subaru Outback from our local Subaru dealer. This one owner car has super low mileage and is loaded.. On Saturday the 18th my wife and I strapped our boats to the roof and headed north to Old Forge, NY for the annual Adirondack Paddlefest. The car performed flawlessly as did my canoe!

Arriving in Old Forge we could have not asked for better weather. We made the rounds, met up with friends and sat on the deck of Matt’s Draft House “Screaming Eagle” for some sunshine, beers and wings. Peanut butter panic wings to be exact! Later on in the afternoon Julie and I would make our way a few miles north to 7th lake to canoe/kayak for a bit.

Not too far out into the lake from the boat launch is a wonderful island with a sandy beach. This is one of my favorite spots and rightfully so is also very popular. Tucked on the other side of the island there is now a lean t0 as well. Since technically it is “Out of Season” we basically had it all to ourselves, minus the guy camping at said lean to…

As our day drew to a close we finished with more beer and food at Fulton Chain Craft Brewing. We woke the next morning packed up and headed for home. Another successful Adirondack Paddlefest!

If you have any questions about my canoe or the Adirondack Canoe Company please feel free to message me. This 12′ Skylight is super comfortable with amazing secondary stability and is so light it is finger lifting good!

My Subaru Outback loaded with an Adirondack Canoe Company Skylight canoe. The Skylight is 12′ long and weighs only 20 pounds. Extremely sweet boat!

The beach life on 7th lake Inlet, NY.

Buried Acorn Brewing “Hot Whip” IPA chilling on the deck of Matt’s Draft House “Screaming Eagle” Inlet, NY.

The sun struggles to set through the clouds in Old Forge, NY.

And last but not least Fulton Chain Craft Brewing’s “Bear Road Coffee Stout”. I’m not a stout fan by any means but this is one of my favorites!

Cheers!

The Rehydration Test

/ adkjoe / 3 Comments

Last week I posted about my first attempt at dehydrating meals for backpacking and canoe camping. I went out this afternoon in order to test the meal. I wanted to see if I could gauge how much water and time I would need to properly rehydrate the 6 ounces of sausage vegetable stew.

You can check out the results in a short video below! Give my blog a follow, you can also find me “Adirondack Joe” on Facebook & Instagram as well.

If you like what you see you can find the recipe in the link to my original post here: https://adirondackjoe.com/2019/03/08/this-is-a-test-and-only-a-test/

Morning Tranquility

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One of my favorite local places to canoe is the small Nanticoke lake. I simply love the fact that you have to walk/carry your canoe a quarter mile even before laying eyes on it. It gives you that extra sense of adventure and tranquility. Here is a short video I shot of sunrise back in October 2017, please feel free to share.

Cheers!