NFCT: Going up the Clyde River/Stream/Swamp and how the Nulhegan ate our Canoe.

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So it has been a long and arduous journey UP the clyde river which is very labryinthine and swampy and beaverish and slow moving. You definitely get to see a lot of river birds (we saw some hawks, ospreys, and a bald eagle) and it is kind of easy to get turned around, but after a long day of oxbows, reeds, blowdowns (lots of trees in front of the river), lillypads and rain we made it twenty miles up the Clyde to Island Pond! It was late and Brett and I decided to grab an all you can eat Seafood platter for 9.95 at the Clyde River Motel (formely the infamous Zoo). We met up with a nice fellow named Al Goulet who put us up in a nice little room with a couple of beds and a movie! Now that's the life!

Early the next morning we set off across Island Pond (it's a beautiful area and any paddlers going through Brighton State Park can stay as long as they would like to resupply and gear up according to a nice employee there) and portaged to the Nulhegan River. Which also at first is VERY oxbowed and slow moving, but it was fun. Up until the decent and the boulder fields. Now folks it is important to not overestimate your ability to navigate these boulder fields and rapid water and I don't think we overestimated, but shortly after a portage that skipped some much more intense rapids. We put back in and started down a couple more boulder fields, the water was high, but just high enough to hide a rock or two from sight. We made it down two of the boulder fields, but on the third one we got the middle of the canoe stuck on a rock and we stopped moving. Funny thing about not moving in the middle of a river, you stop and the water doesn't, so the canoe started turning and then it started rotating and next thing you know there is a couple hundred gallons of water going in our canoe every second! So our canoe is pinned water has filled it, and a couple of things got away, luckily we are safe and the canoe is fine as well (it was stuck on two rocks, which I believe prevented it from tacoing).

Things that the Nulhegan ate that day:
1.) Nalgene half filled with Tang
2.) Day pack filled with one water bottle and Nalgene 'Big Cup' and Binoculars
3.) One Paddle
4.) One Sigg Bottle
5.) Our Dignity
6.) Our Pride
7.) Rope Bag

After taking all the gear that the river didn't take and moving it to shore and unpinning the canoe (that's right with all 250 gallons of water and a hell of a bail job standing in waist deep fast moving water- HUZAH!) we moved it to shore, checked over the canoe, our gear and stuff, grabbed what we needed for the night and hoofed it toward Bloomfield.
After a long walk into Bloomfield (Population: 0 -except for some nice kid named Mckenzie). We realized there was no motel and we called Mr. T(ownsend) for help. Luckily he came and picked us up for the night gave us a place to stay and dropped us back the following day where Brett and I went back in and navigated down to the East Branch of the Nulhegan (Algonquin for "Deadfall Trap Place").

So here is the good news, some of our stuff the Nulhegan didn't want and we were able to retrieve as we floated downstream:
1.) One Paddle (Now named "Lazurus"
2.) One Sigg Bottle
3.) Humility (which has replaced our lost pride).

Remember folks always where your life jacket, safety first, and a river is a powerful thing, show it some respect.

In other news, we camped at another Slug infested place and have been inspired to name our canoe the "Green Slug". If anyone knows the answers to the following questions we would love to know them.

1.) How are slug babies made (do they hatch from eggs?)
2.) What is the Slug juice that they make?
3.) Why do the LOVE camping gear?
4.) Why does salt kill them?

Thanks that's all for now. Now we are going to ATTEMPT to go up the Amanoosuc and the Androscroggin, we should be in Maine by this weekend if all goes well.

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Photos

All the Fisherman on Memphremagog
This is the hot spot for fishing on this huge lake.

Log Jam on the Clyde
The river is on either side of this.

That's right
I can walk on the water.

Comments

[tiffany]

slug info--gross!
MUCUS Slugs have two types of mucus: one which is thin and watery comes from the glands of the foot epithelium, the other which is thick and sticky comes from the pedal gland and originates at the front of the foot.The thin mucus is spread out form the centre of the foot to the edges,the thick mucus spreads out from front to back. The whole surface of the body produces also mucus.The pedal gland of Limax is embedded in the foot muscle,in Milax it lies in the haemocoel on top of the foot. Mucus is very important in the slugs life for moving around.Mucus contains fibers which prevents the slug from sliding down vertical surfaces. Because slugs don't have a shell to protect them they use mucus for this purpose. Mucus also prevents the slug from drying out,it absorbs water. In navigation mucus comes also in handy,and some species use slime cords to lower themselves on the ground and during mating(Limacidae). Some species have pigmented mucus,for example yellow in Arion subfuscus. REPRODUCTION Slugs are hermaphroditic,which means that they have both female and male reproductive organs. Often a slug will follow another slugs mucus trail and eat it.Then the slugs circle around eachother.The genitalia are being pushed out,often visible as a bluish swelling on the right side of the body.The slugs move closer together and the genitalia make contact.Sperm is transferred in the form of spermatophores. The Great Grey Garden slug often mates in midair hanging on a slime cord. two slugs mating their genitalia are pushed out pictures courtesey of this site. In the case of Bananaslugs something else happens,it is called apophallation. What it means is that one slug will bite off the penis of the other. Because the penis cannot regrow the castrated slug is forced to be "female" and offer eggs. FERTILISATION AND EGG LAYING The spermatophore passes to the spermatheca where the outer layer is digested and the sperm released.Some of it pass to the hermaphrodite duct where it fertilises the eggs. The place where fertilisation takes place is a part between the hermaphrodite duct and albumen gland,called the fertilisation pocket. Between mating and egg laying is usually a short period,for Agriolimax reticulatus this is 8-10 days and for Arion ater some weeks. In a lot of species self-fertilisation is normal(Agriolimax agrestis,A.meridionalis,A.laevis),although in some species (Agriolimax reticulatus)this is rarely the case. Normally eggs are diposed in holes in the ground.Ofcourse the number of eggs and size depends on the species.Vaginulus borellianus lays 610-1365 eggs in 8-13 batches in a continious string.Agriolimax reticulatus lays about 500 eggs in batches of up to 33 eggs.

[Corinne]

Slugs
Well besides the fact that, holy cow, sounds like quite an adventure (glad you're ok, sorry you lost stuff, glad you reclaimed some of it), I'm writing to answer hopefully all of your slug-related questions. No, unfortunately, this doesn't come from personal expertise on these gastropod mullusks, but instead from the reliable wikipedia: 1.) How are slug babies made (do they hatch from eggs?) This is going to disturb you. Well, first, slugs are hermaphrodites. When a slug locates a mate, they circle each other, do their DNA-exchange, and a few days later, about 30 eggs are laid in a hole. Now, according to Wiki, a commonly seen practice among slugs is "apophallation," when one slug CHEWS OFF the other's penis. 2.) What is the Slug juice that they make? 3.) Why do the LOVE camping gear? 4.) Why does salt kill them?

[valerie]

slugs babies!
They mate the regular way, then put their fertilized eggs in a hole in the ground to hatch. And because this is my forte: Slug juice is mucus! It keeps their bodies from drying out. When you salt them, they die, because the salt absorbs all their body moisture.

[Lisa]

In true geek-dome, Luke, I know the answer to your slug questions (well, some of them) thanks to Animal Behavior 101...or well, 240. Slugs like to wrap themselves in slug juice when Marvin Gaye starts playing...I saw a video! hahaha, I know, I know....and I believe they lay eggs. ....hm, yes, I'm going to lock that in as my final answer. Salt kills them because of osmosis: water leaves their body, causing dehydration. Impressive, hey, who knows about slug sex? I am happy to hear you survived the Nulhegan, and she finally relinquished your paddle. Best of luck crossing back into Maine—awesome adventure!

[megan]

Answers to your slug question
I hereby give you a ranger rick article on slugs: Title:SLIMY, SLITHERY, SLUGS AND SNAILS. Author(s):Ellen Lambeth. Source:Ranger Rick 35.4 (April 2001): p.23. (1006 words) From General OneFile. Document Type:Magazine/Journal Bookmark:Bookmark this Document Library Links: Full Text :COPYRIGHT 2001 National Wildlife Federation Take a good look at this sneaky snail and its little hitchhiking pal. Slimeballs like these could be prowling your neighborhood right now. Can you track 'em down? Read on for clues to help you investigate these oozers and their partners in slime. What has a head connected to its foot, which is also its belly? Did you guess a snail, like the one in the photo below? If that's your final answer, then you're absolutely right! Scientists even call a snail a "belly-foot." It just sounds better when they say it, because they use the scientific name: gastropod. Snails are soft, squishy animals with simple bodies. So are their shell-less cousins, the slugs. Snails and slugs come in all sizes, shapes, and colors and live in all kinds of places. Some snails live in the ocean. You sometimes see their shells washed up on the beach. There are sea slugs too. They have colorful bodies but no shells. Some snails live in freshwater. Maybe you've found them in ponds or even in aquariums. But the snails and slugs on these pages all live on land. If you look, you might find some like them right in your own backyard. Nighttime's the right time to look for land snails and slugs. That's especially true during warm weather when it's also muggy or drizzly. But what if it's not the right time? Then search for these slimy guys in their hideouts. Try any place that's dark and damp, such as under a pile of leaves or an upside-down flowerpot. Your first clue is a silvery trail of slime. WHICH IS WHICH? The main difference between snails and slugs is the shells: Snails have 'em; slugs don't. The common garden snail at left can scrunch into its shell when the weather's not right. But the colorful slug below seems to get along just fine without a shell. Bet you can see why it's called a banana slug! The slug above is almost a snail, but not quite. Can you find the tiny almost-shell on its back? SHELL A hard "home" that grows in swirls as the snail grows. See the growth lines, like rings in a tree trunk? FOOT Crawling body part. Muscles in the foot move in waves like a bulldozer's tread. That helps push the animal forward on a layer of slime. TENTACLES Eyes at the tips of the long ones see light and dark. Short ones feel around and sense food. Both kinds can be pulled into the head for safety. BREATHING HOLE On a slug's right side. In a snail, it's under the edge of the shell. MANTLE A protective "coat" of thick skin on a slug's back. On a snail, it's under the shell. A gland in the mantle makes the material that forms the snail's growing shell. PRIME SLIME TIME! The coolest thing about slugs and snails is their goo. Without it, they're nowhere. The ooey-gooey stuff has another name besides slime: mucus (MYOO-kuss). Mucus oozes from a gland in the front of the foot. Sometimes it's sticky and sometimes it's slippery, depending on where the creature is crawling. It protects the animal's body from sharp surfaces--even a razor's edge (above). Yowie! Slime helps a snail or slug get around. Here's how: 1) The animal oozes out some mucus, 2) it moves little muscles in its foot, and 3) it slides forward on top of the slime layer. Hey, maybe it's easier to use someone else's slime layer! (left) The slug above is trying a really slick trick. It's dangling from its own "rope" of slime to climb from leaf to leaf. Slime also helps keep moisture in the body and dirt and germs out. Some snails and slugs can make a slimy foam that grosses out an enemy until it loses its appetite. And slime can be useful when the weather gets too hot or cold or too dry. A snail just seals off the opening to its shell with a thick plug of slime. Ahhh, cozy and safe inside! MAMAS AND PAPAS Believe it or not, a single slug or snail is both a mom and a dad. But each one still needs to find a mate. It's like two families in one. The pair of them fertilize each other's eggs. Then off each one goes to lay its own eggs. It might leave its eggs under some leaves or in another moist hiding spot. Or it might drop them down a hole dug into the soil, as this one is doing. Plip! Plop! Plup! The weirdest thing is, the eggs are coming from a hole at the snail's front end! After a couple of weeks or so, tiny, pale copies of the adults will break out of the eggs. That's what the little guy in the small photo above is doing. This baby slug is checking out the world for the very first time. Slugs and snails have plenty of enemies. Looks as if the salamander at left has just picked a fresh banana--a banana slug, that is! Toads, moles, mice, and snakes are just a few of the other animals that dine big-time on slimers. Even people sometimes eat snails--some people anyway! And there are some birds that eat nothing but snails. Snails and slugs eat lots of different things too. Some eat dead or living animals, sometimes even each other. But many eat mostly plant parts. The garden slug below left is about to make a meal of a juicy, ripe strawberry. Inside a slug's or snail's mouth is a tongue-like tool with a very rough surface (see close-up drawing below). This tool is called a radula (RAD-joo-lah). It works like a file to scrape off bits of food. Now you know just how cool snails and slugs are, right? So don't be sluggish. Don't move at a snail's pace. Hop right up and get outside, quick! Maybe you'll meet a snail or slug in your neighborhood that you can get to know a lot better! = Hope that helps!!!!!!

[John]

Canoe
I'm glad your safe,I'm even more happy you didn't borrow my canoe!!