July 3-4, 2024 Fort Edward and Whitehall

 Wednesday  July 3, 2024   Waterford to Fort Edward  7.5 hours, 38 miles and 6 locks

Off the dock at 7:20 to be at the Champlain Canal lock C-1 for their 8 AM opening after double flushing the lock to make sure no invasive Brown Goby fish get into Lake Champlain. Not sure of the holdup but we didn't get in until almost 8:30.   We wound up traveling with a group of three other boaters from the upstate NY area.  They came down the Erie canal yesterday and we expected they would be heading down the Hudson so surprised when they left the docks ahead of us and then turned up to lock C1.  

Waiting patiently at lock C-1 to begin the trip up
the Champlain Canal with our buddy boats.
Finally, into new territory for us. 

Martha dutifully manning the tie-off line as we lock through

Overall, no issues with our 6 lock throughs.  Quick summary: Lock 1, up 14'. Lock 2, up 18'. Lock 3, up 19'. Lock 4, up 16'. Lock 5, up 19'. Lock 6, up 16'. We were the tail end boat so typically were the second boat on the port side.  First boat in on starboard front, second boat in port forward, third boat in starboard second, then us port second.  Easy enough.   Fairly scenic trip.  Mostly just following the upper Hudson River through valleys, hills and farmland. No issues with any of the short fixed bridges with our arch and bimini down. Not the most fun traveling for us without the shade provided by the bimini in mid 80's sunny conditions.  Sun is a bit too brutal so will probably use the pilothouse going forward. 

Canal consists of narrower man-made sections

And more open areas of the Hudson River

Plenty of low bridge clearances

Even had a flood gate

Scenic old barn along the canal

Fields filled with corn "Knee high by the Fourth of July" - right on schedule 

Not sure if our group would stop in Fort Edward or try to push on to Whitehall.   Reached Lock 7 and turn in point for Fort Edward and our lead boat made the turn for town.  Good decision as we thought it unlikely we could get through all the locks before their 6pm stop time.  Fort Edward is a pretty small town like most along this canal.  Their heydays are long gone along with much of the population.  But they keep hanging on.  Actually have a fantastic waterfront park and free dockage with power, water and bathrooms.  Nice brewpub in town called Slickfins.  Had a great time talking with the bartender. Not a huge selection but the hazy IPA quenched my thirst.  After a hot day on the boat they also had a frozen Mango seltzer that was extremely refreshing.  Martha enjoyed a pint to herself and they even sell a cup of it "to go".  How could I resist!  

Slickfin's owner was ex military - involved in explosive ordinances. 
 Explains the unique taps

The other interesting feature was their use of munitions boxes for parts of the bar

This is the end of the Hudson River for us.  It veers off to the west at Ft. Edward meandering into shallower and non-navigable waters.  The Champlain canal continues northward another 25 miles to Lake Champlain.  All locks yesterday were up.  From here we'll soon start going back down.

Journey for July 3, 2024

Thursday  July 4, 2024   Fort Edward to Whitehall  4.1 hours, 25 miles and 4 locks

From Fort Edward to Lake Champlain is all man-made canal. Wider, deeper and a few more turns than the Dismal Swamp canal in VA/NC but very reminiscent of that canal.  No development to speak of. An occasional farm but mostly just tree lined canal.  Nothing wrong with that.  It's scenic with some rolling hills in the background.  Still a fair number of low bridges to get under.   Locks 7 - 11 today.  No longer a lock 10 so only 4 locks today.  Quick Summary: Lock 7, up 10'. Lock 8, up 11'. We're now at our highest elevation of 140'. Lock 9, down 16'. Lock 11, down 12'.

Bridges, woods and mountains - pretty scenic area

Not sure if this barn fell into the canal or floated down to rest along the bank

Couple of cows enjoying fresh grass at the canal edge

Rocks along the bank go straight down to the 12' canal depth

Occasionally even John comes off the flybridge and handles a line

Arrived at the Whitehall free dock mid afternoon. No one at the docks but us. Free dock, free power, free water. I was expecting a bit of activity here as one of their claims to fame is the "Birthplace of the US Navy". This is based on Benedict Arnold having several ships built here to fight against an advancing British naval force coming down from Canada in 1777. He lost the battle and had to scuttle the remaining ships, but the battle had the British retreat for the winter giving the American army time to regroup and ultimately win our freedom. With history like that I would have expected some sort of celebrations in town. Nadda. Nothing. Zilch. Looks like a ghost town. Everything closed for the 4th. Even the brewery.

Apparently Bigfoot is a thing around here

Sign at the brewery

 Stayed an extra day to see if it would come alive on Friday which was a good decision. The Skeneborough Museum had good displays of the local history. (Skeneborough being the towns original name). Good museum that included the salvaged hull of the original 1814 USS Ticonderoga. Lunch and tour at the Skene Manor was worth the hike up the hill. (should actually be called the Potter Mansion who were the original owners/builders).

Skene Manor from the town and canal

Manor house built in 1874 using stone quarried on site.

View from the tower of the town and our boat

Cigar Guys Brewery had a decent Hazy IPA and Porter although the walk over in sunny humid 90+ degree heat had us more interested in the air-conditioned taproom than the beers. Thought we would cool off at Sweet Genevieve's Ice Cream stand but it apparently is no more. Not much else here for us to spend money on to support the local economy and thank them for their free dockage and nice waterfront park but it was a more productive day that yesterday. 

Journey for July 4, 2024