I’ve found that the keys to successful weekday morning pre-work paddling are:
- Use a launch that is 20 or fewer minutes from home
- Plan the paddling route ahead of time to estimate how long it will take
- Do as much preparation as possible on the evening prior to paddling:
- Put kayak on car
- Gather supplies and clothes together
- Leave the house by 7:00am
I was hoping to get out last Tuesday, but didn’t do #2 or #3, and got moving too late for #4. I had better luck today. I launched from Solley Cove Park and paddled upstream on Marley Creek until a little ways past Rt 10. It’s about 3.5 miles one way, and today was the first time I’ve paddled this far along it. It’s kind of like a different world there — very nice and secluded, with lots of waterfowl. The water was deep enough that I didn’t have to worry much about bottoming out. I probably could have gotten a little farther than I did, but the creek was getting narrow and there were a lot of downed branches, and I didn’t want to get stranded by a receding tide (turns out I was there near high tide, but I didn’t know that at the time). I was on the water for a little over 2 hours. The morning started off in the upper 40s, but warmed to near 60 by the time I finished. Initially, I wore my wetsuit, paddling hoodie, neoprene paddling socks and boots, paddling jacket, and pogies. I ditched the pogies after a couple of miles, and at my turnaround point, I traded the hoodie for a hat. Along the way, I saw the usual bevy of blue heron, cormorants, gulls, ducks, geese, and at least one bald eagle. It was a great morning for a paddle, with very little wind (unlike the same day last year). That was my final paddle of 2023, and I suspect today will end up being 2024’s swan song, but as they say, you never know!