Happy Thursday!
This past week in a nutshell… Where did August go!?! Anyway… last weekend’s weather was simply PERFECT; Just below 70, sunny and breezy by day - near 50 and crystal-clear skies by night. Campfires and merriment around the village. Some rain at the start of the week, even some thunder rumbles. Down into the 40s at night. Seems like there are a lot of crickets. Robins hop and pop around the yard startling waves of the bouncy insect in every direction - some devoured. The fragrance of ground-rotting apples has settled in. Dazzling colorful displays of touch-me-nots, cardinal flower, wild bergamot, gentian, goldenrod and more. High frequency of nuisance rodent reports continue… summer of the mice. A Cranberry Lake 50er nearly lost it all cause of the little critters – long story. The stretch of trail between High Falls and High Rock is still beaverlandia - imagine if it was not such a dry year. Trails: dry, hiking: good! Holly says a fair amount of blowdown around the High Falls loop via Janacks and Leary. The river is LOW!!!! look at these rocks:
WEATHER FORECAST: Looks like another beautiful weekend ahead of us: partly cloudy with daytime temps getting up near 80, nighttime temps around 60. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday could bring some scattered thunderstorms.
This weather forecast is brought to you by Wanakena’s own PATTIJACKNAN weather team – a Wanakener garage pole mounted weather station and crew. THANKS, TEAM! This weather station can be found at: https://www.wunderground.com/weather/us/ny/wanakena/KNYWANAK Bridgework continues! The sound of a large water pump echoes hour after hour, though the night like an off-tone OM. This pump is to keep water out of the large hole that is being dug out in the middle of the river; the future home of the single middle-pier of the new carbridge. Instead of a picture of the bridgework, here is a photograph of the now-gone steel bridge. This photograph is taken by Wanakena’s own Jack Williams and is currently on-view at Otto’s Abode as one of the fifteen photographs Jack has chosen to exhibit.
Meanwhile, upriver from the carbridge: Foam wranglin’! A clump of foam floating by… at once! Dislodged by rollin’ rapid? Had the foam clump reached its limit? Surely it did not hop OVER a rock. But here it comes. I think I see what rock it came from behind. There’s more foam back there, too. Down the river it goes, bobbing and weaving. Rocks existing in a varied degree of submergence but never fully dry; they are IN the river Afterall. Oh boy! Here comes a big one!
CRANBERRY LAKE CAMPGROUND CLOSING DAY AFTER LABOR DAY. The other day our local PEPSI rep informed us that recently, while at Lakeside General Store in Cranberry Lake he chatted with the owner who informed him that the Cranberry Lake State Campground will be closing early this year – the day after Labor Day. As opposed to sometime in October as usual. This was already a different campground season as only pregregisterd campers were allowed to camp. No walk-ins were allowed! And now, no NOTHING after Labor Day… spread the word. Here's a postcard with the State Campground depicted on it (this postcard and MORE availabale at Otto's Abode):
RANGER SCHOOL IS BACK! Campus is closed to the public. Check out this NEW SIGN!!! Wanye, Paul and Jerry set it in the ground... the rest is history! At the corner of 61 and Ranger School Road. Here’s a NEW message from the Ranger School Facebook:
The Ranger School's James F. Dubuar Memorial Forest will be closed to the public for an indefinite amount of time beginning Saturday, August 15, 2020. The Cranberry Lake 50 trail, which passes in front of the school, will remain open. This action is necessary to protect students and staff as they begin a new academic year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but it is a critical precaution as we work to ensure the health and success of the Class of 2021. Thank you for your cooperation.A few weeks back we reported that someone came into The Abode commenting that their kayak rack was no longer on top of their car where it should be upon their return from a paddle up the Oswegatchie. Checking out the
Adirondack Forum Website using the search term “wanakena” uncovered this first-hand account of THE THEFT AT INLET:
This is a sad post, but I wanted to make everyone aware. My wife and I parked our car at Inlet the morning of July 27th to spend a few days kayaking on Cranberry Lake and return via the Oswagatchie River. We returned to our car in the afternoon on July 30th to find our kayak carriers gone from the roof of our car. They were Malone Auto-loader XV J-style carriers (which I was very fond of). That model does not offer a lock, but rather has plastic wingnuts that clamp the carriers to the roof bars so they are removable without tools. I didn't even think about it at the time, but had I known that theft was a risk, I would have taken them off and stored them inside the car. Lesson learned, I guess. I have been watching Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist to see if they get posted. I made some modifications to allow them to better fit the roof bars, so I could identify them pretty easily. It pains me to no end that this happened. It's not the fact that I had to replace the carriers, but rather it's knowing there are people in this world who would do this. What did the thief think we would do when we got back to our car with no way to get our boats home? After talking with the shop owner at Otto's Abode in Wanakena, he graciously helped me find a set of replacement racks. I had no cell service, so he let me hook into his WiFi and use his phone to call around. I drove out to Raquette River Outfitters to get two sets of Yakima kayak carriers ($420 -- oof) while my wife waited in Wanakena with our boats. So if you are parking in at Inlet, please make sure everything is secured before you leave for a few days!
Down at The Abode.... ART ON VIEW: JACK WILLIAMS PHOTO EXHIBITION. Jack Williams resides in Wanakena during the extended summer months and more times than not seen snapping shots with his camera. Jack has selected 15 photographs from his collection to be framed and on-view here at Otto’s Abode at least through Labor Day Weekend. Copies of the photos are available for purchase and a majority of the proceeds will go to the Wanakena Historical Association’s efforts concering the future Wanakena History Center. GREAT JOB, JACK!
Blackwaters Café and Trading Post in Wanakena is open for pick-up/take-out Wed, Thurs, Fri and Sat 11-6:30 pm. Picnic tables and port-o-john out front! Picnic tables out back by the river, too. Order though their take-out window or better yet do it online at their website
www.blackwaterscafe.com Someone said Packbasket Adventures is renting rooms. Stone Manor Diner and Motel in Cranberry Lake (closed for a week to take Antonio to college), Lakeside General Store in Cranberry Lake, UB’s Mercantile & Adirondack Rustics in Oswegatchie, Coffee Fever, Todd Hardware, Adirondack Pharmacy and Circle K in Star Lake, Mountain Gate Redemption near Benson Mines, and Sevey Point remain open for business in one way or another (open, take out, pick up, drop off, etc…). The Clifton-Fine Municipal Golf Course is open seven days a week. Post Offices are open too (Thanks, Mary!) Duck Decoy and MORE showroom open for pop-ins. “Showroom FILLED” 481 Tooly Pond Rd, Cranberry Lake – 315-848-4223. Always beautiful photography at the Wanakena Tracks
facebook page. The Clifton Community Library in Cranberry Lake is open for curbside!
Hillside Diner in Oswegatchie, Twin Lakes in Star Lake remain temporarily closed.
Kim’s Lost Dog Report: As of today, there are NO lost dogs in Wanakena.
All for now!
Any questions, comments, concerns, trail condition inquiries, legends, jokes, animal sightings, etc… feel free to email otto@ottosabode.org or call 3158483008 or pop-in the shop! Wanakena Weekly archive here: http://www.ottosabode.org/p/wanakena-weekly.html
There is no plateau on which Nature rests at mid-summer, but she instantly commences the descent to winter. -Henry David Thoreau, journal (Aug. 23rd, 1853)
