I concur with the clockwise route. We did that trip in the summer of '12 and loved it. Having said that, friends set out to do it this year and waited at Waterford because of the flooding and related lock and dam damage. After two weeks they gave up the wait and headed up the Champlain Canal and completed the trip counterclockwise. Their take-away was that the current was manageable. By the time their trip was winding down the Erie was once again passable. They just saw it "backwards"! Regards, Randy Pickelmann Morning Star www.CruisingMorningStar.com Sent from my iPad