July 7th 2016
Chapman Point, Vermont
I was thinking to myself last night as I was as unstealthy as one could be while stealth camping on a beach under a No Camping sign; I sure did pick a well lit spot. The lights from the bridge had my tent and kayak lit up good. No sooner had I thought that and suddenly the lights began to shut off on the bridge as if sheer will alone controlled them. Now that I was under cover of darkness, I of course began to worry about someone walking up to the tent or kayak while I slept. While I had equipped the kayak with a bear bell to alert me if it should move in the dark of night, I’d still not want to encounter a person or a bear messing with the kayak. I told myself to stop worrying and get some much-needed rest. I think I was asleep in seconds.
The sound of a mosquito in my tent woke me up sometime later and after a game of cat and mouse, I was able to get back to sleep. The next time I woke up was to the sound of rain. I had hung up all my clothes to dry on the kayak. I contemplated taking them in even though there were still wet and now even wetter. I decided sleep is more important and I drifted back off.
I awoke for the day at 5am and began to break camp. I didn’t want anyone to see the tent there so I took it down even before making breakfast. With the tent down, I knew I could talk my way out of eating breakfast on this beach marked No Camping. I washed up the breakfast dishes, packed up the kayak and off I went.
The VHF wasn’t picking up any weather reports still, but the flat water and the mild wind this morning had me believing this would be my last day on Lake Champlain before entering the canal, boy was I wrong. First I ran into a strong southerly wind soon after getting out into open water just south of the bridge. It was about then that I also noticed my SPOT wasn’t pinging. I know it had before I left as I checked it, but sometime between then and now, it stopped and I don’t know why at the time (turned out, I had hit the OK button, not the Track button). I reset it and it worked fine the rest of the day.
This section of Lake Champlain is quite different than the lake I’ve paddled through. It has a much different feel to it – it could be a completely different lake. Everything from the water, to the boats, shoreline and the homes here have a different feel. But for a good portion of the day, I could see a smoke stack bellowing out steam and there was a noise droning on. What I was seeing was the International Paper Company plant on the western shore in Ticonderoga, NY. It was strange seeing this factory in this smaller, quieter, simpler section of Lake Champlain.
The sky wasn’t looking friendly so I turned to the cell phone to look at the local weather. Strong Storm warnings were being reported beginning at 2pm and lasting till 4pm. The 2pm storm was pushed back to 2:30 and I began to think it would miss me. The wind was beating me up as was the blazing hot sun. I was doing everything I could to keep going. 2pm came and went and no sign of a storm, then I heard it. Thunder began rumbling in the distance. I picked up the phone and looked at the weather RADAR. A major storm front was getting ready to come over the mountain to my West.
I had been watching a family in a red boat waterskiing on the lake in front of me as I paddled south and they were now headed back to shore because of the storm. I decided I’d try to make it to a section of land up ahead and then I saw the storm front coming over the mountain fast. The wind picked up, as did the thunder. I turned around and paddled as fast as I could toward this family now behind me on the dock. Pulling up to them, I asked if I could seek shelter there till the storm passed. They not only said yes; they invited me in, gave me fresh water to take with me and gave me lunch. They were wonderful to me.
The storm split in two as it passed directly overhead. We were spared the rain and only bore the brunt of the wind. After it passed, I hit the water again trying to make it to a spot that would give me just one more day on the lake. The folks that gave me shelter told me about a marina down where the lake narrows so I headed for it.
Despite my rest break and lunch, I wasn’t back on the lake five minutes and I was tired. The sun was out in full blaze again. It was way too hot out here, even with the wind that returned. I was falling asleep paddling; splashing water on my face helped me stay awake. No sooner had I spotted the marina up ahead, I also noticed it was getting very dark behind me. Another big blow was coming my way. Only this one wasn’t moving East to West, this one was headed south right for me. After days padding into the wind, I finally had a northerly wind to ride, but instead it was forcing me to seek shelter immediately.
I reached the marina, tied up and set out to find the owners. I asked some of the other boaters there and finally found someone to assist me. As it turned out, this marina had a campground attached, but I had to paddle up to the boat launch so i could get my gear out. I pulled my kayak out of the water just as the storm front hit. It was another bad blow, but again, no rain. Rain was sorely needed in these parts. Lake Champlain’s water level is down over five feet and has been for sometime.
I’ve been bathing and washing my clothes in the lake so after setting up camp, I took advantage of the shower and laundry facilities here at the marina and then heated up some dinner.
While I was eating by the marina office, I got to meet some of the other boaters here. One of them was caught out in the first blow that came through. They were in a large Deck Boat and like me, he too was seeking shelter, but their boat drew too much water so they had to ride it out in the open. He told me his boat was listing 12 degrees from that wind. Deck Boats are not designed to list.
Looking at the map, tomorrow should be my last day on Lake Champlain.
PS. just wanted to give a shout out to Alice T. Thank you for contributing. Because of your contribution, I was able to get a campsite at the marian. You’re awesome!
If you would like to contribute, there is a link in the top left.
Enjoy the pictures.
