Potomac Paddle
I took the kayak out recently for a largely successful short journey. First upstream, then down. Get the harder paddle over with first. Turns out it was a little more work than I’d thought. Next time, I’ll check the water flow on the web first.
I was able to get some tips from an experienced paddler there. He gave me the picture of what the river was doing and recommended somethings. It’s always good to get local advice! The current was high, although not near flood stage. I could see a large branch floating downstream out in the middle of the current as I launched. My plan was to use the shallow draft of the kayak and stay mostly to the sides.
The upstream paddle was work I was making a slow speed as compared to the nearby shore, but was carving an impressive wake for a kayak. My route was short, but I lingered for a while near a side inlet and on an island in the middle of the river too.
(GPS tracking by InstaMapper.com)
(My start and and are at the red dot, but I didn’t start tracking till at the green dot.)
At the inlet I took pictures of a groundhog and turtles while floating on the calm water. The turtle in the front has its legs and head fully out and is sunning himself.
I crossed the river in the kayak. I angled my kayak’s bow into the current slightly and let it push me a little sideways while I paddled to counteract that push. In this way I slide horizontally across the current while moving upstream slowly. I watched for branches and the like in the current but encountered nothing substantial to modify my path.
In the current shadow of an island in the middle I rested. I’d always been curious about these islands and now was my chance to see one. I slid the kayak against a shallow shore and got out taking care to secure the kayak. I didn’t want to have to swim that current.
The island was overgrown and solid. No larger animals lived there that I saw as there were no paths or eaten vegetation. It was wild and unpopulated but within sight of a busy bridge and roads on the shore. For all I know, I was the first human footprint there. These islands are destroyed and remade in floods and have a geologically infinitesimal lifespan. Many of them have changed drastically or been made in living memory.
Getting back into the kayak went smoothly, at first. I have a closed kayak which means I have to raise myself up and slip my legs forward into the covered area ahead of my seat. The island was muddy and I wanted to rinse off the mud before I put my feet in. That involved dangling my foot over the side. Well, that proved to be my undoing. I got off balance and wasn’t able to regain it.
Fortunately, all critical things (camera, cell phone) were safe in plastic dry bags. I ensured that before crossing the current in the first place. My legs and butt would dry. I ended up getting more mud and water in the boat than I would have in the first place. That’ll teach me.
I paddled out to a rock in the river and sat in its lee, then drifted downstream to Point of Rocks bridge on the MD side of a large island. The downstream drift was pleasant, I watched the shore go by with the rocks on the hill above the C&O canal. And I watched the bridge approach.
I knew the current was strong enough that I wouldn’t be able to cross it between the bridge and the island, so I planned my route under the bridge. I went upstream close to the shore on the VA side and got back to the launch point.
All in all, a short but nice trip. I had plenty of exercise paddling, and found a good way NOT to get into a kayak.