By Sylvie Panofsky, Expedition Trip Leader
On July 7, we embarked on the annual Champlain Discovery Kayak Expedition with four campers and two trip leaders, Sylvie and Hane. Dubbed Team Lilo, named after one of the Museum dogs, this year’s trip was full of adventure, beauty, challenge, and surprises as we journey from Whitehall, NY to the northern end of the lake, hopping between campsites in Vermont and New York. Two of our campers had just completed the Museum’s kayak building camp and were paddling their own kayaks. The rest of our group used the same custom Chesapeake Light Craft models that had been built by Museum staff.
The expedition started with a day full of preparation at the Museum. We learned how to stuff dry bags, packed our boats, practiced rescue skills, and started figuring out the swing of outdoor living. The next day, we loaded the boats and were transported down to Whitehall, NY. Our specific drop off point was at Waterfront Park, meaning we got to paddle through a lock to get onto our route.
We paddled up to the crossing of Lock 12 and got in contact with the lock master. He raised the water level and opened the gates for us to enter. We paddled in, the doors closed behind us, and the water began to lower first with increasing speed. Once we had lowered to the water level of the other side, the gates were opened, and we started paddling. The experience in Lock 12 was the biggest excitement on the first day, and felt like a proper welcome to the Lake Champlain Basin. The southern region of the lake was where we figured out our systems and got into the rhythm of life on the water. We would often remark about how skinny the lake was, dealt with lots of duck weed, saw 15(?!) great blue herons, and maybe even raced a barge or two.
On day three, we took our first rest day in order to dodge some sketchy weather. It felt very needed and was filled with lots of sunbathing, swimming, eating (shoutout to Chipman’s Point for the ice cream!), sleeping, and a cooking challenge.
The days quickly passed, and soon we found ourselves in the middle of the trip, in the middle section of Lake Champlain. We had some long days on the water and made our first crossing to the New York side when we camped at Adirondack Cove. This site, with close proximity to the Museum, was the ideal spot to get a resupply. As we waited for our Expeditionary Programs Manager Laura to boat over, our kayakers had their try at tubing behind their kayaks. Their final consensus was that the idea sounded more fun than it was. To our excitement, Laura arrived with popsicles and lots more food. Time passed quickly, our group was creating more connections, finding more inside jokes to yell as loud as we could into the wind, singing any song that came to our heads, making up new songs, playing word games, splashing each other, and eating miles for breakfast, lunch, and sometimes even dinner.
As we continued northward, we found ourselves blessed with consistent tail winds. This last portion of the trip had us cross over to Schuyler Island and then up to Valcour Island. Both of these historic islands are great spots for camping. We had a quick night at Schuyler and left early to make it to Valcour in the early afternoon. We found our group preferred to wake up early and get our paddling done early so we could have long, lazy afternoons at camp. Valcour Island had great swimming and lots of slabby rocks to lizard upon, and we took another rest day there due to looming thunderstorms and tired bodies. On this second rest day, we slept in! We also killed time by doing solos, playing cards and charades, making food, and I was surprised with a performance of Shrek that blew my socks off.
Everybody got a test of flexibility the next day when strong winds forced us to adjust our plans. Instead of crossing back onto the Vermont side, we chose to stay on the lee side of New York and work up the shore. As our itinerary changed, our final campsites and pick-up point were adjusted for the new plan. We had an unexpected night at Cumberland Bay State Park, where we quickly were thrown back into the shock of civilization – voices, noises, lights, running water, people, dogs, and ice cream! The final full day of paddling included a windy crossing back to the Vermont side and many miles working up the shoreline. We crossed through the Gut between the Hero Islands and made our way to the final camp on Woods Island. Everybody was tired, but there was a strong feeling of accomplishment as we neared the end. The final night was bittersweet as the finish line was becoming closer and closer.
We woke up on our final morning to some light rain, had a slow pack-up, ate one last breakfast as a crew, and packed up our boats, remarking about how much lighter and emptier they had become. Once in boats, the pickup spot came quickly. The two-mile paddle was accomplished with ease, and thus our celebrations started. As we unloaded boats, families started showing up and reunions were had. It was so fun getting to hear each participant recount our journey with such pride for themselves and each other. The small size of our group allowed each person’s successes to feel like amplified group wins! We said our goodbyes and, with good food, showers, and clean clothes on the mind, headed for home.
