This adventure was our first venture with the Hornbeck Boats of 2015. With off and on nice weather, we went to Newcomb to check out two lakes that we had not yet paddled. We launched boats at the Harris Lake State Campground and headed west. After passing the Newcomb Beach, the lake narrowed to an inlet and we found ourselves at the Santanoni gate house for the first carry. With pack baskets, we were able to pull out of the water and load back up in record time!
The river had two more sets of rapids with carries and one other section of rushing water that we were able to muscle through. When we came to Rich Lake, we were treated to a seemingly wild area. When we paddled a bit further, we found a sandy beach that must be accessible from route 28N with many sunbathers. We followed the shoreline to the inlet and with the sun starting to set, made our way back to the Harris Lake Campground for the evening.
There was rain forecast the next day, but not until mid-morning. After breakfast we followed the Lake Harris outlet into the Hudson River. We found a sign directing us north towards Mount Marcy or south towards New York City. We started heading north on the river until we found rapids and then followed the current south until we found rapids. The clouds were beginning to muster and we tied on the boats just as raindrops began to fall in some uncharacteristic good timing.
We spent the rest of the day at the orchard where the weather was better than in the mountains. However, we didn't unpack the camping gear because the next day we headed to Cheney Pond. With much improved weather, we made our way down the barely passable road to the launch. No other cars had ventured there and we had the pond to ourselves.
The lean-to on the beach made a great staging area and we set up our tents around it. With food stashed away, we paddled through the pond's meager outlet to the Boreas river. We paddled upstream until we found rapids and then floated downstream to a campsite with some views of the high peaks. Hungry, we headed back to the car for sandwiches before relaxing at the lean-to for the rest of the evening.
After packing out the next morning we went to the Schroon Lake beach for an early lunch and put the Hornbeck boats into the Schroon River at the same access point we had used a week earlier. We paddled upstream, fighting the current for about an hour until we found the rapids over route 9. We then floated back to the takeout in about fifteen minutes. It is much easier to go with the flow!
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