High point of the trip so far, in sea level terms, from here on to the St. Lawrence River we will be going downhill. Locking down to Lake Champlain and points North.
Tied up tonight just North of Lock 8 listed as “Quiet rural setting. We do have an audience, but they seem quite friendly.
Uneventful day except for a long delay while dredging operations busied about, spent about an hour loitering below lock 7 before the tugs and barges were sorted. Then it was our turn.
Have to hang tight when these biggies fill, just like going up in an elevator.
Of course after each lock one gets to see the river channel.
Then on towards “Bald Head”Mountain, with the top down, not for comfort but for those pesky low bridges..
and flood control gates, all duck down.
Past Saratoga where Benedict Arnold decided the right side was the wrong side for him, pity, he was a fine soldier.
Not much to see from the water the actual battle was over the hill.
Finally into Lock 8
and out and tied to the wall for the night, nothing much to see back there
or up ahead
Tomorrow Lake Champlain.
Boadicea's Chariot 
Never did get to go to upper NY state, so very interesting pictures.
It looks a bit home from home from your neck of the woods, (Monmouthshire/Gwent)
What are the majority of species of trees?
Hello Mrs. O. Thought those cows looked familiar, Herefords or similar.
Yes somewhat similar, to the lower valleys, the canal is in places cut through the solid rock, the construction scars can still be seen, looks like that Pre-Cambrian stuff. This whole area was scraped pretty bare during the Glaciation period (that’s all I remember from fourth form Geology)
Mostly deciduous trees, making the area a major tourist attraction for the leaf spotting crowds in the fall. Away from the river a bit are a lot of big named places Saratoga Springs, the Adirondack Mountains etc. don’t see much of that down here, mostly old industrial towns built around the water power.
And you call this a pleasure cruise? Looks like hard work and hassle to me, LW.
Hello Sheona: I never think moving a small boat several thousand miles is a pleasure cruise. It is work, when the boat is running it is all attention, to the markers or the locks or the wind and the tide. After we haul in somewhere for the night and check the engine, the generator and the batteries, we can afford a few hours of relaxation (always after the blog is written of course). More a busman’s holiday as my mum used to call it. But well worth the effort made in most cases. We are usually sound asleep by ten pm and have not turned the TV on since New Jersey. Not a bad life everything considered.
Morning LW
Is there a fee for progressing through the locks? They obviously require staffing and maintenance.
Morning Soutie: Yes there is a fee, based on boat length, I bought a season pass for any New York Canal lock during 2013, multiple transits are allowed, total cost $100 for a 44 foot boat. Includes overnight mooring on lock entrance and exit walls. Very reasonable.
Unbelievably cheap more like it!
Thank you LW and the cost of the ‘giant’s causeway’ one up in Ottawa?
Are they (NY & Ottawa) the only 2 you traverse?
Hello Soutie: As we exit Lake Champlain we will be in Quebec, Canada. The Richleau River/Canal system runs North to the St. Lawrence River at Sorel. The Canal is separately charged, I think the transit fee (once through) is about $50.
There are five locks on the St Lawrence River between Sorel and Montreal (big ship locks that are part of the St. Lawrence Seaway) they are $50 each.
The Rideau Canal starts at Ottawa and transit is about $100 for about thirty locks including the flight of 8 at Ottawa.
When we come back across Lake Ontario we will be back in the New York System and my season ticket is good for the Erie Canal (27 locks).
89 locks total, we are at about number twenty.
Got it, that’s a lotta locks and a fair amount of dough. You’ve explained the system quite nicely, thank you.