Kayaking

08/04/09

An often heard lament of kayakers, on the island, regards the many restrictions to launching a kayak, especially those entrance fees, and/or passes, required to launch at Town, County, and State facilities. Islip Town for example, where I reside, makes it especially difficult. There's a Town Launch Permit to acquire and kayaks must launch at the Town Launch sites, however, these people have no idea of the safety issues when launching from a site that is often covered in algae and slime. And why should a kayak, or canoe for that matter, pay a fee that is equal to that of a motor or sail vessel anyway. My gosh, you can carry a kayak on your shoulder. And it's impossible to argue the issue with the town commissioners as their decisions are based on decades old rules, and no one in a position to challenge the rules has the intellect to understand the problem or wants to "rock the boat". There are of course fees for obtaining State passes, and for Green Card County passes, in addition to the imposed Town fees, which makes it that much more difficult to enjoy the sport. At one Town marina I was told by the watchman, he was instructed not to allow kayak launches, period. Aside from this rant though I do manage to get on the water. Luckily too, I've paddling buddies who reside in the other towns of Suffolk County.

Yesterday, Monday, my paddling pal Tony and I launched our kayaks at Cedar Beach park, in Mt. Sinai. It's on the eastern peninsula of Mount Sinai Harbor In Brookhaven. From this site you can paddle toward the sound or investigate the rather large body of water that makes up the harbor, which we did. It's a good place to develop your paddling skills as it's almost lake like, and the water was very clear. There's an abundance of swans, egrets and herons to be seen, and even deer as evidenced by the attached photos. However out of the way it may be the area isn't hidden away and there are few refuges from the sun. We paddled for about 2 hours, circumnavigating the body of water.

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07/27/09

This past Saturday I and my paddling buddy Cecelia drove over to the Long Island Ave. launch site, in Yaphank, to put in on Lower Lake. Be forewarned though of the terrific odor from rotting vegetation you'll encounter here. If you're stalwart, persevere, and manage to get your boat in the water, head quickly upstream and you'll soon leave fetid odor for fresh air and a breeze as well. However, much of the lake is covered in flora requiring circuitous paddling. All is not lost though as the lake eventually becomes less crowded and the views of wildlife and nature are worth the effort. During our couple hours of paddling we encountered a couple kayakers who thought they were somewhere else, having gotten less than adequate information from Southaven Park staff, and two young men fishing from a canoe, nothing caught however. I hadn't been on Lower Lake for a good couple years myself and, frankly, am apalled by its condition.

07/22/09

My first entry of the summer and it's almost the end of July. My excuse is this is all new to me. For the past 7 years I've not had much opportunity to paddle during the summer months as I've been totally involved in my summer camps, (Kayak Explorer Camp), which were held at the E.I. Marina Beach. Without further labor over the matter, that was then and this is now, and I've been kayaking and hiking, without exageration, just about all over. My apologies to those of you who had expected to view recent photos but I've been inundated with personal matters. I'll work backwards from here providing photos with captions until I catch up. The following photos were taken late morning on the Peconic R. heading west from the state launch site off Edwards Ave., Manorville. We headed upstream stopping midway at the LIRR trestle, for lunch. Along the way, in addition to the photos below, we sighted ducks, a variety of turtle species, including one huge snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina, that surfaced just a few feet from my kayak, and black snakes sunning by the trestle. A total of about 4 hrs. or so on the water.

Dragonfly,Order Odonata, resting on paddle.	LIRR trestle crossing Peconic R.
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)	Peconic R. looking west.
Peconic R. looking north.	Odd looking Kayaker exiting road underpass.

03/14/09

If I listen very intently I can almost here the sounds made by awakening water sprites. It's close to that time of year when they're reminded, in dreams, of their duty to guard the fresh waters of the world from uncaring humans. This year I may find the need to add a canoeing journal as I anticipate launching my Bear Creek Wide One on the lakes and rivers of Long Island. As I enjoy employing the use of an electric motor, at times, I'm preparing to abide by the new decree that all boats, propelled by means of a motor, be registered. An easy income for the state in these troubling economic times - squeezing the remaining blood from tax payers; next it'll be salt water fishing permits, and then we revolt. My canoe, pictured below, is 14 years young and, coincidentally, of that length as well (in feet of course - not metric - this is America, after all); she is the perfect fresh water fishing vessel - wide enough to allow standing without fear of capsizing, and big enough to accommodate two adults in addition to gear. I am passionate about my boat, she is a lady and has always been reliable. I'm not much of a fishing enthusiast though, but do enjoy an occasional catch and release competition with friends. However, I don't recall having ever won - for me it's really the enjoyment of nature, and friendships that matters. This entry is all about limbering up my fingers though, for the adventures I'll be reporting when the weather warms a little. No need to awaken just yet, zzzz zzzzz z.

10/27/08

This past Sunday was our annual river clean-up at the upper Nissequogue River, in Smithtown. Actually, we try to get into the park more than once a year for our clean-ups as the upper part of the river offers stunning views, and is an absolute delight to kayak down. Not to mention our clean-ups contribute considerably to the rivers pristine nature. The headwater, Winston Pond, from where we begin the day, is situated within Blydenberg County Park, and our small group gathered there at about 10:30 in the morning. Prior to our launching we encountered some hikers who kindly thanked us for our efforts which helped the occasion seem even more important than usual. There were seven of us this day, five in single kayaks, and two in a canoe, most of whom have participated in this event on multiple occasions. Liz, as always, was our trip leader, with John and Vi in canoe, and Marge and Dave, Margaret, and myself in kayaks. Aside from an errant tree trunk, which required us to make a short portage, exiting our boats, wading, and pulling the boats over the obstruction, the trip down river was quick, as the water level was high, and the views were mesmerizing. John and I used a hand saw, which had been provided by park personnel, to clear the trunk from the river before we continued on our way. The trees and shrubs were sporting colors that were vibrant and varied making me wish we could spend longer than the three hours or there about that it took us to complete the event. Up river our group spent time dislodging line and lures from the flora along the banks, and we removed quite a bit of bottles, cans, and other pieces of metal and plastic down river. At about the mid point of our trip, by the falls (not really falls, but almost) we stopped to enjoy a bit of conversation while sharing whatever fare was brought along. Later on, where the upper river meets the lower Nissequogue, and runs by and under (and sometimes through) the home of Mike and Joann D'agostino, we enjoyed their great hospitality, in the form of snacks, coffee, teas and good conversation. Todays clean-up was one of our best, not that we collected an overabundance of debris, which we sometimes do, but because the weather was the best we've ever enjoyed during this event.

08/31/08

The end of August, and my very last summer camp, ever, as well (see Camps page). Of course all things end, sooner or later, and although a rift with Islip Town is what prompted my decision to cancel the continuation of my camps, I'm happy the ending comes when my camps were at their very peak of success rather than once they become part and parcel of Islip's institutionalized system. There are so many other adventures awaiting too, like what I'm writing about today.

I feel obligated to state this particular trip was made in a canoe rather than a kayak. Frankly, I enjoy canoeing almost as much as I do kayaking as there's more room in the boat, which is nice for moving around, and there's the added pleasure, at times, of talking with your companion, face to face. That's especially nice when the person with you is fun to be with. My first trip, on the water, after camping season, and I again headed west to the N.J. Pa. border. This area is very much different than the island in that there are real mountains, and the river beds are rocky instead of sandy. There are also animals here that have long been extirpated from the island, e.g., Ursus americanus, the American Black Bear, and Castor canadensis, the Beaver. The former sighted during my last visit and the latter which I'll talk about later in this article. The trip west, to connect with my friend Dawn, was about 125 miles. From there we drove two vehicles to the pick up site on the Delaware River, in Columbia, left one and continued to the put in site, off rte. 80. Our entire time in canoe was probably less than 3 hours, and part of that time was spent with canoe secured in an eddy area, on the Pennsylvania side of the river while devouring pb&j sandwiches, and absorbing the vista afforded by the open expanse of the river. At this time of year the water level is low and at one point we had to exit canoe in order to get over an exposed rocky bottom. However, there was much fun in avoiding protruding rocks while our canoe all but raced downstream. My companion who was at the bow yelling often, something like, "paddle hard left, now right", while I, almost panicky about the amount of water getting into the boat from the huge cateract splashing against us, attempted to fulfill her expectations of my paddling abilities. Dawn, though, tells me I exaggerate, enormously, about the severity of the rapids we encountered, and admittedly I am rather conservative compared to her being absolutely nuts, so perhaps the truth of the situation lies somewhere between both perspectives (admittedly closer to Dawn's). After all this we arrived, much too soon, at the pick up site, and while Dawn left to retrieve the pick up vehicle I took advantage of the time and photographed here, and here. At this time it was only early afternoon which left much more to accomplish before days end.

Before embarking on our river adventure we had deposited Dawn's son, Kyle, at school where he had a planned scrimmage, and so we collected him on our return, and during the ride home Dawn exclaimed "lets canoe on Crater Lake". Wow! it was easy to tell from the delighted expression on her face this was something she had wanted to do for a while. We made a brief stop at home and were soon off to the lake which is in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area and is a natural lake high atop the Kittatinny Ridge. The lake is thought to have been formed by the impact of a large meteor in 1853. Although Kyle is only 15 he has more knowledge of nature than any boy his age I've met, and more than a lot of adults as well. He takes right after his mom in that he's full of curiosity and almost fearless, and I'm glad he's been my friend for a pretty long time. It seemed we took just about every back road there was before we crested the hill and were finally at the lake, and before getting the canoe into the water Kyle was in the water up to his knees looking for and finding the largest tadpoles I'd ever seen. They must truly metamorphose into giants. Then he was looking for salamanders, and this is evidence of his ability. It seemed there would be no end to his magic at finding critters when he went looking for, and finding, first a snake skin and then this snake. We finally decided to paddle the canoe around the lake which wouldn't take too long as the lake isn't very big, however, along the way Dawn spotted what, to an untrained eye, might be thought of as wood debris, but upon closer examination proved to be the result of beaver. Honestly, I didn't know beaver would build a lodge on the edge of a lake, but I'll be darned if, after a short wait, the critter didn't come out to see what was about (our canoe and paddles created a bit of noise I'd guess). First we spotted air bubbles and then the animals head broke water. Apparently annoyed at our presence it dived, with a great splash from its flattened tail, but we were able to follow the beaver, for curiosities sake - wondering what it was up to, and at what we considered a respectable distance, by keeping a keen eye for the telltale bubbles it created. It soon tired of us though, and had little difficulty avoiding any further contact. The last animal Kyle pointed out to us was this bullfrog, proof of why the tadpoles we saw are so large. But before our adventure was over Kyle also found this really tiny caterpillar that couldn't have been more than a quarter inch. Wanting to stay longer, but having had our allotment of adventure for one day we retired home to a great little barbeque. I can't wait to do it all again though.

07/18/08

Just a quick note to explain my absence from the pages of the journals. Until August 15th. I'm occupied at my summer camps, but I do manage a little kayaking and swimming every day. Camps are progressing well. Today marks the end of the third week with four more to follow. During late summer, and early fall I hope to do some kayaking at the western end of N.J. as well as the north shore of L.I. (take a look at my Hiking Journal.)

06/13/08

This past Wednesday, the 11th., my kayaking buddy Tony, and I, were again out to Calverton, on the Peconic River. This time we launched off the State access point on Jones Rd., just west of the intersection with Edwards Ave. You had to be there to understand what a really nice paddle this was. We kayaked the stretch of river that runs between Edwards Ave. (on the other side of the road from where we paddled this last Sunday), and Conneticut Ave. (across from the sportsmans' club). Of all the places I've kayaked on the island this is far and above my most favored place. Going upstream the river narrows to a meandering waterway bordered on both sides by seemingly inpenetrable wilds. During the week, when there is little traffic, on the water as well as off, you can truly commune with nature here. Paddling upstream, about a third of the way up, there's the LIRR bridge where we habitually stop to have lunch while enjoying the riverine environment below. There are moments while on the upper part of this river it's as if you were transported to another time. However, a little further upriver from here the occasional burst of shotgun noise emanating from the club seems very much out of place, and bothersome, however, my companion on the water, being a hunter, seems almost not to notice it. Aside from the ubiquitous Red Wing Blackbirds, Angelaius phoeniceus, and quite a few American Goldfinches, Carduelis tristis, chasing one another, there weren't many different bird species to view as we got further upstream. Though, at about the half way point of the paddle, at different stretches of water, I saw two Muskrats, Ondatra zibethicus (a semi-aquatic rodent). The river became increasingly narrower after that - wide enough still to get a couple kayaks through the twists and turns though, and never shallow enough to require portaging at any point. Upon reaching the Connecticut Ave. launch we rewarded ourselves by wading in the cool, slow moving water before going downstream. Heading back from this point is a pleasure as, except for a little course correcting, the river will do most of the work. A short distance downstream from the railroad bridge we saw a really nice Snapping Turtle, Chelydra serpentina, sunning itself on a hefty tree limb poking from the water, while closer to the point where we launched from there were Canada Geese, Swans with their cygnets, and a variety of smaller birds. I hope you enjoy the following photos of our adventure.

06/08/08

Back on the water again after what seems like an incredibly long span of time between paddles. Yesterday (Saturday) my kayaking buddy Tony and I headed out to the Peconic River. There's a put in on the north side of S. River Rd., west of Forge Rd., and east of Edwards Ave. where we launched before 11 A.M. Tony in his Perception and I in my Loon 120, and headed upstream. We stopped just momentarily to speak w/a couple fishermen, who were trolling the north side of the river for bass, to inquire if they had heard about the new law requiring licensing of canoes w/any mechanical form of propulsion. They had, and we were all in agreement that it was just another way for N.Y.S. to squeeze more blood from the rock. Don't want to use this journal to call names or point fingers but we've a political party that just doesn't understand when enough is enough. Traffic on the river was quiet as we continued our paddle. Something about the River, especially at this point where it narrows, that the sounds of civilization are drowned out by the quiet of nature that instills a serenity to ones spirit. I easily lapsed into my paddling pace and became lost in the rhythm of the kayak hull insinuating itself on the surface of the river. We crossed under the L.I.E., through the left side of the double conduit. Tony doesn't like this 'cause he's got a thing about spiders, but he braced himself and got through w/o incident. The river at this point flows lazily past green lawns, some with signs proclaiming "No Trespassing" or "Beware of Dog", I supposed to ward off the occasional obnoxious boater who we see now and again on our waterways. However, as we neared the Edwards Ave. crossing that leads to the sluice waterfall and canoe launch sled we were stunned from our commune w/nature by the raucous sounds of a pack of cubs, and scouts careening downstream plowing into whichever bank presented itself at the moment. It seems so odd these young people, living so close to water, haven't a clue how to use a paddle - but neither did most of the adults who accompanied them. Tony and I pulled back into the shade of some sweet pepperbush, ate our lunch, and marveled at this circus passing by. We gave it a little time then turned our kayaks around to head back downstream. At a convenient widening of the river we managed to slip by the noise and quickly lengthened the gap between we and they. Passing by our launch point we headed toward the area I believe is called Peconic Lake. During this part of our journey we were treated with sights of a Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)-(the smaller Heron types with yellow feet), Great White Herons (Ardea herodia occidentalis), (with black legs), a really big Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), a common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina), and a snake swimming across the water that tony later identified as a Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon). Below are some photos of the day.

05/03/08

Just a reminder, the water temperature is still a bit too low for recreational kayaking on the island or in the tri-state area for that matter, except of course, if you're properly outfitted, i.e., drysuit, etc. (but even with proper equipment, and training, cold water can still kill). Remember, when kayaking, it isn't the air temp. that's important. In the event of a capsize it's the temperature of the water that can kill you - through shock and hypothermia. On another note, as mentioned below I've submitted a proposal to Islip Town to provide free introductory kayaking lessons. Unfortunately, for the time being at least, because of liability issues, the proposal has been denied.

03/30/08

Having become rather unhappy with the recent commercial direction the kayak clubs, on Long Island, have taken I've decided to end all affiliation with any of them, and can no longer in good conscience recommend any. Difficult to understand why a social club has to make money when it should be for being with like minded people making friends and having fun. I'll try to arrange an opportunity to provide free introductory kayak lessons at a Town beach.

03/30/08

Yesterday my hiking and kayaking buddy Liz, myself, and a couple other intrepid souls (Homo sapiens), were on the upper Nissequogue River at one of our regular river clean-ups that Liz organizes. After having stopped briefly at the park office, to obtain access, we launched at about 11 A.M. at Winston Pond (on the south side of Jericho Tpk.), by the waterfall. We had assembled kayaks, gear and enthusiastic participants by the waterfall where the work of gathering discarded glass and plastic, etc. began. It was chilly at first but once on, and at times in, the water it became very comfortable, even warm. Being shielded from the wind by trees and brush helped measurably. The day was bright if not very colorful (much of the flora was budded but not in bloom), and there seemed to be waterfowl everywhere. We witnessed a couple pairs of Wood Duck (Aix sponsa), what must have been a dozen Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias), at least three Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), and an assortment of smaller birds. The water level was somewhat lower than our last clean-up, and there was much debris collected. Heavier than water items, i.e., water filled bottles, cans, etc. seen at river bottom are collected by mechanical extenders, but often we'll leave our boats to gather junk seen on the nearby shore. The river, at its beginning, is narrow like a creek, and at times blocked in a place or two by a fallen tree, as it was this day. However, obstacles are usually passed by easily, and it's truly a pleasure floating leisurely through scenery much like what may have been enjoyed by earlier generations of boaters.

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