Journal entry for July 28, 2012; Chodikee Lake and Black Creek.] Dallas and I join Lee Reiser, Frank and Karen on a paddle on Chodikee Lake in Lloyd NY, a little east of New Paltz. It's a small lake, about a half mile in its longest dimension, really just a wide spot in Black Creek, which flows northward, winding through a marsh. Its banks, and those of Black Creek, are marshy and full of interesting wildlife. We launch Duck, our tandem kayak, from the public launch on the west side of the lake. Dallas and I sprint back and forth across the lake while we wait for the others. We sight a Great Blue Heron roosting in a dead tree in the marsh. Most of the lake is wild, but the view is somewhat marred by the Juvenile Detention Center in its southwest corner, which is ringed by razor-wire encrusted fences. After the other are deployed, we paddle together southward and upstream on Black Creek, working against its sluggish current and rounding its many meanders. We pass many flowering plants: buttonbush with its white ball-shaped flowers, water lily, purple Joe Pye weed, purple pickerelweed, yellow spatterdock. Red Wing Blackbirds dart about or perch atop the many dead tree trucks that stand up above the marsh grass. Beaver signs are plentiful. We pass several lodges and cross two beaver dams. We have to portage the larger, standing waist high in the creek and pushing the boat up over the rim of the dam. The manage the smaller by sprinting <i>Duck</i> to gain enough momentum to slide up a spillway. We sight no beaver, but Lee catches a glimpse of a muskrat. We spot Red Tail Hawks and Osprey flying overhead. We follow the stream until it becomes shallow and rocky, just north of the North Chidokee Road bridge, and then turn and retrace our path. The weather, which had begin overcast, now turns to light rain. After paddling across the lake, we continue on the northern section of Black Creek. It meanders by some rock outcrops and stands of dead trees. Lee mentions that herons nest among the trees in the spring, but though we sight a heron, we see no signs of nests. We pull to shore on a rocky ridge by a wide spot in the creek, just south of Chidokee Falls. The drizzle intensified into heavy rain and we began to see lightning and hear thunder. We stayed out of the water, for safety sake, and stod around. Several trees along had their bark stripped by beavers and were dying, their leaves turning brown. I used the opportunity to visit the falls. They have two sections, a smaller upper falls and a larger lower falls, the latter with a vertical drop of perhaps six feet, with about fifty yards of cataracts between. A milled, now ruined, stands besides the stream. It is made of sandstone flags, the same rock as naturally outcrops nearby, so I presume that its stone was quarried nearby. The walls of the mill are built of unmortered flags and are about two feet thick. The area around the mill is covered with loose flags and is quite treacherous to transit.

We waited until the rain eased up and the electrical activity stopped, and then headed back. By mutual agreement, Dallas and I sprinted ahead to heat up a snack; I had brought a Coleman stove, instant coffee and canned stew for this purpose. We paddled the whole way without stopping. The exercise drove off the chill from standing in the rain. When the others arrived, a few minutes later, we had hot coffee and stew ready. Lee contributed some Italian food, which we heated up in a frying pan. We stood around in the parking lot, eating and relaxing, while another group of kayakers took out, and yet a third group launched. About four hours.