CANOE CAMPING ON THE OSWEGATCHIE RIVER

Three days canoe camping along the Oswegatchie River in Upstate New York. Amazing river for canoe paddling and camping.

[@boatman222345]

Really enjoyed this video! Very well done and a lovely trip. Just enough narration to create a sense of "being there." Really reminded me of the many years I spent paddling creeks and small rivers in my own younger years although my 13' canoe weighed 75 lbs and some of my carries were more than a mile long here in Maine. I eventually made the switch to sea kayaking in the late 1970s and operated a sea kayaking guide service along the Maine Coast. Much as I loved sea kayaking I always missed the "feel" of canoeing and this video really helped me recapture that feeling. As I am now in my late 70s I should probably transition from paddling to watching paddling videos but I still have the itch to get back on the water. I've been trying to find a used "affordable" light weight solo canoe but no luck so far…so thanks for allowing me to tag along on your trip! I just checked out your other videos and got a kick out of learning you worked as a land surveyor. My dad owned a land surveying company and I also worked for years as a land surveyor and layout engineer in the days when "high tech" was a theodolite. I remember using one of the early geodometers to lay out a powerline. It weighed about 25 lbs plus you had to carry a car battery to power it! Total stations came along many years after I switched to guiding for a living…what I would have given for one of those!

[@christiandenniston7177]

I purchased my boat used on FB Marketplace. I had to drive a good distance to get it but it was worth it for the price. Keep looking and something will come up. If you were up in Maine I’m sure your are familiar with the AWW. I canoed the 100 miles a year and a half ago and it was the trip of a lifetime. I had planned to film it but I had a mishap in some rapids and all electronics were destroyed. And that was DAY 1 hahaha. I always thought guiding would be fun, but then realized how much work it is!! I prefer my time alone in the wilderness :) love that you had an opportunity to survey when you were younger. Such an interesting and unique profession with strong ties to history. I love most every minute of it! I’ll be posting a new canoe video soon so please let me know what you think if you have a chance to watch it! Thank you for watching.

[@boatman222345]

@@christiandenniston7177 A friend and I canoed the river section of the Allagash from Churchill Dam down in the early 1980s. We did the trip in late October and wound up getting snowed on while camped at Allagash Falls. I've done several of the classic canoe routes in Maine. Was always going to do the Saint John but water levels there are difficult to predict and therefore trip planning gets complicated. Land surveying wise I wound up working as a surveyor/layout engineer in Massachusetts, Florida, California, and Maine. Initially I did property and subdivision surveys but I wound up kind of specializing in construction layout. Did highways, airports, bridges, dams, golf courses, apartment buildings and one prestressed concrete plant. Worst job I ever had was working on the preliminary topo survey for the Miami Jetport where the mosquitoes drove me nuts and water moccasins, coral snakes and alligators were a constant worry. Sorry about your camera gear loss. I once dropped a camera bag with several thousand dollars of Nikon cameras and lenses into a river in Massachusetts. Dove in and got it out and shipped it all to Nikon for repair but they took too long to get to it and I lost it all. I'll keep an eye out for your next video! By the way I wound up following your example and found an almost unused 12' Old Town royalex Pack Canoe a few months ago. Got to paddle it 5 or 6 times before ice closed things down. Not the best tracking canoe I've ever paddled as it is both short and beamy but once I added some ballast up forward quite enjoyable. After 25 years of captaining tour boats along the Maine Coast it was a joy to experience quiet, self propelled travel, again!

[@fredyd13662]

Awesome job on the vid. Love this place. If you go in the spring when the water is high you can paddle over all that stuff. Thanks for sharing.

[@nicholasleonardo4788]

Great video! Very relaxing and informative.

[@UncleDan58]

Wow, talk about solitude, that was awesome! Great trip!

[@dirtbagoutside]

Awesome!!!

[@NatureIntoAction]

Nice peaceful trip. Good camps.

[@darrylhunt1]

Great video. Very informative. Thank you for sharing

[@bushwhackingfool3706]

That campsite between the Oswegatchie and the Cranberry Lake 50 is always terrible with bugs. I've stopped there many times over the years and it never fails that the biting flies feast on me in large numbers. It is one of the reasons I've never camped there. Looks like you are much braver than I am.

[@zachcanaperi]

looks beautiful i've always wanted to explore that area of the adirondacks

[@AdventureSworn]

Awesome video, looks like a beautiful part of the river. I love your BCNW knife map-pointer 😄👍

[@christiandenniston7177]

Amazing you recognized that knife. I have an Adventure Sworn leather belt pouch I purchased from you around 2012 or so. Wore it nearly everyday in college. Held up great, though I did have you repair the buckle at one point.I appreciate you watching the video and glad you enjoyed it!

[@AdventureSworn]

@@christiandenniston7177 Awesome! You can always send any AS gear in for free repair or touch-up. I live on the Oswegatchie now, it's a beautiful river.

[@michaelpetersonbackpacking6077]

In my area …. The rivers always seem remote. A farmhouse could be just a short distance away and yet the riverbank and trees along the edge make it seem like you’re in the middle of some great wilderness area. Thanks for sharing your trip, it makes me want to get my canoe on the water. I think I’ll wait till the leaves start to change.

[@christiandenniston7177]

Part of the appeal of paddling is that it offers more solitude here in NY than hiking lately. Hiking trails are seeing a lot of pressure since COVID. More people getting out is not a bad thing but I prefer to be alone and not see other people while I am out in the woods ha. I hope I'll be able to swing one more paddling trip this fall!

[@SuperPangloss]

Nice trip. We like to start at Lows, do the portage and all the way to Wanakena where you put in. Lots of beavers and we even heard Bigfoot at Lows!!!

[@rcote1234]

Great trip, nice video. I see you’ve added the Yoke. Bottom of your canoe looks to be in great shape, despite some rock bumps. ‘Carry’ vs “Portage” in the Adirondacks. 😋

[@MeetMeOutside]

Nice ! Been to Lows lake a few times and have been meaning to do the portage and get on that river. Thanks so much for sharing man ! Great effort and edit ! Cheers

[@christiandenniston7177]

You have any suggestions for a long weekend canoe paddle in the northeast? I want to plan some more paddling trips, although I'll be switching back to hiking for the winter season before long.

[@MeetMeOutside]

@@christiandenniston7177 Sure, I might suggest the Cedar River Flow, mid week would be best. I have been there a few times. My last two times there I was solo in autumn,mid week. I didn’t see anyone else. I was there for three nights. There are a bunch of primitive campsite options. Has a really remote feel to it. And then Lows lake putting in at the dam ,just south of Horshoe lake. It puts you in the river, then to Hitchens Pond. Then if you make the short portage into Lows Lake, even if there are other folks , it’s big enough with lots of islands and coves ,you can find solitude. I would highly suggest site 16 ! Fabulous site. Best of luck, really enjoyed this. Heading up to north central Maine this morning for a 8-10 day canoe trip , really exited ! Cheers !

[@nathanbrown8515]

I was planning on doing the traverse myself 2023 but lows lower dam is getting repairs done and access road is closed. Last time they did work on the dam the water level was so low it was hard to paddle.

[@MeetMeOutside]

@@nathanbrown8515 Yes I have heard about the scheduled repairs. Bummer, I had wanted to get up there possibly in June, we will see.

[@ProjectNineOaks]

I like your canoe. How long is it and how much does it weigh?

[@carowby3374]

Nice trip report ! Thanks for sharing. What model Wenonah Canoe are you using? Been researching a lightweight solo and yours looks light and stable. Thanks.

[@christiandenniston7177]

This is the Wee Lassie 12'6". I am very happy with it. However, I don't have experience with other similar models/brands so I don't have anything to compare it to. Previously I had an Old Town and this is a world of difference! For my uses I do not have any complaints, and portaging is no problem now.

[@MeetMeOutside]

The beaver dams, How was it getting in and out of your canoe ? Was it deep ? I have found sometimes it can be sketchy, thanks !

[@christiandenniston7177]

I was happy to have such a lightweight canoe that’s for sure. I had fun with it and made it a challenge to try not to get wet/fall in ha. With a fully loaded canoe it would be a struggle and would cost you a lot of time.

[@jfenn89]

Have you ever fished that stretch? If so what did you catch?

[@benjilake]

Nice trip. Would you share your tent and canoe models, please?

[@christiandenniston7177]

Thanks! Tent is the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 and the canoe is the Wenonah Wee Lassie.

[@peterlewandowski5884]

What campsite number did you stay at by highfalls ? Great video thank you for sharing

[@christiandenniston7177]

I can't recall if there was a number posted on it, maybe it was 17? If you are heading up river toward High Falls it is on the left hand side up a bank. Hard to miss. Apologies I don't have a more precise answer for you.

[@tdg223]

Dont you have to eat 150 yards from where you sleep?

[@wanakena155]

Nice video thanks. Please wear a life jacket.

[@christiandenniston7177]

You’re correct I should wear it more. And any trips where conditions are more ‘difficult’ I do always have it on. Wore it for my entire AWW trip and am so glad I did. But conditions there are much different than the oswegatchie.

[@user-gf3lw5pi4t]

At high falls there was a small brass marker attached to one of the large rocks with the as I remember with the name Kelso on it I assume it marked the spot we’re his ashes were spread he died young, has anyone seen this ?

[@christiandenniston7177]

I didn’t notice it. I’ll take a look when I make it back there. Really hoping to revisit this year.

[@user-gf3lw5pi4t]

@@christiandenniston7177 as you look at it going up stream it was on the right ,back a few layers

[@Upstatenyoutdooradventures]

Hey , where did you get your map ??? Thanks

[@christiandenniston7177]

It is the Adirondack Paddlers North Map which you can purchase on the ADK organization website. Great map, but large so can be unwieldy while in the boat.

[@Upstatenyoutdooradventures]

@christiandenniston7177 thank you