Chapter 5: The Erie Canal - Part 1

Cycling along the Erie Canal towpath.

Saturday, June 15 - Thursday, June 27, 2019

Of course we'd heard of the Erie Canal. Who hasn't? I knew about it from the folk song.

From Wikipedia:

The popular song "Low Bridge, Everybody Down" was written in 1905 by Thomas S. Allen after Erie Canal barge traffic was converted from mule power to engine power, raising the speed of traffic. Also known as "Fifteen Years on the Erie Canal", "Fifteen Miles on the Erie Canal", "Erie Canal Song", "Erie Barge Canal", and "Mule Named Sal", the song memorializes the years from 1825 to 1880 when the mule barges made boomtowns out of Utica, Rome, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo, and transformed New York into the Empire State.

The song has been recorded many times but I'm mostly familiar with the recordings done by Pete Seeger and, more recently, Bruce Springsteen. Here are the lyrics. I'll leave it to you to bring up a recording if you've never heard it. Give it a listen. It's part of our history.

I've got a mule and her name is Sal
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
She's a good old worker and a good old pal
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal

We've hauled some barges in our day
Filled with lumber, coal, and hay
And every inch of the way I (we) know
From Albany to Buffalo

Chorus:
Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge cause we're coming to a town
And you'll always know your neighbor
And you'll always know your pal
If you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal

Get up there Sal, we've passed that lock,
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
And we'll make Rome before six o'clock
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal

One more trip and back we'll go
Through the rain and sleet and snow
And every inch of the way I (we) know 
From Albany to Buffalo

Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge for we're coming to a town
And you'll always know your neighbor
And you'll always know your palIf you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal.

We didn't realize that cycling along the canal was something to do until we stayed with our first Warm Showers host, John Whiting, two years ago. He learned about Warm Showers from a cyclist he met on the tour and started hosting as a result. So we learned about cycling the canal from a Warm Showers host, bringing it full circle.

We spent 13 days meandering along the canal trail and found it to be a wonderful blend of peaceful scenery, relaxing riding, generous and friendly people, and fascinating history.

I was surprised to learn that the Erie Canal actually went through three iterations.  The first canal, begun in 1817 and completed in 1825, was built by engineers who didn't know what they were doing when they started, but learned as they went along. It was dug by hand, 4 feet deep, 40 feet wide, with 83 locks each 90 feet long, covering 363 miles from Albany to Buffalo. Barges were pulled by mules guided by boys and young men along a tow path next to the canal.

The first canal was extremely successful, making enough money to pay for itself and the New York State House. It opened up the western part of the United States for commerce, and cities and towns along its route came into being and prospered.

But the railroad threatened to make the canal obsolete. In 1862 the enlarged canal was opened, 7 feet deep, 70 feet wide, with locks 110 feet long. In some cases the course of the canal was changed.

But the biggest change came in the early 1900s when barges could be propelled by tugboats. The original canal was frequently abandoned as the newer barge canal could take advantage of rivers along the way.

This is the first lock we saw in Waterford, just 14 miles from Albany. Boats enter from here if they are going upstream.

The view from the other side. The lock opens to let the boats in.

Here comes the first boat.

The people on the boat have put out their bumpers and they grab a couple of the lines hanging from the side of the lock.

More boats followed. This was first thing Monday morning, June 17, after a day of pouring rain when most of the boats took the day off. Once all the boats are secure the water starts rising.

The boats have risen.

The gate opens.

And off they go.

Day 9: Saturday, 6/15/19  14 miles to Waterford, NY
Free camping at Erie Canal Lock

We didn't leave Albany until around 4:00 after spending the morning and afternoon being tourists. We explored the Empire State Plaza, took a tour of the State House, and spent a little time in the State Museum.

Day 10: Sunday, 6/16/19   Rest Day
Free camping at Erie Canal Lock

We spent a rainy day in Waterford, NY, where a very kind boating couple took us in.