The Empire State Trail (mostly corresponding with the Erie Trailway) teams with wildlife. I passed four large snapping turtles digging nests. Recognizing those disturbances, I passed a number of nests as well. I encountered turkeys on more than one occasion. Bunnies often scattered at my approach. A number of groundhogs stared at me as I passed by. None of those came close to the number of chipmunks. They would leap/bound/hop out of my way, often in large numbers. When they did so, they’d squeak!
I slept often (if not well) on the bus from Durham to Albany. I woke early this morning, and even after chatting with the Dock Manager (who also gave me a map), and picking up food (and, more importantly, a couple of lighters), I still left Waterford by 8:30 am.
Most locks on the Erie Canal offer primitive camping. Four offer water and toilets. The closest of those, Lock 15, was >100 km away (64 miles), farther than I wanted to tackle on my first day. The forecast also held heavy storms mid-afternoon. I decided to head west. In the early afternoon I’d figure out where I was, call ahead to the next lock, and stop there, most likely Lock 12 or 13.
*squeak*
Except for one short detour for trail under construction, I spent the day on dedicated paved bicycle trail. As I approached Lock 12, I called and confirm they still had space. Cycling on I next realized I’d passed Lock 12. Not all the locks have access on the south side, where I was. No problem; I called Lock 13. He said, “Sure we have space, and we’d love to have you, but …”
He went on to explain that with the new Thruway construction, the only access was via the Thruway, which didn’t permit bicycles! I could try to catch a ride with someone with a truck (and again the next morning). I briefly considered just riding on the Thruway, before recalling a previous experience on the Autobahn, and carrying my bicycle across fences and fields to escape after the first car rocketed past me.
I asked about Lock 14, and was told it was adjacent to an active rail line. He then extolled the virtues of Lock 15. Large grassy area, water, toilets. Ok, fine. So 111 km from the start of my day I arrived at Lock 15 at 3:45 pm. Pretty. Has water and a portajohn; I don’t even require that much. I managed to find a quiet spot nearby to rinse off in the canal.
I passed 11 people today in touring mode. I had expected more. My expectations for dedicated path come from EuroVelo 6 and the Camino. Instead, I’m in one of the core campgrounds for the Erie Canalway — alone. I did have another cyclist drop in (John). We spoke for about 30 minutes before I realized he was just taking a rest stop. He’s cycled here from Maine, and is a day behind schedule. He’s also planning a loop, ending up back at the Hudson Valley. He left headed to where I expect to end tomorrow, having started farther than I had.
While much of the afternoon looked like rain, and while the pavement was often wet, rain didn’t start until after 7 pm, plenty of time for me to set up camp.
*squeak*squeak*squeak*