Suffering from to many carbs? Too much time indoors? Too few paddling trips coming up on the calendar? Of course you are. Miki and I took on a research project this morning to deal with these problems.
We put in at the boat ramp at Point of Rocks, MD and paddled upstream, looping around the string of islands there, and found a wonderful trip. Attaining is a natural for a winter paddle, no shuttle, no portage, returning to your car and gear. The boat ramp makes a dry entry easy and you can even park with your windshield headed into the sun so your car is warm when you return. That stretch of river was beautiful this morning, with a supervising bald eagle sitting in a treetop and the sun behind us lighting up the sycamores upstream. It was overcast for the return trip so the river was bright with the reflected clouds. This was an easy attainment, moving water with class 1 ledges and riffles and we were warm and comfy on a trip where the air temp maxed out at 36 degrees. It felt glorious to drive a boat through the water and paddling against stiff current was a workout. We were warmed by the few patches of sunlight to be had and paddling around islands allows you to dodge wind if there is any.
This flatwater trip and others like it will be repeated at POR and elsewhere when conditions are suitable. Please email me if you would like a heads up.
John Snitzer