Short Day in the Wind

I put in on what I call, Housatonic 3. It is the stretch of river above the second dam, with the tidal section being Housatonic 1. Also known as Lake Zoar, the touristy paddling websites will tell you that it is one of the better places to go canoeing. It is not. While it does have some forest preserve shoreline, it does not make up for the rather junky shoreline development that most likely started as cabins fifty or sixty years ago, each of which seems to have a beat up dock and a pile of neglected small boats, lawn furniture and float toys. I tolerate this a couple times of year, just to check out an interesting tributary or some of the coves.

Today, the main interest was to check out the shoreline for signs of the flash floods that occurred a month or so ago. I put in at the state boat ramp, planning to head down to Kettletown State Park. I sometimes launch at the park, but it is closed indefinitely as the road leading to the park was blown away during the floods, as was Route 34, which I normally use to reach this area and the next river section above.

It is a particularly fine day to be outside, but it might not be so good for canoeing as it is quite windy. I cross the river to the shelter of the far shore. The wind is no big deal up close to the forested hillside. I paddle close by dozens of junk docks. As I pass the last dock, a Great Blue Heron flushes from nearby. When I get down to Kettletown, I turn out to cross the river. Then, the wind hits me. The waves are no problem, the wind is just skittering across the surface at something close to 20 mph. It is an upwind paddle to get back, and I decide to get going in that direction just in case the wind gets worse.

About half of the way back is a bit of a claw, the rest being unusually protected. Across from my start, I assess the situation again. I have something I'd like to check upriver, but it is a mile of straight into the wind to do it. Time to call it a day. A pair of Red Tail Hawks fly over as I turn towards the put-in.