About the MacGregor 26X

Friday, June 7, 2024

Little Falls to Saint Johnsville, NY

Today began unexpectedly foggy, which didn’t screw up our plans, since we were playing another weather window, with a short travel day.


Kathleen went for her alternate-day run along the Empire State Trail, a multi-use path which parallels the Erie Canal across the entire state, while I talked boats with the dock neighbors on the Little Falls wall. The fog quickly burned off and we were on our way, traveling 11 miles and through two locks, with a plan to get in before expected afternoon rains. Our timing wasn’t perfect, and we got caught in a light shower while inside Lock 17, a very interesting lock for two reasons. At 40.5 feet, it is the largest lift on the Erie Canal, and it is one of only two locks in North America that have a “guillotine” door rather than the typical mitre doors, which open like a pair of French doors, but meet at an angle (mitre) to better hold out water. Fun fact: the other guillotine lock is on the Ottawa River, and we plan to go through that one later this summer. 

In the picture sequence below, you can see the 150-ton door fully closed, and then raised with the help of a concrete counterweight (white rectangle above the door). When the door is up, you drive out underneath, while it’s still dripping water, so you get wet. We were warned, and it was already raining anyway.




The recent rains have dumped even more logs, sticks, weed mats and other debris into the canal. The one below had a family of geese on it.  


We passed through Herkimer County, named after Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer, who was from Little Falls and fought and died in the American Revolution. We arrived at our destination, Saint Johnsville, NY, and tied up at the municipal marina and campground, where we were the sole boat on the wall. We walked into town for lunch at the Bridge Street Diner, the only open restaurant we could find, but enjoyed it so much that we’re going back for breakfast tomorrow. We quickly covered the main drag of the town, then went back to Dragonfly, where we did some chores and watched the on again, off again rain for the rest of the afternoon and evening. 



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