Epic on a small stream
It seemed like a good idea. I like to canoe small streams. Negro Brook is a small stream. Ergo, I would like canoeing Negro Brook.
Negro Brook (on the name, see sidebar on page 39) begins near Onchiota and meanders through the Oregon Sand Plains before joining Twobridge Brook and turning into Sumner Brook, a tributary of the Saranac River.
I had seen Negro Brook many times from the Bloomingdale Bog Trail, which follows an abandoned railroad corridor. The stream flows under the northern part of the trail in three places, and whenever I ran or biked the trail, I promised myself I would paddle it someday.
That day came one early May, when the water was running high. Based on my observations from the trail, my study of the topographical map, and the flat terrain, I looked forward to a leisurely paddle through alder swamps.
On a weekday morning, I drove to the take-out on Sumner Brook in Bloomingdale, dropped off a bicycle, and continued driving three miles to a put-in on Merrill Road,
