The weather cooperated for a change and we had a perfect paddling day. Another bonus: there were fewer than usual piles of goose poo in the tie down area. We were greeted by a snake which slithered in the water by the launch. An adult mink with three youngsters played across from the launch. Geese and ducks hung out to see if anyone landed in the water on the slippery launch. Yep, just one.
We divided into 2 groups. One group took a left turn off the canal onto Kendig Creek. The water on the creek was very muddy. The extra runoff also meant they could paddle farther than usual on the high water. Deer, and lots and lots of turtles were spotted. A blue heron posed a long time for his photo shoot. They paddled by a group of Amish taking a refreshing dip in the creek. Back at the launch after about 6.8 miles, the second group was contacted. They were about an hour away, so four of us headed to Avocolis for some huge portions of good Italian dishes. Eight kayakers were part of this group: Eric, Don, Ginny, Deb, Kim, Bill E, Pat and Steve.
The second group went all the way to Seneca Lake and more. Amy wrote this paragraph for us. Thanks Amy.
The six long distance paddlers today were Hugh, John, Sandra, Amy, Yang, and her friend, Janet. We paddled to a little community park opposite the restaurant we used to stop at. The park had a nice picnic table under a small tree for shade. It also had a very nice facility. We saw numerous turtles, herons, ducks, geese, tiny fish and very large fish. We also saw the African Queen was still at its dock! We all noticed more than usual dead fish on the Seneca River this year. On our way back we decided to go up the other creek the short distance paddlers went up to see if we could meet up with them. Sadly, we did not encounter them. However, we did receive a phone call letting us know they were already heading for pizza. Along the creek we came to a dairy farm and saw a lovely cow looking out the door of the barn and the greeting party of a dog and a goat bouncing down the hill to the waters edge. We made it to the rocks and turned around. Right after we got back from our 12.77 mile paddle, Kim met us and directed us to the pizza!!!
Report by Amy and Kim
Images by Eric, Amy, and Kim
