A few photos from the end of the trip

The bow of Mr. Frei's boat

 

Day 18 - Beadle's Cove, VT to Cleverdale, NY

"No Christian has ever visited this land and we had all the misery of the world trying to paddle the river upstream."
~Samuel de Champlain (about the Richelieu River in Quebec.  Mr. Frei and Brian concur!)

"I've seen nothing here that I like or want any part of..."
~Brian Rooney (July 2011 as he began rowing the Richelieu River in Quebec)

 They made a short row from Beadle's Cove, VT to Ticonderoga, NY where Mrs. Frei and friend Doug were awaing with pairs of wheels for them to make the 1.5 mile portage to the top of Lake George.   The sight of these two guys pulling Adirondack Guide Boats through the streets of Ticonderoga was pretty amusing ( will try to get some photos posted).

The ex-town supervisor was nice enough to let them put in at his brother's house, which saved about a mile of the portage.    Peg and I brought the requested egg salad sandwiches to Mossy Point, about a mile away.   Last leg of the trip was started at noon, with about 25 miles to go!

5:30 PM - We received a call that they just passed Paradise Bay and Mother Bunch Island.

5:45 PM - Doug is out in his motorboat and says that the guys are expected to reach the Lake George Club at about 7PM (see map). It is just a stone's throw from there to Cleverdale, which is the finish.

Kathy



6:15 PM - Now there is a headwind, and they have just passed Glen Island (The island to the right of where it says Northwest Bay).  It looks like there are about six more miles to the Club, and it may be 9 PM  before they arrive there.    Mr. Frei's son Matt may go out in the motor boat to escort them when the light goes.

11:19 PM - They reached the Lake George Club at 8:30 PM to cheers from us, Mr. Frei's Mother, friend Kathy, son Matt,  Brian's Dad Andy and his friend Beryl.    After beaching their boats they both dove into the water to cool down and then had a quick shower before joining us for a great lobster dinner.  A nice celebratory end to a long journey.  Mr. Frei will be doing some writing here as soon as he gets some rest.  A few photos will be below.

Kathy

Preparing for the portage in Ticonderoga, NY



Brian arriving in Ticonderoga

The portage begins

Portage begins at a covered bridge





Mr. Frei hitchin' a ride in Ticonderoga

 

Putting in on the La Chute around 11 AM










Mr. Frei starts the last leg - Lake George

 



First sighting of the guys from the club at 8:30 PM



Arriving for the lobster dinner

Day 17 - Burlington, VT to Beadle's Cove, VT

Burlington to Beadles Cove

Today was an amazing row for Brian and Mr. Frei, after such a difficult day and an injured back!  They set out at 7 AM this morning, and arrived at Beadle's Cove at 9:30 PM!  Mr. Frei switched to his sliding seat, which seemed to help and he was medicated on a combination (don't do this at home!) of Motrin and Aleve (he was calling it Moleve).

Peg and I met up with them at 1:10 PM at the Basin Harbor Resort near Vergennes, VT. It is a beautiful spot and they let you bring your dog!     We arrived at the Resort at 11 AM and found Steve and Dave from Adirondack Guide-Boat waiting there with delicious watermelon-strawberry smoothies, so we had lots of time to hear their stories before the guys arrived. Steve and Dave made a guide-boat for Martha Stewart, so she did a segment on them a while ago, which I happened to see. Here is a photo of them with Martha. Great guys!



Steve - Martha - Dave

A short but sweet reunion ensued when Mr. Frei and Brian came gliding in, having had one of the best rows of their trip.  Al glided into the beach standing and doing a little dance move in his boat, which Dave made him repeat for a photo.  The guys had their smoothies, and were extremely appreciative (amazing how appreciative this two are when you bring them little treats at meetups!).

Bob Beach, the owner of the Resort came down to meet the intrepid rowers, so it was a nice little break.  After a few sandwiches, Mr. Frei and Brian took off again with the plan to get to the Larrabee's Point, where the ferry is that travels between VT and NY.

Meanwhile, Peg and I toured Middlebury, checked in at the Shoreham B&B, had some dinner and ordered burgers for the guys, who thought that they would be at point around 8:30. 

Peg and I arrived at the ferry station, and some guy leaned out of the second floor window of the stone house there, and yelled that we were trespassing, and no explanation seemed to soften him, so we drove a little further to a nice cove.  Then the wait began, the darkness crept in and the mosquitos started attaching.   The guys finally came into sight around 10PM (we saw Mr. Frei's headlamp), and we were flashing the iPhone and camera at them so that they could see where to land.  They were extremely tired, but very happy with their burgers and Blanche de Chambly beers.  We left them as they were settling in for a good sleep.

Tomorrow morning Mr. Frei's mother will meet them on the NY side of Lake Champlain and take their luggage while they portage the two or so miles over to Lake George.  It seems that lobster night will be on for tomorrow night at Lake George!


Mr. Frei arrives at Basin Harbor Resort




Brian arrives at Basin Harbor, VT



Day 16 - Message from Mr. Frei

Greetings, gentle reader,




Brian has been doing a great job in describing our passage so far; I apologize for not being as prolific but when it's all been said so well, why say it again? I will certainly add some commentary when we are home and I have access to my own machine...which may be sooner than i would like. You see, this afternoon I experienced severe back spasms...akin, frankly, to the feeling of a broken rib. I'm feeling great pain in the boat, and we pulled off early today so that I could rest and medicate. We're in Burlington, a literal stone's throw from the finish (80 miles or so), and I will feel terrible if I cannot finish this journey. We'll sleep on the beach tonight and I hope that when the morning arrives, I'll be good to go.



In the meantime, back spasms aside, it's been a great few days. The clear waters of Champlain are a refreshing change from the yoo-hoo patina of the richelieu river and as we proceed south, the mountains around the southern Champlain valley- the green on the east and the Adirondacks to the west - rise around us. Sweet.



So, gentle reader, I go to sleep a grateful but somewhat worried man....grateful for the chance to make and share this trip with Brian and, vicariously, with you, but i'm worried that I may not hit the finish line with him. It won't be for lack of trying. We'll keep you posted.



Big ups,



Mr frei

Brian shows Al how to use the iPad

Day 16 - South Hero, VT to North Beach, Burlington, VT (Brian)

Rooney
Blogpost 10


July 6, Burlington, Vt.

The air is clearing here at the public beach after a dramatic storm.

We started this morning with such a tough headwind that we almost called a day off. It took three hours to cross a bay to the protection of high ground. The waves were high enough that the front third of our boats were coming out of the water. It took another hour to row to a break in an old railroad causeway and cross under.

 We made about 15 miles before Al started having back spasms and we landed at the public beach. A few minutes later the beach was cleared as the storm brought lightening and horizontal rain. Then it hailed as a ferry boat rode it out, head into the storm.

The jury is out on Al's back ... Could be out for the day, could be a season ender.

 Lake Champlain has great geology where you can see the evidence of turbulence overtime. Some of the islands and peninsulas have vertical sedimentary layers where the land has been heaved.
We have also seen a lot of damage from the spring floods. A marina near the Canadian border was heavily damaged as are many waterfront homes. We passed a string of 18 beach front homes that had all been damaged, one destroyed. The high water mark is about four feet above where we have been rowing.

On the Richelieu, the high water was six feet higher, but we hated that river and screw 'em.
Tuesday we set out from Chazy's Landing and also were dodging winds from the start. That's when we crossed to the Vermont side looking for protection from the east. We  went many miles looking for a marina to buy supplies and water up. Finally we came to a bay between two islands known as "the gut" and the Ladd's Landing Marina. There Emily Clark took care of us, digging some chicken sausage out of the refrigerator, along with potato salad, and directed us to the barbecue on the lawn, where we cooked up a great lunch.

We rowed another 10 mies or more after that. Finally pitching tents just at dusk in a park at South Hero.
Now we are wang to see whether they will kick halibut this beach park.




Rainbow after the storm at North Beach, VT



Day 16 - Hero, VT to Colchester Pt., VT to ??

The weather is quite bad today!  By 9:30 they had gone from Hero to Colchester Pt, VT, which took 2 hours and is 3 miles. (Normal pace in calm weather could average 4 MPH)

The winds are at 40 MPH and good chance of thunderstorms, so they are staying ashore.  There is a good chance they will be unable to go further today.  A good day to take a break.

Will let you know later!

Kathy

Day 15 - Chazy Landing, NY to Hero, VT

9 AM - Mr. Frei called in to say that they had been rowing for an hour, and expected to get to Plattsburgh, NY today. The wind is coming out of the Southeast, which is slowing them down a bit.

8 PM - Mr. Frei and Brian had to cross 27 miles from the NY side of Lake Champlain to the VT side due to the strong winds, and are now in Hero, VT.  They called around 8 PM to say that they were in a marina and in the process of buying sandwiches for dinner.



Kathy

Brian's boat on the Chambly Canal