Mark and Ken's Epic Erie Excursion

08/29/2025

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Follow Clark and me on our Montana meanderings!

Two guys. Three weeks. Hiking, backpacking, camping, and kayaking in Montana. Selway- Bitterroot Wilderness, Glacier National Park, and the National Wild and Scenic Upper Missouri River.

09/04/2024

Fun facts: Kayaking from Buffalo, NY. to Waterford, NY. (the length of the Erie Canal) is equal to the distance from Madisonville, KY to Chicago, IL.; Madisonville to Starkville, MS.; Madisonville to Marietta, GA.; Madisonville to Columbia, MO.; Madisonville to Fort Wayne. IN., or Madisonville to Gatlinburg, TN.

09/04/2024

Thanks again for following along! Creating an on-line journal that tries to capture the sights and experiences is enjoyable for me. The best part is sharing it in real time with you and receiving your feedback and insights.

Ken and I arrived back in Madisonville yesterday afternoon to warm welcomes once we each got home. This morning Clark Ashby and I met at Simply Poured Coffee Shop in Madisonville to firm up details for our upcoming several week trip to Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. We'll do some hiking and camping, as well as visit launch and take-out sites to plan details of our September 2025 kayak trip on the Upper Missouri National Wild and Scenic River through the Missouri Breaks. Clark and I will leave this Saturday.

My two cents: Stay hopeful, friendly and kind. Speak up for justice and against arrogance when needed. Enjoy this life we are given. - Mark

09/03/2024

Day 2 of Homeward Bound: Back in the Bluegrass

09/02/2024

Day 1 of our drive home to Kentucky.

It's been a beautiful day and a nice drive to Columbus, Ohio where we have an Airbnb.

We both had a great trip. And now we both can't wait to get home to those we love.

09/02/2024

A montage of our final day on the Erie Canal.

Commentary is with the photos.

09/01/2024

We made it across our finish line!

After arriving in Waterford, the eastern end of the Erie Canal, we paddled across the Hudson River to a ramp. Ken took an Uber to get his truck. I stayed with our kayaks and unpacked both kayaks. When Ken arrived, we loaded up and are in a nearby Courtyard by Marriott. We've both showered (such an under-rated pleasure until you've gone without one for several days!) and in a celebratory spirit will be taking an Uber in search of good cold beverages and good food.

More posts and photos tomorrow as we start our drive back to Kentucky. It's been a great trip. Thanks for coming with us!

08/31/2024

Just six miles left. We've completed 330 of the 336-mile Erie Canal. Why stop with just six miles left? Because the last 1.5 mile segment will take several hours, and after kayaking 20 miles today there was not enough time to complete the rest this afternoon. There are 5 locks in the last mile and a half of the canal. Over the course of that distance, we will drop a total of 169 feet as we transit through all five locks.

After coming through Lock 7 today, I was a bit past the east wall and was paddling close to a rock face with a ledge about 6 feet above the water. Just as a movement above me caught my eye, two large beavers plunged off the ledge into the canal very near me. It was hilarious!

This evening we are camped in Mohawk Riverside Landing Park in Colonie, NY. It's a beautiful place and we have been welcomed by staff and local residents.

Tomorrow, we finish!

08/31/2024

We covered 23 miles today, our longest single-day paddle. We met some awesome people, had a lot of laughs, and kayaked through the beautiful Mohawk Valley. We have 26 miles left to enjoy before reaching Waterford, NY, the terminus of our journey. We have thoroughly enjoyed the 310 miles we have paddled thus far.

08/30/2024

Yesterday and today have been good days, with one not great incident in St. Johnsville. But without that one arrogant and inconsiderate boater, we would not have met some other wonderful people.

This evening we met Noah, an Amish man who has a bbq operation adjacent to where we are camping tonight in Fonda. The food was incredible, and we had interesting conversations with Noah and the young people working with him.

We have 49 miles left on our trip.

08/28/2024

My Garmin InReach Messenger isn't tracking our location again. I spent an hour on the phone with Garmin tech support this evening. It still isn't working, so I will do this the old fashioned way: Ken and I kayaked from Frankfort to Little Falls, NY today. We have 80 miles of our 336-mile journey remaining.

Before we left Frankfort, Angela Thurston made several phone calls after meeting us last evening and found us this morning as we were having breakfast. She had obtained the code for accessing the locked toilets and showers at the park where we were camped. She sat and visited with us as we ate and then drove us back to our camp site.

As we were packing our kayaks to leave, Brian Clark, President of Pontoon Lagoon, saw us and brought us several bottles of cold water. He also asked if we needed to drive anywhere to purchase anything and offered to let us drive his truck. We didn't need to go anywhere, so we expressed appreciation for the offer but declined. Kind people keep amazing us. That is the 3rd time in 3 weeks someone we had just met offered us the use of their vehicle. Twice we very gratefully accepted the offer. The third time we just as gratefully declined, as we didn't have a need. I continue to process all of this with a sense of amazement and thankfulness.

Today we met Forrest, a man from North Carolina who is bicycling the Erie Canal trail, and three men in a beautiful large boat who were interested in our journey.

Here are some photos from today.

08/27/2024