Ready at Cayuga

22.5 miles

After a thunder and lightning show on Seneca last night, I was ready to launch early under cloudy skies and rode a building wind north along the shore. I was at a place where the lake widens to 5+ miles, and I was concerned that I could get pinned to the east side by weather, so I took a gulp and pushed across … at a spot where Seneca is over 600 feet deep. At 5’9”, I could just as well cash it in in 6’ of water, but there’s something about 600 …

Anyway, I passed the Naval Undersea Warfare test rig out in the middle and yelled ‘one ping … one ping only!!’ just for the hell of it. I bet I’m on file?

Jake taking a spin in the guide boat - he's a natural!

I finished ‘early’ today … just 22 or so, not a full lap, but the winds would have put me into a third day and, more importantly, on this row I find that the slower I go, the more I see, the more I learn. I spent a couple more hours with Jake, floating in the water, talking about vegetation and HABs and politics and the environment. I could have been racking up a few more miles, but access to wisdom and experience like his, and Maura’s, seems so much more meaningful.

So I’ve repositioned on the north end of another big one – Cayuga – and I’ll try to make it to Ithaca, where I’ll meet up with Chris Olney of the Finger Lakes Land Trust. He wants to paddle his kayak north with me on Saturday, which would be really educational, so I’m highly incented to drive against these prevailing south winds to meet him.

I’ve asked Paul, my gracious host here on Cayuga, if I can sequester myself with my little transistor radio tonight at 8:00 to listen to the 1/6 hearings. He said he’ll be up late and we can talk later, and I’m grateful for his hospitality.

Folks, it’s surreal to be sitting in this perfect place listening to a narrative of our grossly imperfect elected officials and their minions, but meeting and listening to the local heroes who are taking care of these lakes gives me hope. Bottom up hope.

Big row tomorrow. I’ll give it my best shot!

Who’s reading this, for goodness sake?

Love, Al  

Seneca Lake

Lodi, at Maura’s

38 mile day

Well, it may be easy for some people to find things at 4 mph, but apparently I’m not one of them. I’d targeted the address with my phone’s map, Maura had provided a detailed description, and I even slowed down (from 4 mph) to ensure my arrival … and I blew past it by a mile or two, necessitating a final upwind slog. Having to buck the winds for the last half hour simply reminded me how lucky I’d been for the last five hours of downhill running.

I’ve got a precarious but picturesque campsite right by the water, and I just took a most refreshing swim before wine. On a day when so much of the country/world is suffering from oppressive heat, I’m simply blessed to be able to step into 72 degree water at will.

In a few minutes I’ll be joining Maura, my hostess, for a glass of wine and, I hope, more good conversation about the lake, the environment, and her present focus, climate change. She runs a delightful inn here – several charming cabins high above the lake – and last night Jake sang her praises as a volunteer and communicator extraordinaire. I’m looking forward to learning more … and to getting her advice on my best route north tomorrow. I know I want to scope out that Bitcoin operation …

Mo’ latah!     

No other boats in sight

Lakeside agriculture 

A rare mid-day blog!

Watkins Glen, Seneca Lake

A day off?? What a slacker, what with country breakfasts and gourmet dinners and curling up in a downy blankie in geo-cooled comfort at Jake and Karen’s.

Go easy, Gentle Reader, go easy. I’m paying my dues today on this monster lake, 20 miles in by noon and now chilling with a coupla Cokes, prepping for 20 more. It’ll be a 40 miler, and when I start crowding into other septuagenarians doing this, then I’ll blush for my temporary sloth. But for now, I’m loving it.

Jake and Karen are Lake People Extraordinaire. Jake leads the Seneca Lake Association, and an evening with him is a primer on the environmental, political, philanthropical, and administrative labyrinth of such an organization. Seneca Lake is a huge gem of a lake that faces big challenges, particularly agricultural runoff, the thermal loading of a huge Bitcoin mining operation in Dresden, as well as intensified recreational and residential uses. Karen is up on all this, too, and to listen to them talk is to witness responsible, informed, and engaged citizenship at its best. You guys rock!!

And Louie, their new King Charles Cavalier pup, patrols the shore like a lake steward in training, all eyes and ears and nose.  

I just rowed the west side of the lake from Himrod/Dresden, a shoreline very sparsely populated compared to Canandaigua and Conesus and Keuka. Lots of vertical shale cliffs plunge into 100-200 feet of water, and where the bottom precludes aquatic vegetation, the water is as clear as a bell. Jake speculates that the Bitcoin operation is leading to increased and undesirable plant growth, but the DEC has yet to follow through on the obligated research to find the facts. The Bitcoin mining facility here has spawned a bit of a divide … environmental vs tax revenue, a sad contest not uncommon across the country. But here in this beautiful place, a gorgeous lake and ecosystem is at stake, and the ‘issue’ being Bitcoin makes it, to me, especially tragic .. .even criminal.

Well, I’m burnin’ daylight and will soon be back in the boat, headed north to Maura’s house, which I’ve of course never seen but hope I can find. The thing is, it’s easy to find stuff at 4 mph.

Maybe another blog tonight if I get ashore early enough … and if my hands can grip a pencil.

US Salt - in operation since 1893

 The refinery sits atop a rich underground supply of salt. 

wine tour boat

Taking a break on Seneca Lake

 Jake's house - by the shore of Seneca Lake

First view of Seneca

Al took a day off - from both rowing and blogging - as he prepares to face the challenge of Seneca Lake. He'll be well fortified when he gets back on the water:

Breakfast with Alan and Trish

Dinner at Jake's

Tonight Seneca looks like a mill pond - hopefully it will tomorrow too

And here's the big event of today - Jake taking Louie for his first swim

Keuka Lake

 

Keuka Lake – 35 miles

Tonight again with Alan and Trish in Hammondsport

Off early in the mist, then rain, then very strong southerly winds which pushed me to the north end of West Branch of Keuka Lake … then  a tough slog back to Penn Yan and the outlet to Seneca Falls, where I called it a day. 35 miles, almost 10 hours in the seat.

Kids, I’m re-thinking this ‘laps around’ pledge, if pledge it was, because if the winds blow on Seneca and Cayuga the way they did today, I could well become a casualty. A naturalist and gatekeeper at a park on Keuka today told me that she lives on Seneca Lake and that, ‘Anybody rowing a boat like yours on a day like today would have to be nuts.’   

I’m going to check it out tomorrow, talk to the locals, and reconsider my options. I hope I don’t disappoint you if septuagenarian sensibility trumps boyish enthusiasm.

Sorry for that verb.

Keuka College

Even after heavy rains, Keuka Lake looked terrific today – lots of clear bottom through very clear water in most places. Their septic system oversight should become a model, a goal boldly stated, for Lake George. Each residence receiving an inspection at least every five years is the least we should do; prevention is always less expensive – and usually more effective – than remediation. It would be tragic if it takes two or three or four harmful algae blooms (HAB’s) to score support for doing the right thing.

Tonight Alan and Trish treated me to a ride on mom’s old pontoon boat (‘The Princess’), dinner lakeside, and a brisk sprint home through the rain. Mom would have loved it. Her kid sure did.

So tomorrow I scope out Seneca Lake and consider what is possible. Keuka Lake has been a joy.

Water steward Stephanie gave my boat a good going over after my row today, and Alan opined that I was the invasive she should be looking for. ‘I’ve seen worse,’ she might have said under her breath, and we were free to go.

Six lakes behind me now, but two monsters ahead … it’s going to get interesting.   

 Canandaigua Lake – 36 miles

Overnight with Alan Locey and Trish in Hammondsport at the south end of Keuka Lake

See this chocolate milk? My friend Alan knows all about the regenerative properties of chocolate milk, and he, Trish, and I just sat through a monster thunder storm after a great dinner, nursing our Hershey’s.

Today was all that a day – a big day – of rowing can be. Boat in the water by 7, 14 miles under the keel by 10, glass all the way – then, of course, a 16 mile slog against an afternoon northerly. But clean water, a couple of swimming stops, lots of hydration, and an unexpected on-the-water visit from my newest friend, Bill Yust, a close friend of my yesterday’s newest friend, Jim Kersting. Apparently Jim called Bill and said, ‘Hey, this guy may be rowing by your place on Canandaigua and, badda bing, boom, there he was. Bill rows a 100 year old Keuka troutboat, a classic beauty, and he handled the chop like a champ. Very cool pair.

Canandaigua is a beautiful lake, especially the south end as the ridges of the Finger Lakes rise and become pronounced. Lots of very fancy homes along the shore – lots of yards and sea walls and the kind of clear-cutting that makes true lake people want to scream … but today the water looked great and the natural features that dominate the southern end look like they are holding on.

Don Cook racked up a third ‘Hero’ medal when he recovered my rolling cart from Jim Kersting (two medals so far) and drove it all the way to Canandaigua. Last year it was the oars … now the cart. Oh, boy. Anyway, Don, thanks for the supreme effort; you even inflated the tires!?

The word on Keuka tomorrow is thunderstorms … I plan to at least get started from the great creek in Alan’s back yard that runs through Hammondsport and into the south end of the lake; I’ve ‘budgeted’ 2 days for Keuka, so I won’t have to anticipate a 30+ mile day until Seneca and Cayuga. I hope I’m getting in shape for that … today was a test!

Determination

Honeoye and Canadice

 Honeoye, Don & Elaine’s house

North end of Honeoye

Barring accident, injury, weakness of spirit, equipment malfunction, or the sudden appearance of a really, really good malt shop, today will have been the shortest day of this trip. Up early for a 10-mile jaunt around Honeoye Lake, I loaded the boat back on the car for the short drive to Canadice and six more miles.

On Canadice I had the pleasure of rowing alongside Jim Kersting, a delightful guy who has spent a lot of time in service to the Finger Lakes Land Trust. Heroic work, so effective and lasting, especially in this go-go economy.

Anyway, Jim just took delivery of his own Adirondack guide boat … a real beauty, one that looks the way mine did 17 years and 5000 miles ago. Jim’s a biker – strong legs, great endurance - and he makes his boat fly. It was fun, and enlightening, to row with a wingman.

My host Don detoured me up to the ridge to the south of the lake (Honeoye) for a spectacular view; on a clear day, you can see Rochester, Lake Ontario, and, yes, forever.

This afternoon, Don gave me a master class in invasives, funding issues, public engagement, and more than a dollop of optimism. It’s hard to retain a sense of environmental optimism when one sees how much we are demanding of ecosystems, how negligent we are at prevention and how reluctant we are to fund remediation. Folks like Don and Jim and Ray are the reason I feel hope – these, and hundreds like them, are smart about the science, practiced at dealing with bureaucracy, and seasoned to know that environmental advocacy is a long game calling for collaboration, not stridency.

Back a couple of weeks ago, I had that coffee with Lake George Waterkeeper Chris Navasky. As I wrote then, he advised me to try to ‘read the lakes,’ that how people were interacting with the shore and water would tell the tale of trouble or of progress. Honeoye is a really nice lake, but as I rowed the shoreline I couldn’t help but begin to calculate the percentage of shoreline faced with seawalls, artificial barriers, or non-native rocks. Daunting. And tomorrow by all accounts I row the ‘rich man’s lake,’ and I worry that I’ll see the walls and lakeside transformations on a grander scale. It’ll be 32 miles through allegedly hellish Sunday boat traffic, but I’ll be wearing my brave yellow shirt, surrounded by my magic bubble of naiveté, elan, and pluck.

Sooo … much more to write, but the Land of Nod beckons, as does its capital city of Charmin and the spires of Crest.

More later, or tomorrow?

Love you guys –

Al

Granddaughters Rose and Sylvie are following Gramps' progress on their map