Up until the early 1800’s, the Appalachian Mountains formed an almost impenetrable barrier to horse-powered commerce with territories and settlements to the west. There were no realistic routes for a canal or waterway to the mid-West from the East Coast, except in New York state where the Mohawk valley separates the Catskill and Adirondack chains of the Appalachian mountains. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the need to connect the newly acquired interior of the country to the coast became urgent for commercial, political and military reasons. After much delay, in 1816 NY Governor DeWitt Clinton got legislative approval and funding to build what is known as the Erie Canal through the Mohawk Valley - the route through which we are about to embark upon.
From the Waterford Harbor Visitor Center docks, the first lock of the Erie canal stood straight in front of us. Climbing up the hill and looking into the chamber and figuring out what we needed to do gave us greater confidence to face what we knew were a number of locks in rapid succession. The first lock on the Erie Canal is Lock 2 (there is no Lock 1, unless you count the Troy Federal Lock as that).
Erie Canal Lock 2
Erie Canal Lock 2 from above (filled chamber)
The historic original canal next to Lock 2
The Waterford Flight is an engineering wonder that features 5 locks where vessels are lifted 169 feet in elevation within 2 miles and here they are, the remaining fabulous four:
Erie Canal Locks 3 and 4
Erie Canal Locks 5 and 6 - Completing the Waterford Flight!
It took us about two hours to get through the five locks - and the anxiety we faced was probably more in our minds than anything. Each of the locks we faced had lines/ropes hanging down from the top. We just grabbed them by hand fore and aft - and held on until the chambers filled up. After 5 locks, we were then on the Mohawk River – majestic, silent and broad. After enjoying the scenery going at a rather slow (for Salty) 5-10 knots, we encountered ~10 miles downstream the Vischer Ferry Lock (Erie Canal Lock 7).
Vischer Ferry - Erie Canal Lock 7
After Lock 7 and wending our way through the relatively picturesque and green backyards of Albany and Schenectady, we decided that our best option for an overnight stay was the Mohawk Harbor Marina – part of the brand spanking new Schenectady harborfront, complete with casinos, hotels, restaurants and condos. As it is the beginning of the season we are practically the only ones here and probably amongst the first to place our vessel on these marvelous new floating docks with WiFi that works (!).
Amazing brand new marina!
Nightlife for night time
Tomorrow we will undertake an excursion to Mabee Farm Historic Site. The farm is located along the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail that we can access right outside the marina.