This morning, I headed back to Homeport Farm Park (near Edgewater) to paddle, for the second time this year. The launch is along Church Creek, a small tributary of the South River. It also provides easy access to Crab Creek, another tributary just to the east. Being 30-35 minutes’ drive from home, this ordinarily wouldn’t be a frequent paddling location for me. However, back in 2020, I adopted a couple of geocaches along Church Creek, and have since placed several more here as well, so I typically come here once or twice a year to check on them. Today was another very mild day, with highs in the 70s. However, based on the forecast, this may be the last time this season that I paddle without a wet suit. I hit the water at 8:30am, and hardly anyone else was out. No other cars were parked at HFP when I arrived, or when I left 2 hours later. I saw one boat speed by on the South River, way off in the distance. There were a few sailboats still anchored from overnight. All in all, a pretty quiet morning on the water. It definitely pays to get out early, especially on weekends.

When I come here, I often start by heading upstream on Church Creek, but today, with a receding tide, I opted to head out to the river and paddle up Crab Creek instead. While I had paddled out to the mouth of Crab Creek before, I had never gone all the way upstream. The round trip was about 5 miles. It’s typical Anne Arundel County coastline, with lots of development, and a few natural areas mixed in, particularly around the shallow headwaters. The fall foliage is nearing its peak, and there were a lot of leaves floating in the water. It’s a great time of year to paddle. I hope to get out one or two more times this year, but we’ll see if the weather and my schedule will cooperate.