8-18-10

With a lighter breeze in the forecast today’s paddling adventure would take us to Middle Saranac Lake with a destination of Weller Pond. Launching from South Creek once again we paddle towards Middle Saranac Lake where the surface just has just a few ripples as we begin our crossing. The Lake is fairly large so I navigate with a combination of maps and GPS to find our way. About half way across the Lake a large bird begins circling in the sky gradually drifting closer to both me and the surface of the water. In a moment’s notice this immature Bald Eagle makes its final approach diving towards the water’s surface. With its feet thrust forward this majestic bird briefly dips them into the water and pulls up with a fish in the grasp of the talons. I marvel as the eagle fly’s off into the distance with the lunch time quarry. Having made the sometimes treacherous crossing we enter some of the smaller bays encountering other paddlers on there remote campsites. Finding the channel leading to Weller Pond we meander through marshes and bogs before entering the Pond. This pristine area has several campsites including island sites and a lean-to. We eventually find the lean-to site which was vacant to take a lunch break. On the return journey we decide to take a more straight line approach since we wanted to keep the distance to about 8 miles. Along the way we sight loons and in passing a very small island I come across a mink swimming to the rocky island. Having reached the main body of the Lake it can be difficult to locate the South Creek channel for those not familiar with the area so I rely on the GPS to guide us back. What makes Middle Saranac special is the variety of paddling options available on this heavily forested lake. There are only a few cabins on the lake and did I mention the Mountain views no matter where you look however the lake can also be windswept from the typical blow out of the west. Campsites must be reserved at the Second Pond DEC headquarters on RT 3.