The Hudson Valley Blog

When I wanted to get in a few hours of paddling last weekend, I picked a spot which required no guidebooks, websites, GPS or research of any kind. I decided to put my kayak into the water in a place I’ve known my entire life, in Crescent NY, on the north bank of the Mohawk River, right next to Route 9.

My grandfather used to own a gas station there. He bought it in 1946 and lived there in a house attached to the back of the station until he passed away in the late 70s. A few years after that my grandmother sold the place and it became a Stewart’s, which is still there today.

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Sturgeon Pool is another paddling spot that has been on my list for a long time. It is a relatively wide section of the Wallkill River, just above its confluence with Rondout Creek, where the northward flowing water is imprisoned behind a hydro electric dam.

I’ve paddled the Rondout multiple times, both in the Kingston area up to Creek Locks (a dam built as part of the D&H canal) and above downstream from where the Wallkill empties into it. I’ve also canoed the Wallkill itself upstream of Sturgeon Pool in Walden, NY.

On Friday morning I had business to attend to in Albany so I decided to carve out a couple hours for exploration on my way home and fill in a gap in my upstate paddling resume.

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My plan was a one way paddle from Cold Spring to Beacon. Ever since my son got his driver’s license and we bought a third vehicle, I’ve wanted to take advantage of not having to return to my launch spot when I go paddling. Buying a tandem kayak was the last piece of the puzzle.

I researched my route, rearranged cars in the driveway so the two I planned to use were in the back and started gathering up gear. When it was time to load my tandem kayak, I went to find Junior to see if he was ready to help.

“Actually, I was gonna work on my assignment for my writing class that starts tomorrow” he said, unexpectedly. That threw me off.

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