Ben approaching Hector Falls.
Yep, that’s right… I'm super lame and went kayaking on Slope Day instead of seeing… Drake? Who is that? Slope day is Cornell University's annual end of year party, in which a committee of students chooses a band/singer/rapper (mostly the latter) to play a concert on the steep grassy slope connecting West Campus to the rest of the university.
We (Ben, Rob, Anna, and I) met at the southern tip of Seneca Lake and launched from Lakeside Park in Watkins Glen around 7:30AM. This means my alarm was set for 5:30AM… it was painful. We decided (by “we” I mean Anna, because she is the official decision maker) that since the lake was glassy-calm we would first paddle out in the open and think about exploring the inlet later. So off we went!
We (Ben, Rob, Anna, and I) met at the southern tip of Seneca Lake and launched from Lakeside Park in Watkins Glen around 7:30AM. This means my alarm was set for 5:30AM… it was painful. We decided (by “we” I mean Anna, because she is the official decision maker) that since the lake was glassy-calm we would first paddle out in the open and think about exploring the inlet later. So off we went!
Rob and Anna looking almost awake.
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Nena's also awake.
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View from the launch, looking west.
Along the way we discovered lots of little waterfalls and creeks that drain into the lake. About 2 miles up the east side of the lake, we discovered Hector Falls, which you get to by paddling into a little stream and under a bridge (see map and first photo).
We couldn't find any good beaches along the east side to have lunch, so we decided to cross the lake and check out the west side, where we found a thin strip of beach next to some cliffs. It’s kind of tricky to find spots to get out of your boats and stretch your legs in the Finger Lakes since they're pretty heavily developed. The undeveloped areas tend to be steeper and less prone to beaches…
Lakeside lunch on our little "beach"
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Ben checking out a shale cave on the west side of the lake
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After lunch we paddled back to the cars, stretched, and decided to explore the inlet, which could be classified as urban kayaking. We paddled as far as we could go, which involved ducking under some pretty low bridges. At the end we discovered that the river was running in both directions! This is still a mystery…
Update: this was a result of the "surface seiche" of the lake, which is a small oscillation in water level. It's a bit like a tide, but not controlled by the moon. It's caused by wind, which pushes water up against one end of the lake. When the wind stops, the water lowers and moves to the other end of the lake. Since the Finger Lakes are so long, there is a lot of "fetch" (distance that wind blows over) to allow a seiche to develop. On the longest lakes, like Cayuga and Seneca, the surface seiche has a period of ~1 hour.
PS: I paddled the entire way with my Greenland paddle! Woohoo!
Update: this was a result of the "surface seiche" of the lake, which is a small oscillation in water level. It's a bit like a tide, but not controlled by the moon. It's caused by wind, which pushes water up against one end of the lake. When the wind stops, the water lowers and moves to the other end of the lake. Since the Finger Lakes are so long, there is a lot of "fetch" (distance that wind blows over) to allow a seiche to develop. On the longest lakes, like Cayuga and Seneca, the surface seiche has a period of ~1 hour.
PS: I paddled the entire way with my Greenland paddle! Woohoo!
Date: Friday May 7th, 2010
Distance: 15 miles
Distance: 15 miles
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