Tag Archives: northern forest canoe trail

Old Forge Pond: Launch favorite of ‘through-paddlers’

Paddlers are flocking to Old Forge with the good weather. Clearly, the word is out. “Through-paddlers” on the Northern Forest Canoe Trail are launching from the Trail’s Western Terminus at Old Forge Dam on a regular basis, joining whitewater rafters and kayak fishermen for the spring season.

Emma Carlson and Emily Rooney begin the Northern Forest Canoe Trail in Old Forge, April 2013.

Emma Carlson and Emily Rooney begin the Northern Forest Canoe Trail in Old Forge, April 2013.

“Through-paddlers” are people who paddle the entire 740-mile route from Old Forge to Fort Kent, Maine.

In 2013, Emma Carlson of Maine and Emily Rooney of Vermont fulfilled their ambition to be the first through paddlers of the season.

They launched on April 23rd with cold weather gear and ice axes, because some lakes were still iced over.

They held to their schedule, dragging their canoe across frozen water where necessary.

The Northern Forest Canoe Trail, organized in the 1990s, connects the major watersheds across the Adirondacks and Northern New England.  Continue reading →

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Northern Forest Canoe Trail in Old Forge: Pair kicks off paddle season with season’s first 740-mile trek

Emma & Emily. Mike Farmer photo.

Emma & Emily. Mike Farmer photo.

Town of Webb Public Relations Director Mike Farmer shares a toast with Emma and Emily on the eve of their launch

Town of Webb Public Relations Director Mike Farmer shares a toast with Emma and Emily on the eve of their launch

Emma and Emily shove off near the Old Forge covered Bridge. Wende Carr Photos

Emma and Emily shove off near the Old Forge covered Bridge. Wende Carr Photos

Though ice has been coming and going on nearby lakes the past several days, a pair of women paddlers departed Old Forge at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, to start a 740-mile canoe journey to Fort Kent, Maine.

They are the first paddlers this season to tackle the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, which goes through four states. They plan to complete their trip in 40 days.

Old Forge Publicity Director Mike Farmer was on hand for the launch by St. Lawrence alum Emily Rooney and Emma Carlson.

“All the rivers in Vermont are raging and really swollen right now, so hopefully by the time we start paddling upstream, it’ll be down a bit,” Carlson said.

They intend to cut a spruce sappling and attach a metal cleat to the tip, to create a pole for upstream movement. They’re carrying wheels for use on extended carries.

“I’m not a big backpacker, so the fact that you can paddle from the Adirondacks where we met, up through Vermont [where paddling partner Rooney is from], into Maine where I grew up is pretty magical,” Carlson said.

Rooney explained that both of them have sea kayaking experience but have an affinity for river travel. “We’re river people.”

Both Rooney and Carlson participated in St. Lawrence University’s (SLU’s) Adirondack semester as seniors. During that program, they lived in a yurt at Massawepie Boy Scout Camp, home of the SLU ADK semester, near Tupper Lake. Continue reading →

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