We leave our motel early to get a hardy breakfast at the Village Restaurant in Canajoharie. Neither of us are disappointed and we fuel up for a shorter 44 mile ride to Schenectady. Canajoharie is a lovely town with wonderful architecture and buildings. An abandoned Beech-Nut factory that used to make baby foods (and is being considered for redevelopment as a cannabis provider) dominates the view adjacent to the river.
The morning is cool and cloudy but the forecast is for sunny skies. Our legs kick in and with a smooth pace we start our day. A patch of jewelweed with its dainty yellow orchid like flowers lines the right side of the trail.
We find ourself on an old railroad bed that is near the NYS Thruway. It veers off placing us in a more rural area with cornfields to our left and forests to our right while the traffic screams in the background. Such juxtapositions are common on this trip. At a transfer station we pass a bearded Amish man in his horse and buggy heading back to the weigh station to pay for his trash.
The larger hills of the Mohawk Valley come into view as we move east. Tiny acorns as well as numerous basswood leaves are scattered along the trail, which is worrisome given this time of year.
The sun has finally emerged. Ted slathers suntan lotion on his body while I lose some outer garments and don my sunglasses. In this space I spot what I think is a just a grove of winterberries, but are actually dogwoods, black chokeberries and winterberries upon closer examination.
Video: Next to the NYS Thruway
We find ourselves perched on an overview of the Mohawk River as well as the NYS Thruway. Though the view is intriguing, the noise is not. We push on.
Within the next few miles we come back into view of the expanded Erie Canal and open wildflower fields that no doubt are supporting the many colonies of bees that are in a nearby hive.
Because today is a short day, we have time to linger and take in some of the sights. We visit the remains of the former 600-plus foot Schoharie Aqueduct, one of the many we have seen on this trip. An engineering marvel of its time, it was built for the enlarged Erie Canal. Near this area is a very old maple tree missing a major leader. I wonder if it was here when the builders of the canal started their excavations.
We transition to a more isolated area that has been recently rained on. But we are far from isolated from the railroad as we can hear it lumbering through the valley with all its cars. Right now we are biking between the original Erie Canal and its enlarged replacement.
Stopping at one of the locks, water is pouring over the sluice gates in a rushing and wild fashion. It’s a bubbling foamy cauldron of brown fluid exploding with a roar in all directions downstream. Even in the somewhat turbulent free area of the locks, the water runs quick and rapid.
After a wonderful lunch (see separate post), we continue our easy pedal through more industrial areas adjacent to the canal. They include a power plant and a gravel mining operation. The noice and dust in the air is high, making us quicken our pace.
We stop for water and I notice that poison hemlock and Queen Anne’s lace are paired off on the side of the road. Most people find them easy to confuse. Don’t!
Wildflowers are abundant in these abandoned areas. And things sneak up on you. All of the sudden the sweet smell of honeysuckle emerges and then vanishes. Asters and golden rod are in bloom. And monarch butterfly eggs are embedded into nearby milkweeds.
We are pleased that much of the trail has been repaved making for a smooth and easy ride. Many of these changes are linked to a variety of remediation efforts that have planted a wide variety of native plants next to the trail.
Nearing Schenectady, we stop at the lock of the original Erie Canal that is a green-algae covered quagmire. This stagnant body of water is nothing like how it must have been nearly 200 years ago.
It’s an early day for us. We are dry and arrive at our hotel around 3 pm. Time for a short nap.
