Blue Marsh Lake, PA

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Launched from Sheidy Boat Launch at the western end of the lake and paddled west up Tulpehocken Creek. The only downside of this paddle is the constant roar of fast-moving traffic on Route 183 running parallel to the lake. The unexpected highlight of the trip was two perfect spots for novice-level river surfing. If you don't know what river surfing is, here are some videos of kayakers surfing river waves just like mine, except 10 times as hard; 100 times as hard; 1000 times as hard
As you can see, you basically find the sweet spot in a stationary wave and paddle lightly just enough to keep yourself right in front of it. You're not actually moving, but the water rushing past your bow makes you feel as though you're speeding through whitewater. I wish I had a video of myself surfing the Tulpehocken!

Money Rocks Park, PA

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Drove to Money Rocks Park in Lancaster County today to hike the trails and check out the scenic overlook. Passed several Amish horse-and-buggies on Route 322; the horses' hooves make such a lovely sound! There were only a couple of cars in the parking lot on this perfect, sunny fall day, and in my 3-hour excursion I encountered only one other person in the woods. Amazing.
In the name Money Rocks, Rocks is a noun, not a verb; per the park web site, the name originated "because farmers in the Pequea Valley allegedly hid cash among the rocks." I didn't find any money, just an empty pack of Camels. The slideshow tells the story of the overlook, which is indeed spectacular (you must ignore the quarry at the bottom of the cliff; I am baffled that the County officials permit this at such a scenic spot. Perhaps they feel that Hawk Mountain, the Pinnacle, and Chickies Rock provide sufficient breathtaking overlooks for one county, so they can afford to downgrade this one). A beautiful walk on a beautiful day.

Sunrise at the Nest

I glanced out the kitchen window while making breakfast on Friday and saw this. Grabbed the camera and ran outside in my slippers to capture the image. Good thing, too, because in 7 minutes it was gone.

East Brandywine River, PA

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We launched from Kerr Park in Downingtown and paddled about 9 miles south to Shaw's Bridge Park just south of 842, a beautiful trip that took about four and a half hours. It's amazing that you can paddle straight through the middle of Downingtown and barely be aware of the town around you, thanks to the well-planned parks lining the river. We didn't see another soul on the river the whole way, not even a fisherman on the bank. There were two exciting moments in the trip: first, shooting the pass-through in the low dam just south of Downingtown. There's a big lovely rock waiting right in your path as you exit the flume. And second, trying and failing to sneak under a fallen tree barring the way: by the time Caleb realized he wasn't going to squeeze through, his boat had decided it was going with or without him (without), above water or below (below). And his paddle took off downstream. He was a good sport about the dunking, and posed with the tree after he got dried off and I had rescued his paddle. The rest of the paddle was serene and relaxing.

Tulpehocken Creek, PA

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Today I explored Tulpehocken Creek just south of the Marsh Creek Lake dam at Stilling Basin. First I reconnoitered the Reber's Bridge access area in hopes that I could put in there and paddle upstream to Stilling Basin (I always prefer to do the upstream half first!). But the trail to the river looked long and steep and muddy and treacherous, so I abandoned the idea. I took photos from Reber's Bridge, and found a beautiful gravel trail along the river on the other side of the road from the parking lot--I found out later it's the Union Canal trail and it goes about 4 miles from Reber's Bridge towards downtown Reading, where the Tulpehocken flows into the Schuylkill River. I'm definitely coming back some day this winter to either walk or bike the trail.
I ended up launching from Stilling Basin at the dam and paddling downstream back to Reber's Bridge, where I took photos from the water side. From the water, I found a good launch spot at Reber's Bridge--it's still a trek from the parking lot, but a little easier than the first one I found. The creek was flowing quite briskly, and paddling back upstream was challenging--I definitely got my workout! I ended up wading through a couple of the shallows where it wasn't deep enough to get a good pull on the paddle to move against the current. Only excitement was almost losing the boat at one point when I was concentrating on keeping my balance on some rocks and the current snatched the boat away. But with a couple of gazelle-like leaps, I rescued it (OK, maybe more like a panicky elephant).

Wading River, NJ

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Caleb and I paddled the Wading from Speedwell to Evans Bridge on this beautiful, cool and sunny Saturday. The upper river was in excellent shape, although we had to pull our boats over 3 or 4 big logs. Someone has been assiduously keeping the river clear of all the smaller debris, and in many places a fallen tree has been sawn to leave a passage just wide enough for a kayak. Whoever you are, THANK YOU! The lower river was perfect, although by the time we got there, the sun was low and the night chill was falling. Despite having left home at 9 am, we didn't actually put in at Speedwell until 12:30 (we almost put into the wrong river thanks to me, but Caleb noticed in time that it was flowing the wrong way!), and it was 4:30 before we saw the camp at Hawkins Bridge, 6:30 and almost dark before we finally got to Evans Bridge, and 9 pm by the time we arrived home. Lesson learned: start earlier!

Lake Nockamixon, PA

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Lake Nockamixon is huge! This year I launched from Haycock at the eastern end and paddled west until I could just see the marina in the distance. After a couple hours of semi-vigorous paddling, I enjoyed a rocking nap in the middle of the water.

Mannington Meadows, NJ

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Mannington Meadows is a huge saltwater marsh area in Salem County, NJ. Access is from E. Pittsfield road: from the Delaware Memorial Bridge, take exit 1C for 551 South/North Hook Road. It’s a little tricky–the first exit off the bridge is labeled 1A, then you actually take the next one labeled 1B, which almost immediately splits in two, and you should bear left right after the overpass. There is a sign that says 1C that’s almost completely hidden behind foliage on the left. After you bear left, bear right at the next fork and follow the signs for North Hook Road. Go south on North Hook about 2 miles, and make a left onto E. Pittsfield and drive all the way to the end. Parking is informal in the gravel area at the water. Low tide drains 18+ inches of water from the Meadows and many channels become impassable mud, so be careful! I kept testing the depth with my paddle to make sure I’d be able to get back even if the level dropped a foot. It’s also easy to get lost in the channels since they all look the same. One last caution: as you paddle south towards the more open water, the wind gets much fiercer. Since it was at my back heading south, I didn’t quite realize how hard it was going to be to get back against both the wind and the tide. I got my exercise, all right! On the plus side, the weather was perfect, sunny and 72, and it was almost completely quiet except for the plash of the paddle and the wind rushing shwishing through millions of reeds. I didn’t see another soul on the water until I was almost ready to take out, so the birds and I had the Meadows entirely to ourselves. It was blissful.