California
For a trip report of my California vacation which includes hiking near Lake Tahoe, kayaking in Lake Tahoe, kayaking in the Point Reyes area, and bicycling in Sacramento, check out California, Summer 2008.

Middle River
After spending the twilight and early evening hours at a Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary members-only benefit, I was longing to get back on the water. I did just that on the next day, July 19, 2008.

I began the day by looking for new places to launch. First, I drove to Pottery Farm Park in Essex, Baltimore County. Upon arriving, I realized I deemed it unsuitable for launching back in 2002. But since I was there, I decided to give it a second look. The ADC map shows Pottery Farm Road cutting through the park to the water. Unfortunately, this is a dirt road that is not open to motor vehicles. Even if it were, it would only be suitable for off-road vehicles. I walked this ~0.8 mile road to the water. It led me past a turtle and to a sandy area. Unfortunately, even with a kayak cart, it would be difficult to get a boat to the water.

Next, I drove to Turkey Point Park which wasn't far away. Again, I realized I explored this place back in 2002 and also deemed it unsuitable for launching. I guess I should write down when a place isn't launch-worthy. The water was much closer to the parking lot but there was absolutely no way to get to the water without a machete.

I planned to check out Miami Beach Park in Bowley's Quarters, Baltimore County but decided to save that for another time. Not far from Turkey Point Park was the Baltimore Boating Center...a place I also checked out several years ago. But unlike the first two places, this one was launchable. I paid my ten dollar fee and set sail (no sail, just a figure of speech) at their ramp on Sue Creek.

The first thing I did was explore Sue Creek. The shallow areas were difficult to paddle due to the abundance of vegetation. I also noticed that it seemed like everyone and their dog (another figure of speech) was on the water, either in power boats or from their waterfront property. Unfortunately, I saw very few kayaks. Two had outriggers and sails. The third I'll mention later.

The mouth of Sue Creek is on the south side of the mouth of Middle River which empties into the Chesapeake Bay. With all the power boats and the south wind, the water was pretty choppy. This was just what I wanted. I was getting pretty comfortable with my Futura/Huki S1-A surf ski and wanting to push myself to handle it on rougher water. I was going to paddle to Bowley Point on the northeast side of the mouth of Middle River but I wasn't quite ready to do that solo.

I paddled upstream on the Middle River, hugging the shore. I kayaked in Hogpen Creek, Norman Creek, and Hopkins Creek. I made it to the Eastern Boulevard (route 150) bridge over Middle River.

A little south of the bridge was Hawthorne Park. A few years ago, I launched at the pier in this park. Back then, it was a mucky launch. Today, it would have been twice as bad. I was disappointed because that was the only place I knew of where one could easily gain access to the upstream part of Middle River. I pulled over at a nearby sandy area (about 80 meters south) to stretch my legs. Looking through the trees, I noticed that this sandy beach was also part of the park. I was ecstatic to find this likely unknown launch site...at least I thought it was unknown.

I paddled downstream. Feeling pretty comfortable, I paddled further away from shore. I drafted some of the power boats and maintained speeds over 7 miles per hour while following them.

I heard a yell, looked to my right, and saw a white surf ski coming towards me. It was David T., who I first met on September 21, 2007. We chatted awhile. I told him about the sandy launch site I found at Hawthorne Park. He was well aware of it. So much for my original find. He told me about a new park called Wilson Point Park that provided access to the upstream sections of the Middle River. Hearing this put a smile on my face. The area was in desperate need of a public launch site and now there was finally one.

After saying farewell to David and promising to paddle with him in August, I continued downstream. The boat traffic was pretty heavy and the water was sometimes pretty rough. When waves come from a single direction it isn't so bad (if they aren't too big) but when they reflect off erosion walls then get mixed with boat wakes, they become almost random. It required a good deal of concentration to deal with all this. But I managed to get through it all without falling out though I came close at times. I was quite pleased and my confidence on my surf ski was elevated.

I paddled a challenging 20 miles then went home and grilled myself a bacon bit double cheeseburger. Well deserved.

Nanjemoy Creek
On July 13, 2008, Norma, Stacy, Ed, and I loaded up our boats and headed out to Nanjemoy Creek. Norma and I were there back on September 22, 2007. Then, we did an up and back paddle starting from Friendship Landing. Today, we would do a one way trip launching from a private residence near Port Tobacco Road (route 6). See first photo at left. To get back to the cars, we put our bicycles at Friendship Landing.

We couldn't get more than a hundred meters upstream of route 6 due to all the downed trees.

Under the route 6 bridge, there were swallow nests and wasp nests resembling pan flutes.

The narrow upper Nanjemoy was well shaded and the water was cool and clear. Further downstream, the river opened up a bit and the tree-lined shores were replaced by a mix of tall grasses and trees. See second and third photos at left.

We saw numerous bald eagles. Too many to count though it is likely many were the same that just flew downstream as we paddled, only to be seen again. Several were juvenile birds that were as big as their elders but without the distinctive white heads and tails.

Several osprey were also seen. See fourth photo at left.

Stacy and Ed are bird watchers and able to identify several either by sight or sound. See fifth photo at left. They pointed out indigo buntings to us.

Unlike last year, there weren't any yellow flowers but there were several purple arrow arum flowers.

After paddling about 6.5 miles to the takeout, Norma, Stacy, and I biked 5 miles back to the start to retrieve our vehicles while Ed guarded the boats and paddles.

It got a little hot and humid on the drive home. It was good we started early.

I grilled well deserved burgers back at my place. We worked up quite an appetite.

I was grateful to Stacy and Ed for organizing this fine event.
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Wye and Skipton
After doing a fast 10 mile twilight paddle with my friend Neil on the mightly Chesapeake Bay last night, I was still wanting to get on the water. I awoke at 0620 on July 12, 2008 and by 0730, I was crossing the Bay Bridge. I wasn't sure where I was going to launch. I just knew that I wanted to paddle someplace on the eastern shore and the longer I waited, the worse traffic would be. Hence, I just grabbed some snacks, water, sunscreen, and maps then took off. I never unloaded my boat or boating equipment from the night before. While driving, I decided to explore the part of the Wye River I had not yet paddled.

In 2002, I circumnavigated Wye Island. The only great feat about that was that I didn't make any wrong turns and paddle up one of the many creeks. Places like that are why global positioning systems (GPSs) were invented.

I launched at Wye Landing, paddling north on the Wye East River. As with last week's paddle, I saw several bald eagles. Some were willing to let me get quite close to them. I started paddling in 1999. Back then, it was rare to see an eagle. Since then, bald eagles have been taken off the endangered species list. They have made quite a comeback and it is now quite common to see them.

The Wye East was nice but I could not get to the more sheltered areas because the water got too shallow. I don't think I even got upstream of the split.

Paddling back downstream, I saw 4 deer.

After paddling with Neil last night, I was really working on my race technique. Making my strokes shorter and faster seems to increase my speed by about 0.3 to 0.4 mph. The feeling of falling into the "catch" seems to help though I need to experiment with that. They say the catch should be more of a "spearing the fish" feeling though I don't know if I like that. I can always go faster if I put more effort into my paddling. My goal is to simply modify my technique, not expend any more energy, and go faster. Falling or spearing requires more energy though maybe the gain is worth the cost.

Paddling past my launch point, I then headed east on Skipton Creek, passing the Skipton Creek Landing launch. I tried to get to highway 50 but again, the water was too shallow. I saw a red fox.

I headed back downstream on Skipton Creek then northwest on Wye Narrows to the bridge. This part was nothing new. I just wanted to get in a few more miles and work on my technique.

I paddled 20 miles.

The Other Wicomico River
Where else except Maryland would there be two totally separate rivers with the same name? On May 11, 2008, Norma and I visited the Wicomico River on the eastern shore. On July 6, 2008, I explored the Wicomico River on the western shore.

I drove to Chaptico Wharf Recreation Area. I used my new 2008 Subaru Impreza 2.5l wagon to transport my Futura/Huki S1-A surf ski.

I was getting more confident in my boat and wanting to try more open waters. The ~1.5 mile wide Wicomico River seemed like a good place. After lots of padding adjustments, my boat was also considerably more comfortable than when I first bought it. Hence, I was also wanting to paddle further. My goal was to paddle up to Budds Creek Road (route 234) which was 10 miles away.

I launched at 1035 and paddled north. I did an open water crossing across Chaptico Bay. There was a chance of storms after noon and I was wondering if I might have to brave rough seas on the way back in my unstable boat.

I reached the most upstream portion of the Wicomico then paddled into Allens Fresh Run. On the map, this area looks like it might have some very scenic paddling but it was mostly just grassland. I saw quite a few bald eagles.

I entered the southern portion of the Zekiah Swamp Natural Environmental Area. A half mile from Budds Creek Road, the water got very shallow. I decided to head back. Things were pretty...but just moderately so...and I couldn't paddle on the really scenic natural areas without fear of getting stuck in mud.

Paddling back, I looked for launch sites upstream of where I began. I found none.

The weather held out. The water was so calm, it was almost boring.

I finished at 1435 after paddling 20 miles.

Buttons Creek
On June 21, 2008, Norma, Mark, Allison, and I met at Golden Hill Road for a paddling adventure in the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. Back on June 11, 2007, Norma and I kayaked most of the area west of Golden Hill Road in the Refuge but not Buttons Creek. This was my chance to complete the exploration.

Mark and Allison rented a tandem recreational boat from Blackwater Paddle and Pedal Adventures. See first photo at left. The outfitter met them at the launch site. Norma and I paddled my Ocean Kayak Cabo. See second photo at left. It was unusual that my Cabo would be the faster design.

We began at 0915, paddling west on the Blackwater River. Within a few minutes, we saw our first bald eagle to the south.

A little further and we were heading north on Buttons Creek. The river was fairly scenic but unfortunately, we did not see as much wildlife as we had hoped. However, further upstream we saw a godzillion small aquatic plants. See third photo at left. Each was comprised of a small half centimeter clover leaf and an inch long assembly of stringy roots that hung into the water. See fourth photo at left for a close-up. They literally covered the river so thickly that certain parts just appeared to be solid green.

We managed to paddle pretty far up Buttons Creek. It stayed narrow and took us further than I expected. The water got shallow and our paddle pulled up some of the smelliest mud I've ever encountered. Mark said we churned up sulfur bubbles. The stench was incredible. We wonder if the creek is fed by a natural sulfur spring.

Paddling back downstream, we stopped in a tributary on the west side where 50 or so ducks lived. They seemed quite used to being around humans. See fifth photo at left.

Returning to Blackwater River, we saw an eagle nest (the same one Norma and I saw last year) and another eagle. See sixth photo at left. I believe we saw 4 eagles while kayaking.

We were hoping to see some golden eagles. Prior to today, I did not know they lived in Maryland but the tour guide with the outfitter said they did. They are even larger than bald eagles.

Norma and I went under the Golden Hill Road Bridge to look at the sparrows. If we kept our distance, we could see the mother feed the babies but if we got near the nest, the mother flew away and the babies kept their heads down and remained silent. See seventh photo at left.

We were done at 1340 after paddling 8.1 miles. We ate lunch, then rode our bicycles around the refuge. See June 21, 2008 bicycling.
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Marley Creek
June 18, 2008 was a full moon. With the warm weather here, I thought it would be a nice time for a twilight/evening paddle...so I organized one. Unfortunately, turnout was small as there was a competing organized paddle going on at Pier 7. But what my event lacked in numbers, it made up for in quality.

Lisa, Todd, and I arrived at Solleys Cove at 1900. It was very windy. A crabber returned from open water recommending that we don't go out. He found the water quite rough. But I knew we would be in more sheltered areas and hence would be fine.

We launched at 1930. By then, the winds had slowed a bit but a light rain also started. But the rain ceased quickly and the wind died down a little later.

There was a rainbow to the east (see Todd in first photo) and sun trying to break through the clouds to our west (see Lisa in second photo).

We paddled south on Marley Creek. A bald eagle swooped low over the water as if he was trying to catch something. It was probably the same one I saw on June 29, 2007. We passed the power lines and saw what might have been the eagle nest though it looked small. It definitely wasn't the same one I saw a year ago unless it got moved. This one was on a power line tower platform that appears to have been built specifically for the nest. I wonder if someone built the platform and moved the old nest (on a different part of the tower) to the new location since I didn't see the nest in the previous location.

Continuing south, we passed Brewers Island and saw the boat wrecks. These aren't rustic historic boats. These are just boats from folks who didn't pay their marina fees, so I've been told.

We paddled under routes 648 and 10 and under a big pipe. I saw a muskrat.

Heading back downstream, the full moon was mostly hidden behind the clouds.

We finished paddling at 2145 after completing 6.9 miles.

The next challenge was to find a place to eat. Unfortunately, we failed in this mission. The Fort Smallwood Road area doesn't offer much in terms of late night eating establishments. So we called it a night.
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Horseshoe Crab Watch
For a trip report of a Delaware kayaking, hiking, and bicycling weekend to see the horseshoe crabs come ashore, check out Horseshoe Crab Watch, 2008.

Exploring Wicomico County
For a trip report of a weekend kayaking and bicycling trip, see Wicomico County, Maryland, May 2008.

Middle Monocacy
On March 31, 2006, I paddled the Monocacy River from Pinecliff Park to the Mouth of the Monocacy River. I call this the "lower Monocacy." The "middle Monocacy" is from Devilbiss Bridge to Pinecliff Park. The "upper Monocacy" is anything north of Devilbiss Bridge. Keep in mind that this is just my terminology and whether or not anyone would agree with me remains to be seen.

Timing is often very important when it comes to kayaking and this is especially true with the Monocacy River. From mid-spring through late fall, the river is often very low. I consulted USGS Real-Time Water Data which showed me the normal water level for this time of year and the water discharge for the previous days. If I wanted to paddle the middle Monocacy this year, it was essential I do it soon.

Doing volunteer work all day at Rebuilding Together Baltimore yesterday (April 26, 2008) was pretty tiring but I fueled up that night at Little Spice Thai Restaurant and got more than my fair share of sleep so I was plenty ready to get outside.

I figured I would all this energy because I didn't have a second vehicle to do a car shuttle, despite my attempt to get another paddler to join me. Instead, I would do a bicycle shuttle. Mapquest helped me plot a course and its "Avoid Road Types: Highways" feature made it easy to select a bikeable route.

On April 27, 2008, I loaded up my bike and boat then drove to the Devilbiss Bridge launch site. I stowed my wetsuit, personal floatation device (PFD), drinking water, and paddle in my hatches then locked my boat to a sign post. I spoke to some local paddlers about the water conditions. They assured me there was no whitewater between Devilbiss and Pinecliff. Then I drove to the Pinecliff Park takeout, scoping out the bike route along the way.

The water level at Pinecliff was unusually high. See first and second photos at left. The current was very strong, about 1500 cubic feet per second! I was glad I could talk to the locals before launching since I'm not a whitewater paddler and my boat is hardly suited for such activities even if I was. I was told there was no whitewater in my path.

I unloaded my bike and put on my neoprene top and gloves since the temperature was only 51 degrees and overcast. Just after noon, I was biking.

The route was fairly flat. I rode through the heart of Frederick, passing the artsy/tourist area on East Street. The traffic was pretty heavy on route 355, 26, and 194 but after that, I was riding through green, scenic farmland on Fountain Rock Road. I saw horses, cows, chickens, and a donkey. It was very peaceful and I would love to come back just to do some bicycling. I know there are also covered bridges in the area that might be worth scoping out via bicycle.

By 1320, I was at my destination. I donned my wetsuit and booties, unlocked my boat, and locked up my bicycle. In a few minutes, I was paddling.

My global positioning system (GPS) told me that the current was moving at about 5 mph. Compared to what I'm used to, this is very fast. But it made for a really fun trip. At times, I got my boat going over 11 mph! Keeping it moving over 8 mph was easy.

I saw a pair of bald eagles and some herons but otherwise, I saw no interesting wildlife.

I wasn't expecting the middle Monocacy to be so scenic since it passes through the city of Frederick. But if I didn't know otherwise, I never would have know the city was there. There is very little construction along the sides of the river and for the most part, it is almost entirely wooded. Very green and fairly quiet.

I paddled under several bridges but the most scenic by far was Old National Pike (route 144). See third photo at left.

I marked the location of my takeout in my GPS so I didn't have to worry about missing it. This was good as the strong current would have made paddling upstream extremely difficult for more than a short distance.

By 1535 I was done, having biked 12 miles and paddled 14.3 miles. It only took me 2 hours to finish the kayaking and that includes a stop to walk around and talk to locals. I was expecting a much more strenuous day but it turned out to be fairly easy. I probably should have launched further upstream at Creagerstown Park. I'll save that for when I explore the upper Monocacy.

I noticed at a bank that the temperature was only 59 degrees when I went to go pick up my bike, despite the predicted high of 65. At least there was no wind. My neoprene layers kept me comfortable.

I called Cindy after I got done. She told me it rained heavily last night in Frederick. That explains the unusually high water level.

For directions for my bicycle route, check out Pinecliff to Devilbiss.
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Lake Ogleton
I think I can safely say that April 17, 2008 was the nicest day of the year so far in terms of weather. It was sunny all day with highs in the high 60s or low 70s depending on where you were in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area. In Annapolis, the high was about 68 with a 6 mph wind.

Todd and I launched our boats at his community beach, near the mouth of the Severn River. He paddled his Wilderness Systems Tsunami while I used my new Futura/Huki S1-A surf ski. This was only its second voyage. See first photo at left. The Bay Bridge is behind me.

The water near his place can get pretty rough but that day it was very calm so I had no problems staying in the boat. However, unless the water is perfectly flat, I don't yet have the confidence to practice proper torso rotation. Hopefully, by the end of the summer, this will be instinctive on moderately choppy water.

We paddled a short distance to Lake Ogleton, closer to the mouth of the Severn River. There we saw several heron and osprey. Some people worked on their big boats. The houses in the area are quite nice and NOT cookie cutterish.

After exploring the west end of the lake, we headed back and took more photos. See second photo at left. It was perfect photo taking weather.
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Hall Creek
April 13, 2008 had predicted highs in the mid-50s. Normally, that would be pretty cold for me to go kayaking (even with a wetsuit), but having canceled my previous trip on the Monocacy River because of cold and rain, I was desperate to get out. It wasn't a long trip, it wasn't supposed to rain, and the water was calm so I figured I'd be fine.

Norma and I made our first stop in southern Anne Arundel County. We checked out Broadwater Creek (see first photo), near Broadwater Road, which is in the Broadwater Farms community, near Broadwater Point. There was supposedly a Broadwater Marina though we never found it. No place to launch though I wasn't expecting to find any. We just wanted to see this area named after some great and famous people.

High tide at Nottingham was at 1117. My goal was to have us as far up Hall Creek as possible by high tide.

We drove to Hall Creek Natural Resources Management Area. Once there, we donned our wetsuits, got out the kayak cart, and loaded my Ocean Kayak Cabo tandem sit-on-top plastic kayak. It was a short walk to the launch area. We saw some father/son teams out fishing.

We paddled south for a mile on the Patuxent River until we reached the mouth of Hall Creek. Then we paddled up Hall Creek.

It was scenic and serene though after awhile all the tall grasses all started looking the same. I think I like the trees more than the grasses.

We saw two beaver lodges but no beavers.

There were more great blue herons than we could count though it might have been only a few since they have a habit of flying off and landing near or on the water just a short distance away in the direction we paddle. See second and third photos at left.

Several turtles stuck their noses just out of the water. It was often impossible to distinguish them from semi-submerged logs until they went under. There were also about four of them sunning themselves on a log.

Norma and I saw quite a few duck blinds and a deer stand. Some of the duck blinds were quite elaborate.

Hall Creek goes from being easily paddle-able to totally unpaddle-able in a very short time. Four and three quarter miles from where we started was all we could go. No time to rest long since sitting around made us cold. Check out the fourth photo at left for Norma at the turnaround point.

Several red winged blackbirds flew amongst the tall grasses. See fifth photo at left.

Heading back, we saw a pair of bald eagles. They were flying near what we think was their nest (sixth photo).

Two muskrats (at least that's what I think they were) played follow-the-leader, chasing each other on the land or swimming in the water. They didn't seem too afraid of us. See seventh photo at left.

Two osprey were getting their nest started on a platform. Check out the photo at the top of this page in the left corner to see one coming in for a landing. The eighth photo at left shows a single bird.

Now that it is spring, it seems animal pairs are busy at work. Spring is my favorite time of year. I love the summer too but I really enjoy seeing blooming flowers, sprouting leaves, and active animals. Best of all, I know in the spring that I have many months ahead of fun outdoor activities.

After 9.5 miles of paddling, we were done. That morning, I wasn't sure if I wanted to get out on a cold, cloudy day or just sleep in. Norma convinced me to seize the day (carpe diem). I'm glad I did.
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Patuxent River Canoe Cleanup
The only thing predictable about weather in Maryland is unpredictability. That's why it pays to be flexible and adaptable to changes.

Last year, I led five eager volunteers on the Patuxent River (Pax) to pick up trash. See March 31, 2007. We were quite successful and managed to remove about 500 pounds of litter. I decided to organize another event this year with a goal of collecting twice as much trash!

I contacted Stephanie at Patuxent River Park and Lindsay at Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary. April 5, 2008 was the scheduled park cleanup date. At Patuxent River Park, volunteers would either walk to various parts of the park to pick up trash or be shuttled via flat-bottomed power boat to places along the shore. At the Sanctuary, people would just travel by foot to various spots to remove litter.

Experience has shown that the places with the most litter are the ones closest to the water. These are also the places most difficult to reach via land. Using the heavy duty aluminum canoes at Patuxent River Park, I planned to lead my group ashore to remove trash at the two parks. I knew the area very well, both on land and on the water, having spent much time kayaking and hiking nearby. The Pax has brought me years of outdoor enjoyment. This was my chance to give a little something back.

After posting my event with the Maryland Outdoor Club (MOC), I managed to recruit several volunteers. I sent out an initial message to my group six days prior to the event passing along any new information and reminding them of anything worth mentioning twice. Two days prior, I checked the weather report. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported the following for April 5:
Showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 61. North wind between 7 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between one and two inches possible.
This was not good.

I contacted Stephanie at the Park. They decided to cancel all cleanup boating activities out of safety concerns. I would have done the same. Taking beginning canoeists on a river high from excess rain then asking them to paddle with boats full of heavy trash bags was not wise. But the land-based cleanup would still take place. Hence, I informed the group that I would help with that. Since this wasn't what they signed up for, I assured them they could drop out of the event if they wanted, without penalty from the MOC. A few did but most still showed up.

On Saturday morning, Norma and I drove to the park, passing two deer crossing the road. Arriving a bit early, we used the park spotting scope to view a nesting osprey on a platform.

Around 0900, Anne Marie, Brian, Christie, Glenn, Joe, Lucas, Norma, and Ruwan showed up, ready and willing to work.

The weather turned out to be dry...not a drop of rain. Greg said they would go ahead with their boat cleanup and we could still use their canoes if I so desired. I checked with the group and they were still eager to do the canoe cleanup. Things were originally on, then off, and now on again. This was a good lesson for me in being adaptable.

Carl and Lisa also showed up to participate in the cleanup using canoes but with a different group. They were with the Appalachian Mountain Club. With only two of them present, Stephanie asked if they could join our group and I gladly accepted them. It turned out that Carl has extensive canoeing and trip leading experience so his assistance was most welcome.

After distributing personal flotation devices (PFDs), passing out paddles, unloading canoes, filling out park waivers, distributing trash bags and gloves, and relaying any remaining information, we were off at 0950, launching from Jackson's Landing.

A fairly strong downstream current and headwind made paddling upstream difficult. I have quite a bit of kayaking experience but canoes are a totally different animal for me so I wasn't particularly helpful in offering advice other than "Paddle harder!" One pair had a difficult time overcoming the current and wind. They decided to join the park's group to help pick up trash via flat-bottomed power boat. They would then join us for lunch and work with us for the remainder of the day.

Carl, Norma, and I cleaned one section on the east side of the river, just north of our launch site. The rest of the group worked on the west side. The ground was extremely muddy. The safest places to step were on spots with significant vegetation. But even then, it wasn't always a guarantee. A few times I stepped and sunk 2.5 feet into soft ground. Though I wore my high rubber boots, a good deal of mud still leaked in. Sometimes it took a great deal of effort to get my boot unstuck.

The first area Carl, Norma, and I cleaned wasn't very dirty compared to areas I've seen in the past.

I found a dead muskrat.

Norma and I paddled to the west side, just across from the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary Pier. We pulled up next to a beaver lodge. Shortly after I pointed it out to Brian, a beaver made a big splash then swam away. I probably should have parked further away from its home so as to not disturb it. We saw it swimming in the river for quite awhile after. Some folks said they saw a second one swimming with it.

I pulled out an old tire. A crayfish crawled out from the mud that it encased.

Some broken glass was encountered. I found it best to save a large container (like a bucket) in which to put the glass. Otherwise, it just cuts through the trash bags.

A little after noon, we all tied our boats to the Sanctuary pier and disembarked. The power boat carrying our two stragglers dropped them off and took away our trash. See first photo at left. It seemed like a good trade.

We walked about 0.9 miles to the visitor center where we ate and added Laura to our group. See second photo at left with Laura looking at the camera.

Lindsay came out and spoke to us a bit. She's the park naturalist who led a fantastic guided canoe trip for the Pax Tri-Event 2007 that Norma and I organized.

At the Sanctuary overlook, we got someone to take a group photo with the beautiful Pax in the background. See third photo at left. From left to right in the back row are Brian, Lisa, Lucas, Anne Marie, Laura, Joe, and Ruwan. From left to right in the front row are Christie, Carl, me, Norma, and Glenn.

We resumed our cleanup, now with 12 volunteers and 5 boats. Having worked south of the Sanctuary pier in the morning, we now worked the north side, between the pier and Mount Calvert Historical and Archaeological Park.

Much more trash was found in the afternoon. Amongst the trash we removed were racquet balls, footballs, basketballs, softballs, a child's toy bowling ball, a baby doll, a duck decoy, a motorcycle helmet, a paddle, fishing bobbers, at least 6 tires, buckets, plastic bottles, cans, but mostly glass bottles...some were very old. Our group labored intensely to collect whatever they could.
     Fourth photo: Christie pushes her way through tall reeds to retrieve some litter.
     Fifth photo: Anne Marie paddling.
     Sixth photo: Lucas and Anne Marie come in for an amphibious landing.
     Seventh photo: Anne Marie and Lucas claim victory over the trash.
     Eighth photo: Anne Marie models the latest in canoe cleanup attire.
     Ninth photo: I show the paddle I found amongst the trash.
     Tenth photo: Glenn speaks to some litter, "I'm coming to get you!"
     Eleventh photo: Ruwan wins the award for filthiest trousers.
     Twelfth photo: Norma burdens a heavy load.

Some unusual vegetation was found. I showed Glenn a root or stem that looked like a medieval weapon or alien device.

Norma saw two snakes, possibly northern water snakes. Numerous osprey were seen. No herons.

There was one area just north of the beaver lodge where water flowed into the river. Not much vegetation around it. This was the mother load for trash. It only took about 10 minutes to fill up a large bag with trash. We managed to get most of it but we ended up running out of time. We'll get the rest next year.

Some bags were so packed that they had to be dragged because they were too heavy to lift. The black bags supplied by the park were amazingly strong.

We unloaded the trash at the Sanctuary pier then moved it near their canoe stand, where a vehicle could reach it. To accomplish this, we put one of our canoes in their steel canoe cart and used it as a wheelbarrow. See thirteenth photo at left. This took quite a bit of teamwork to get it moving fast enough to go up the pier ramp.

Our group didn't have any means to weigh what we collected and with the morning trash already gone, we didn't even have a bag count. I asked for estimates. Joe guessed 1880 to 2260 pounds. I guessed 1600 to 2000 pounds. Whatever it was, we clearly exceeded my goal, which was a mere 1000 pounds. See fourteenth photo at left for us with our afternoon collection. Only about half of it is visible.

We paddled downstream (again into the wind) to get back to Jackson's Landing. Then we put away the boats, paddles, and PFDs. I handed our gloves to Jim (one of the park employees). We were done at 1710.

Brian and Lisa left. The rest of us changed clothes and went out to eat at Pizza Hut in Upper Marlboro, right off route 301. See fifteenth photo at left.

It felt great to work hard, get outside, and help clean up the Pax. It felt even better to be part of a hard working, motivated, winning team.

Special thanks to Joe and Ruwan for providing some of the above photos.
Click thumbnails to enlarge.