Fruddled Gruntbugglies

Enthralling readers since 2005

Category: Kayaking

  • Paddling Report

    Now that fall is well underway, I’m trying to fit as much paddling in to my schedule as I can before it gets too cold. Today, we headed to the eastern shore, put in at the Wye Island public canoe/kayak launch on Granary Creek, and paddled out to Pickering Creek Audubon Center and back. The total distance was around 6.5 miles. A large portion of the route was on the Wye River. This stretch had a lot of boats, most of which were stationary or slow-moving and appeared to be fishing or crabbing. We did not see any recreational boat traffic, and only had to deal with a very occasional wake. Weekends might be a different story, though. Once we entered Pickering Creek, we had the water to ourselves. We paddled until it got too narrow/shallow, then turned around, and I took out briefly at the Audubon Center and found a cache. There is a canoe launch next to the boat house, although the take-out is a little bit tricky because it is at a set of stairs (similar to the Wye Island launch, actually). It was nice to get out and stretch before paddling back. We had a slight headwind the rest of the way, but not enough to really slow us down. I was still dragging a bit from the cold I’ve been battling for the past 3 or 4 days, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from getting out on the water on a beautiful day, especially at this point in the season. Although I was slowing down somewhat by the time we finished, I felt OK for most of the paddle. It probably helped that I slept almost 10 hours last night.

    One of these years, I would like to come here and circumnavigate Wye Island. I read somewhere that it is 12 to 13 miles, which is definitely doable, especially if there are places to take out periodically and stretch.

    A few quick notes about the Wye Island launch: while there are picnic tables and grills, there are no bathroom facilities. Launch is at the bottom of a set of stairs. There is a kayak ramp to facilitate put-in, but need to bring rope to use it effectively. Put-in will be easiest at low tide. Closed November through March for wintering waterfowl.

  • Park run

    Humidity is back in central Maryland for the time being. No one was available to climb this morning, so I decided to take a rare Friday run instead. Once again, I took a pass on school-day traffic and ran in the park. I extended the run to around 8.5 miles by running all the way out to the Ilchester bridge and back on the Grist Mill Trail. I could extend this route to 10 miles rather easily, by crossing under the railroad tracks near Lost Lake, and running out past the Soapstone trailhead to where the road ends and back. My right hamstring is still stiff. I stretched it out a bit by doing some sprints towards the end of the run, which was uncomfortable, but I think will be good for it in the long term. Depending on the weather, I may take a shorter run tomorrow as well.

    Random kayaking note: a post on Facebook clued me in to another place to paddle in A.A. County: Stoney Creek from Green Haven Wharf in Pasadena. At 25 minutes’ drive, it’s a bit farther than Solley’s Cove, but might be a nice place to check out, either in the coming weeks, or next year. Looks like it would be a 4-mile round trip paddle to the Fort Smallwood Rd bridge and back, with several side creeks to optionally extend the voyage.

  • Paddle Notes

    I got out for my annual paddle along the tidal Patapsco this morning, putting in at Southwest Area Park at around 7:45am, just before the 8:00am predicted high tide at Fort McHenry. I paddled about 3.5 miles upstream and back, for a total of 7 miles, which I believe is a new distance record for me on this particular stretch of river. Usually, shallow water prevents me from getting too far upstream of the B/W Parkway overpass, but today, the water was navigable all the way past the Baltimore Beltway overpass. I could have gone farther, but ended up turning around because I wanted to be home by 11.

    Southwest Area Park was quite busy this morning with people launching, fishing, etc. It was the first time I had been there on a weekend in several years. To be honest, I had been kind of avoiding it on weekdays recently, because there always seemed to be sketchy people hanging around using various substances, etc. I may stick to weekends going forward, as I did not get that vibe this morning.

    This part of the river has not changed much in the year since I last paddled here. On the upstream leg, the stretch between the launch and the MD 648 overpass was stagnant and murky, with no current at all, and a dismaying amount of trash floating around. It really made me wish I had brought some trash bags, and I’m going to try to remember to do that going forward. On the return leg, the breeze had picked up and the water had a few more ripples (as well as a couple of wakes from small boats). I also noticed a lot less trash — way too much to have blown anywhere in that short amount of time — so I am thinking someone must have picked a bunch of it up, which makes me feel a little bit better about the state of humanity.

    The best part of the paddle was the stretch upstream of 648, out towards 295 and 695. This part of the river has a little bit of a current, and the water is much clearer as well. It can be a challenge to navigate the shallow sections, but it was much easier today at high tide. I turned around just shy of the Halethorpe Ponds area, which is somewhere I have been wanting to check out as both a paddling area and a potential put-in. I am curious if it would be possible to get as far upstream as US 1 and the Thomas Viaduct. I suspect I won’t find out until next year at the earliest, but you never know.

  • Paddling Again

    We finally got out paddling again this morning, for the first time since mid July. While I’m normally not a huge fan of paddling during the dog days of summer, most years I do get out at least once or twice through late July and August, so this year was a bit of an anomaly. In my opinion, September and October are the best months of the year for paddling in this area, but this September kicked off with a massive heat wave that was great for swimming in the pool, but not so great for paddling. Looks like the sweltering weather is behind us for now, so going forward, I’m hoping to get out about once a week, until it gets too cold.

    Today brought us to Solley’s Cove Park in Anne Arundel County, where I have launched numerous times. It’s one of my “go to” places when I’m looking for something 20 minutes or less from home (if I recall, I took my last paddle of 2022 here). This used to be an unofficial “locals only” launch area that was accessible by parking at the nearby American Legion, and carrying the boats down a 100′-or-so path to a small sandy beach. That access point is still there, but a couple of years ago, the county built a public boat ramp, soft kayak launch, and parking area, which is a much nicer and more convenient place to launch. I suspect it’s more popular on weekends now, but it was very quiet on this pleasant, breezy Thursday morning. There are lots of places to paddle here, but today, we headed upstream to Furnace Creek, paddling all the way out past Rt 10, and continuing until it got too shallow. Our total distance was about 4.2 miles — not the longest paddle in the world, but enough to scratch the itch. I won’t be able to paddle next week, but hope to get out one morning the week of the 25th to paddle a little bit on the Patapsco River.

  • Morning Paddle Notes

    This morning, we launched the kayaks at Sassafras Landing and paddled around 5 miles on Miller Creek, which feeds into Little Assawoman Bay. Nice paddle with plenty of wildlife, particularly birds, including herons, cranes, and ospreys. It’s definitely important to get out early this time of year to beat all of the recreational boaters. It was pretty quiet when we launched at around 8:15am, with just a few other boats and personal watercraft out, but it was definitely getting busier, and heating up, as we took out. Sassafras landing is a nice put-in from a sandy beach, but there are many other options for accessing this body of water. Four years ago, we put in at the Kent Ave ramp in South Bethany, which is on the Assawoman Canal to the north. In 2021, we launched a little south of here from the dock behind the house where my brother and sister-in-law’s family was staying. On the south side of the peninsula where we launched today is Mulberry Landing, which looks like another boat ramp. Next time we paddle here, I might check one of these other locations out. Once again, though, definitely need to get out early — preferably before 8:00am.

  • Millsboro Pond

    Today’s paddle brought us to Millsboro Pond in Sussex County, DE. This is about a 30 minute drive west from where we are staying in Bethany Beach. I had paddled here at about the same time last year, and wanted to come back with my better half. We spent 90 leisurely minutes on the water and covered about 3 miles. The area of the pond to the north of the boat launch is mostly undeveloped, shallow, and scenic, with lots of wildlife. We saw numerous herons, turtles, dragonflies, damselflies, and various and sundry other creatures. Lily pads are plentiful, and there are a lot of really nice little side channels to explore. I believe this is a man-made pond. I’ve never paddled south from the launch, where I presume the dam is located. From what I’ve seen from the road, that part of the pond is more developed, with numerous docks, waterfront homes, artificial erosion barriers, etc., all of which make it less desirable for paddling in my book (if I wanted developed shoreline, all I have to do is drive 15 minutes from home to Anne Arundel County). There are several geocaches placed around the north end of the pond, and that’s what initially brought me here. I found several of them last year, and a couple of them today, leaving a couple more for a future visit.

    I’m hoping to get out in the kayaks one more time while we are at the shore. I’ve been eying Strawberry Landing or nearby Sassafras Landing, both of which are 15 to 20 minutes south of Bethany, and will give us an opportunity to check out Little Assawoman Bay. I rode my bike to the Sassafras Landing launch last year, and it looked like a nice place to paddle.

  • Paddle Notes

    We paddled at Rocky Gorge Reservoir this morning, for the first time since 2020. We used the launch at Scott’s Cove Recreation Area, which is within the magical 20-minute drive radius of home, and paddled about 5.5 miles, looping out to the US 29 overpass and back. With the oppressively humid air and the predicted high of 90°F later today (not to mention the daily thunderstorms), we got out early, putting in at 8:30 and taking out almost exactly 2 hours later. In addition to the humidity, there was very little wind, but fortunately, the sun mostly stayed behind clouds while we were out. On the return leg, we even had some light showers, which felt very refreshing. It was not a bad paddle, and there were several other people out on the water on this quasi-holiday Monday morning. The only thing keeping me from coming here more often is the $5/person fee that WSSC charges for a daily watershed usage permit. It’s not that I mind paying the fee, it’s just that there are other nearby places that are just as convenient and free. With all of that said, it’s a nice place to paddle, and I think I’ll try to get out here once or twice a year going forward.

  • Paddle Notes

    Cathy and I headed to Middle River, MD today and checked out Dundee Creek, where we had not previously paddled before. The put-in is at Marshy Point Nature Center, just to the south of the nature center building, from a floating dock at the end of a several-hundred-foot-long pier. Definitely bring a set of wheels, or a partner to help carry. It’s an easy put-in once you get there, though.

    Dundee Creek runs on the north side of Marshy Point, and Saltpeter Creek is on the south side. The two converge and feed into the Gunpowder River, which in turn feeds into (of course) the Chesapeake Bay. All of these are tidal estuaries. We were there near low tide, but we mostly avoided the shallow side channels. Marshy Point has set up a nice paddle trail, which we followed using the provided GPS coordinates. The paddle trail would probably be about 2 miles if we had gone directly point-to-point, but we meandered around and stretched it out to 3 miles. Almost all of the shoreline here is lined with reeds, which we learned are invasive Phragmites australis. It is kind of scary how it has taken over almost every inch of real estate along the shore.

    For a Tuesday morning, there were a lot of people out on the water — a bunch of people kayak fishing, a ranger-led canoe tour, and several folks out in identical sit-on-top kayaks, who I figured must have been together, although I’m not sure where they launched (possibly from the nearby Dundee Creek Marina). Definitely plenty of room for everyone, as the creek is essentially a very large expanse of open water.

    This was a nice place to paddle, but given that it’s 35 to 40 minutes’ drive from home, I probably won’t be coming here all that often (although I do enjoy the hiking trails here). Nice to have checked it out, though, and I’m sure I’ll return one of these days.

  • Today’s Paddle

    Today, I got out on the kayak for my second paddle of 2023. My first time out was a week ago Tuesday, when I launched from Homeport Farm Park and spent an hour or two paddling on Church Creek. I am always on the lookout for places to launch that are 20 or fewer minutes’ drive from home. Today, I tried one I hadn’t used before: Baltimore Rowing & Water Resource Center in Middle Branch Park. They have a floating dock where you can drop in on the Patapsco Middle Branch just west of the Hanover Street Bridge. There is a driveway leading right up to the dock, but it was gated shut when I arrived at 8:30am (and still gated when I took out at around 11am), so I parked in the lot a short distance away and wheeled the kayak to the dock. It wasn’t a long carry (maybe 200-300′ or so). The put-in was easy, with the surface of the dock floating at about the same height as my kayak.

    I paddled just over 5 miles, starting out to the east, crossing under the Hanover Street Bridge, and hugging the shoreline past Harbor Hospital and then across towards Masonville Cove. Still sticking mostly to the shore, I continued past the dredging barge and crane, then around the MC “crab claw” and past the dock (still blanketed with goose poop, just like last year). I then headed over to visit Captain Trash Wheel, then along the western shore of MC, and back out across the water and back to the launch. It was a nice, pleasant paddle, with the temperatures in the 60s, calm winds, and smooth, glassy water. I saw one other kayaker out, as well as a couple of small fishing boats, and a whole bunch of folks fishing off the shoreline.

    When I returned to the launch, there were several canoes out. I know that Baltimore Rec & Parks runs programs here, so I wondered if this was one of them. I took out uneventfully at the dock, and the canoes started heading back in as I was packing my stuff up to take back to the car.

    This put-in worked pretty well, and seems like a nice alternative to putting in at Southwest Area Park (which has gotten a bit of a sketchy vibe to it over the past few years). I’ll probably launch here again. I noticed that there was another dock a few hundred feet to the east, that seemed to be popular with fishermen, and had what looked (from a distance) to be a dedicated kayak-specific put-in. I chose not to take out there, because there were more people there, and it looked like a longer carry to the car. However, I may investigate it further next time.

  • Early Fall Ramblings

    It’s that time of year where I always feel like summer has slipped away before I had the chance to do everything I wanted. This year, in particular, I didn’t get out in the kayak very much; lately, though, I’ve been making up for that. Last weekend, Michael and I joined a few of my geocaching friends for a really nice 9-mile paddle on the Patuxent River in southern Maryland, and today, Cathy and I drove over the bridge for a morning paddle on the headwaters of the Chester River. I love paddling this time of year, as the temperatures and humidity start to drop and the leaves start to turn. I hope to get out one or two times in October. I’ve occasionally considered starting to acquire some colder-water paddling gear, so that I can keep paddling later into fall and early winter, but have yet to take the plunge. It seems like a paddling jacket, wetsuit and neoprene socks might be an economical way to extend the season for a few weeks. Then, I could see if I get enough use out of that gear to warrant a larger investment in a dry suit, which would allow for year-round paddling.

    Many years, I find myself wishing that I had gotten in our pool more often, but not this year. According to Apple Health, today was my 83rd time in the pool in 2021. Working from home 3 days a week provides more opportunities to swim during the day, as I can keep an eye on the weather and pick the best time to jump in the pool. The weather this month has helped to extend the season, as well — we have had a lot of sunny days, and no extended runs of cool, damp weather, which is what led to the early demise of last year’s pool season. I can’t even remember the last time I was in our pool as late as September 30. We will see how long we can keep the season alive. In October, the leaves make it tougher and tougher to keep the pool clean, and eventually you reach a point of diminishing returns, where the hassle of cleaning the pool exceeds the desire to swim.

    I am hoping to do a little bit of outdoor top-rope climbing this fall. I have still been climbing regularly at the gym, and still really enjoy it. Earlier this year, I picked up some equipment to rig up a top-rope self belay. When I can get my act together, I want to head to Ilchester or Alberton Rocks and do a couple hours of solo top-rope and rappelling. I had been waiting for cooler, less humid weather, and it seems like it’s here now.

    Anyhow, that’s enough for now…