The Moose River Plains complex covers 79,000 acres of wilderness along which the Cedar River, Moose River, and Otter Creek carve their way to the sea. The Moose River Plains area is a rare thing to find in New York where most camping is done within fairly close proximity to your neighbor in campgrounds which not uncommonly have hundreds of sites. In the Moose River Plains area the designated camp sites are located far from the madding crowds and are all surrounded by the thick North Country bush.
Soon after we left the slab just east of the gate leading to the Moose River Recreation area near the Wakely Dam, I got out at a snowplow turnaround to air down the K2R2 tires for the next 26 miles of bumpy two track dirt roads. As I exited the van an airborne welcome wagon committee of stinging insects subtly showed their excitement at our arrival. During the rest of our stay we will not leave the van again during the heat of the day without insect repellent and a bug head net.
We then came to the entry portal to the Moose River Recreation area, we signed the registration book, collected the last remaining map, and started down the narrow dark two track road to see where our new home would be for the next five days four nights. It was both exciting and uncertain.
Our research prior to our arrival indicated over 100 designated camp sites scattered over 20 miles along this road. But we were both fixated on site 87 about which we had read reviews indicating a beautiful camp site beside some rapids on the South Fork of the Moose River.
We dropped pins on every 10th site like Hansel and Gretel marking our way as we drove west along the road in case we had to return to an alternate camp site. When we finally turned onto Otter Creek Road after 20 miles of slow (15 MPH) careful driving we marked site number 80 and felt the excitement building. After passing signs marking the turnoff for sites 83 and 84 we crossed the bridge over the South Fork of the Moose River where we found site 88 on the opposite bank in the woods. Where was the magical site 87? We continued on all the way to Otter Creek without finding a site we liked. We turned around and drove back. This time we stopped the K2R2 on the other side of the Moose River from site 88 and I walked down an obscure overgrown two track road to find the most beautiful camp site we had seen along the whole way! Perched on a bluff overlooking some rapids in the Moose River was an open valley of wilderness. The rapids just below where we parked the K2R2 was a long set of rapids as the river descended under the old logging road bridge below the point we were on. The first rapid had been augmented by the proverbial busy beavers who had created a large set of beaver ponds behind the dam. Both the ponds and the rapids were perfect for fishing!
The falls at the beaver dam and the rippling waters of the rapids below serenaded us the entire 5 days and 4 nights we were camped there. Coupled with the calls of the Indigo Bunting, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Robin, Blue Jay, White-throated Sparrow, Belted Kingfisher and Raven serenading us as we sat outside the K2R2 we both smiled knowingly that we had yet again been transported to a church cathedral that only God could have created.
