Day 6 - Essex NY

On the sandbar at the mouth of the Boquet River

25.5 miles

The Old Boathouse

It probably had to happen ... today it did... I changed my plan and pulled up early here in Essex, the most charming but eerily 'for sale' town imaginable. Essex has that quintessential coastal village flavor - classic architecture, a funky waterfront, even the ferry from Charlotte, VT shuttles to here - but almost every lovely building of note on Main Street is for sale ... fabulous empty spaces. Essex is ready for the next round - what a gem.  

'Copey' is the proprietor of the temporarily closed Old Boathouse ... an 1815 boathouse on a pier morphed into a restaurant with an incredible view of the lake. I'll be tenting in his lakeside yard with access to the bathrooms, a swing, a putting green, and (dry) taps. Thanks, Copey - I'll be back when you're open... or after I buy a writer's studio here in town.

Today was to have been a 45+ mile day, but these south winds have me rowing on a treadmill. Such slow going, and no real reason to race. I pulled up at the mouth of the Boquet River and met Lori and her dog who seemed pretty reluctant to swim off the massive sandbar. As I floated around in another building wind, I wondered why I needed to pile on 30 additional miles today. I kept floating. And floating. And here I am, in clover, and I've added an additional day to my fun.

A couple with four kids just asked me if the weather was OK for them to do the crossing to Vermont. The wind is up, it's getting dark, and they're in their pontoon boat. What would you say?

This center section of Champlain is exquisite. The water has lost its algae, probably because of the cold depths in this stretch, and the long mountain views are always changing - the light, the clouds, even changes in humidity offer constantly changing pictures. I'm glad I'm slowing down; there's a lot to savor here.

I've gone from wet to ... dank. Worrisome.

I wish I could be writing intelligently about stormwater runoff. Champlain's biggest challenge seems to be agricultural, but I may be wrong. I can attest to the clarity and apparent cleanliness of Champlain's water in front of its two major cities. The beaches in Burlington and Plattsburgh are beautiful; there must be effective systems for urban runoff here. The Champlain 'basin' is enormous; the western facing Green Mountains and the southern Adirondacks all must flow to the center ... but this lake has nothing like the density of population and commercial development of Lake George's southern basin. 

I do hope that readers have made a donation to the LGA. I wrote 'em a check before I left but, hey, I'm a glass is half full kind of guy. 

Here is an easy link to make a special donation. Just click on it and it will open in a new page for your convenience.

Make a special donation to the Lake George Association

Storm's coming - more later! 

Peace, love, happiness ... and health!

Ferry to Charlotte

Wharf at Essex, NY