OUTER BANKS NC & DELMARVA kayaking
Apr 6-13, 2008 - NC kayaking. WS Tempest 170, a 17' polyethylene touring kayak.
Apr 13 - BOGUE SOUND. From Hoop Pole Woods (behind closed Hardee's & shopping center) in Atlantic Beach. Marshy islands at start, many oyster beds. Headed W on the sound, very shallow at low tide. Shores mostly developed after the marshes. 8 miles.
Apr 12 - WHITE OAK RIVER. Upstream from Haywood Landing boat launch. Explored some feeders incl. Holston Creek. Turned around at power line. Water snake.
Apr 11 - HUGGINS ISLAND. From Bear Island, marked trail around Huggins then to visitor center. Most of the islands between the barrier islands & the mainland are marshy (saltmarsh cordgrass), Huggins has a maritime forest & lies at the mouth of the White Oak River. Drove to Cedar Point campground, our base for rest of trip - convenient, some road noise, not much privacy.
Apr 10 - BEAR ISLAND. Trout Channel on N side of the island to sandy beach at Bear Inlet. Got lost for over an hour in a maze of channels trying to follow the marked trail to Shell Rock Landing. Egrets, tricolored herons, black skimmers.
Apr 9 - BEAR ISLAND. Get camping permit & launch from Hammocks Beach SP Visitor Center. 3 mile marked trail thru marshy islands to Bear, a shallow channel leads into a lagoon & landing near campsite #7 - we have to walk the beach to site #6 which is in the dunes. From our site it is a 10 min. beach walk to restroom/shower building. Atlantic Ocean surf zone - played/practiced, got wiped out when I didn't edge enough into a large breaking wave & lost my prescription sunglasses because in the excitement I had forgotten to attach Croakies & floater. Bottlenose dolphins, brown pelicans, jellyfish (washed up on beach).
Apr 8 - GREAT LAKE. In the heart of Croatan NF. About 2 x 3 miles - paddled most of perimeter - some small sandy beaches on E shore - coffee colored water. Windy - waves to 1.5'. No development - wilderness shores - pocosin> (raised bog) habitat - shapely trees in water. Osprey nest. 8.7 miles, 3.5 hrs.
Apr 7 - BRICE CREEK. From NC Wildlife Resources Commission boat ramp to SR 1111 bridge & back. Paddled upstream, explored many inlets & side-channels. Osprey with fish in claws & nest. Mostly undeveloped, W shore is in Croatan NF. 14.9 miles.
Apr 6 - NEUSE RIVER upstream from Seven Springs. Noticeable current. White, yellow & pink blossoms. Cliffs of the Neuse rise 70' above. Above the cliffs explored a swampy inlet with interesting bald cypress trees. Mostly undeveloped. Watch out for poison ivy on shore. Deer. 10.8 miles, 4.5 hrs. Drove to Neuse River campground - nice, fairly private sites, nearby sandy beach, got some great paddling maps of Carteret County from campground host.
Apr 8-14, 2007 - kayaking NC Outer Banks. Spent most of the week camped in the dunes at Oregon Inlet Campground (Frisco, on Hatteras Isl., is the nicest of the National Seashore campgrounds, Oregon Inlet is more convenient to restaurants, etc. like the Outer Banks Brewing Station which had very good beer & food) - windy; refreshing cold showers. Windy most of the week - 15-25 knots range. The sounds are generally shallow & we saw little boat traffic of any kind. P & H Quest, a 17'7" sea kayak.
Apr 14 - Croatan Sound. W side of Roanoke Island from boat ramp on California St. Temp in 60s. Mix of some development & wild sand beaches. More beaches on Roanoke Island than on the sound side of the National Seashore. Lots of wildlife: osprey on nest, pelican, ibis, C geese nesting.
Apr 13 - Kitty Hawk Woods. From boat ramp on Bob Perry Rd. Jean Guite Creek (covered bridge), Stone Island, Currituck & Kitty Hawk Bays. Temp in 60s. Osprey, egrets, muskrat, nutria - no cottonmouths (darn!).
Apr 12 - Pamlico Sound from Ocracoke Island. Took the ferry over to 18-mile-long Ocracoke Island - interesting village of Ocracoke, most of the island is undeveloped National Seashore. Temp in 70s. Put in at Molasses Creek & headed NE to wild pony corral. Several coves & creeks along the way can be explored if one can find the deeper water. Clear water - very shallow, tho.
Apr 11 - Milltail Creek, Aligator River NWR. From Buffalo City Rd. The creek is wide at first but soon narrows to 40'. Alligator, owl, little blue heron; osprey nest between 2 trees on Alligator River which is over 4 miles wide.
Apr 10 - Pamlico Sound from Salvo Day-Use Area, Hatteras Island. No Ache Island.
Apr 9 - Roanoke Sound along Bodie Island. Headquarters & Bells Islands & south. Mostly marshy islands & shore, found a small island with a beach to land on. Ibis.
Apr 8 - Merchants Millpond, Bennett's Creek, Lassiter Swamp. Absolutely cool place - a maze of bald cypress trees. Alligator, egrets, bald eagle, turtles.
Apr 18-23, 2004 - NE NORTH CAROLINA kayaking. General: First 3 nights we camped inland at Pettigrew State Park on Phelps Lake - small campground among tall bald cypresses & huge sycamores (some had hollowed out trunks that you could walk into), good hot showers, a few mosquitoes, snake (green rat snake or chicken snake); the next 2 nights we camped at Oregon Inlet Campground at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore (on Bodie Island, as are the towns of Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills & Kitty Hawk) - 5 min. walk across dunes to the Atlantic, exposed & windy, cold showers, no bugs. Water temp. in creeks & sounds in the 60s, high 40s on the ocean; air temp: daytime highs 75-85, lows around 60. No rain all week - just sun & more sun - winds generally 10-15 knots from the SW (gusts can be higher). Best guidebook: Guide to Sea Kayaking in North Carolina by Pam Malec (has all below trips except for Scuppernong), also useful: Sea Kayaking the Carolinas by Bannon & Paddling Eastern North Carolina by Ferguson.
Apr 18 - SCUPPERNONG RIVER - tall bald cypresses, loblolly pines, tupelo, blackgum, dogwood, Carolina ash, butterflies, water snakes, tons of turtles, pileated woodpeckers, cardinals, a gb heron. Mistletoe growing on some of the deciduous trees. Concrete ramp put-in next to Spruill's bridge on Main St. east of the village of Creswell. Paddled downstream 6 miles then returned - river is about 60-100' wide at start & widens slowly downstream. Wooden platforms are located every few miles for rest stops since shores are swampy. Mostly undeveloped, pristine shores except at bridges. 5.5 hrs.
Apr 19 - ROANOKE SOUND . Winds from SW 15-20 knots. First put-in at a kayak launch area on the Nags Head side near Headquarters Island - paddled down some deadend channels & cornered a cormorant - too windy out on the exposed sound. Drove across the bridge to Roanoke Island where there is a boat launch with multiple concrete ramps & an osprey nest nearby. Paddled S & pulled off on a small beach & just hung out on a hill enjoying the view. Brown pelicans fly by. Wide channels lead thru the marsh. Little development on S half of the island (city of Manteo is on N end of the island). Pick up map with put-ins at visitor center on island's W side on Rt.64.
Apr 20 - SAWYER LAKE & MILLTAIL CREEK in the ALLIGATOR RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE . Headed up a channel & into pretty Sawyer Lake then back past put-in & downstream on Milltail Creek. Soon saw an alligator - didn't see its tail but figured it must be 6-7' long. Bald cypress, pines, some grasses - trees smaller than on Scuppernong. Saw another alligator. Made it to the Alligator River (part of the Intracoastal Waterway) which is about 5 miles wide at this point - vocal ospreys in a nearby nest - swampy shore makes for lousy landings for a break. Saw wood duck mom with chicks on way back. 12 miles, 6 hrs. A must-do trip if you are in these parts - undeveloped except for a run-down camp. Another trip report & pics.
Apr 21 - PEA ISLAND NWR on Pamlico Sound from New Inlet. Rt. 12 bridge from Bodie to Pea Island then 7 miles to sandy put-in site. Great egrets, oystercatcher. Windy, but we did a reasonably good job of hiding behind the many marshy islands - waves up to 1.5'. Average water depth just 2'. MAP.
Apr 22 - JEAN GUITE CREEK to CURRITUCK SOUND . Mix of marsh & swamp at concrete ramp put-in on Bob Perry Rd in Kitty Hawk. Great & snowy egrets, poisonous cottonmouths (water moccasins), turkey vultures, deer, ospreys, prothonotary warbler, killer catfish. The cottonmouths we saw were much fatter than the other water snakes & had a very definite pattern on top - they just headed for land when we approached. Undeveloped shores til we paddled under a covered bridge - area is part of a preserve, Kill Devil Woods, & is a prime example of a maritime forest. Light development on creek beyond. Fancy homes as creek widens into the sound N of Rt.158 bridge but this is where we saw many ospreys. Creek is about 4 miles long but open at each end (Kitty Hawk Bay to the S).
Apr 23 - LITTLE COLINGTON ISLAND & KITTY HAWK BAY morning paddle. Put-in at a small sandy spot 3 miles W of Rt.158 & the Wright Bros Memorial. Paddled under bridge & S on channel then E into the sound & around a point. Heading N again on Colington Creek we pass under another road bridge & enter Kitty Hawk Bay. Stop at a sandy beach near tip of Little Colington which had some interesting palm-like vegetation & pines. Wound our way thru some marshy islands then looped back to start. 7 miles, 2.3 hrs. Minimal development on Little Colington but Kill Devil Hills/Kitty Hawk Bay shores are mostly developed. After the paddle, picked up some super sandwiches at Ocean Bread on the main drag & went over to a town beach on the ocean side where we saw dolphins - surf was small & seas were relatively calm & it would have been perfect for an ocean paddle but we had to be off on the long drive home (600+ miles to APnP).
NWK Synergy HV kayak paddled nicely, not especially fast for a kayak of its length but very predictable in waves, didn't use the rudder at any point. Aquabound AMT Carbon paddle broke at the ferrule - 2nd one I've seen this happen to so we probably will not be stocking the carbon version in the future - Aquabound has reduced the weight of this paddle over the last couple of years but I feel they have compromised its durability. Used Werner Rec Tour paddle most of trip & is a very nice paddle in the same price/weight range as the Aquabound AMT Carbon - have never had any problems with Werners. Thermalwear not needed except if paddling on the ocean - wore non-cotton shorts/shirts & watershoes most of trip - wore Chota Mukluks the 1st day but were too hot.
Apr 18, 2003 - CORKERS CREEK & POCOMOKE RIVER. Immature bald eagle, wood duck, prothonotary warblers, american redstarts. From campground, 1.5 miles around island then about a mile upstream on Corkers Creek almost to Rt.113. Mostly bald cypress swamp.
Apr 17 - Leifer Trail(Furnace Town/Upper Nassawango Creek), Milburn Landing (Pocomoke River), Cypress Park (Pocomoke City) walks. Too windy & cold to paddle. Trails took us by bald cypress swamps & thru what they call "upland forests" which are a few feet higher in elevation than the swamps & are comprised of mountain laurel, holly, red maple, pitch & loblolly pines, white, red & water oaks.
Apr 16 - POCOMOKE RIVER & NASSAWANGO CREEK, near Snow Hill, MD. Put-in at Shad Landing. Ospreys, cormorants, pair of bald eagles, Carolina chickadee, painted turtles. Lightly developed, mostly bald cypress swamp. 12 miles, 6 hrs. Skipped the wet suit today due to 80 degree temps. Drove to Chincoteague for dinner & awesome pink/purple full moonrise over the Atlantic.
Apr 15 - JANES ISLAND, CHESAPEAKE BAY near Crisfield, MD. Dolphins. Surfed some waves at N end of island. Remote sandy beaches. Got into some pretty good 2' wind waves as we crossed the mouth of Rock Hole Cove - Kaboose led the way in a Dagger Callisto w/rudder. Green trail, Ward Creek, Blue trail, surfed back up Dougherty Creek Canal to put-in after passing an osprey on man-made raised platform. Still woreAquaShell wet suit despite temp in 70s - water temp around 50 (~60 in shallows near shore) - Oblivia decided to go for a short swim during a break on the W shore & reported it wasn't too bad.
Apr 14 - CHINCOTEAGUE BAY & ASSATEAGUE ISLAND near Ocean City, MD. Dolphins in the Atlantic Ocean. Wild horses & sika deer on the bay side. Catbirds & grackles near the put-in. Arsonis scares up a cloud of geese in one of the bays. Enjnir covered with ticks at lunchstop in the pines (most of us found a tick or 2 on body during the week, look too big to be deer ticks, tho) - hard to find a good place to land esp. at low tide. Water shallow in the bay so you won't see too many motorboats around. Rounded Tingles Island. Watched loon diving behind island near put-in at Ferry Landing. Camped at Pocomoke River SP - Shad Landing Area for rest of week - road traffic too close - would probably choose Milburn Landing campground across the river next time.
Apr 13 - PRIME HOOK CREEK near Lewes, DE. Prime Hook NWR. From refuge HQ we paddle down a channel, then L down another channel, then L again & upstream on the creek. Early part of trip is thru marsh with tall grasses. Shores eventually become treed with red maple, holly & sweet bay magnolia. Mistletoe grows in bunches up on the leafless branches. Banks swampy & only chance of a good dry landing is up side-trail to launch at end of Little Neck Rd. Many side-channels lead to duck blinds, signs at most junctions thankfully point us back to HQ. See large box turtle. 12 miles. Craft-brewed beer lovers should not miss Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats - Nehasane most enjoyed the Indian Brown Ale & the 60 Minute IPA. Camped at Cape Henlopen SP (expensive @ $26, some light industrial type noise at night!) - walked to Atlantic ocean thru old WWII fort area with bunkers still set into the dunes (3 miles RT) - weird! Fish crows common in camping area.
General comments: Spring in evidence here on the Delmarva Peninsula with blossoms & buds on trees, green grass. Lots of chicken farms & turkey vultures. Great egrets fairly common, rarely saw great blue herons. Good beer & restaurants hard to find in Eastern Maryland. Had a tough time deciding which kayak to bring - wanted something that is easy to get in & out of on rough river/creek shore, is not too heavy (up to 55lbs.), has reasonable speed/efficiency but didn't need any speed demon, good for "lite" sea kayaking in small waves, good maneuverability in creeks, can hold a course in moderate winds & is playful (good on edge). Wished I could bring a canoe & a couple of kayaks but didn't have the room. Dagger Charleston 15 (the only plastic boat under consideration has all the prerequisites) - good boat for surfing, used the skeg in most open water situations, skeg up in the creeks for maneuverability - lots of room in cockpit (able to tuck spare paddle between seat & hull, Nalgene drink bottle tucked firmly on opposite side) - able to make it turn just by putting it on edge - lots of primary stability for photography & peering thru binos - great value for the beginner/intermediate touring kayaker (lot of boat for under $900) - plenty of storage room for overnights. Paddles: Liked the Werner Kalliste Carbon Fiber Bent Shaft 230cm paddle as time progressed easy on the arms & wrists. Used Werner Rec Sport 220cm for surfing where a higher angle (more-aggressive) stroke is employed, did not like it anywhere near as much as the Kalliste while cruising. PFD: Stohlquist mOCEAN - comfort is key. SealLine Baja deck bag stayed dry - even when I left the zipper open in the 2' waves (lucky) - able to keep it far enough away from me so as not to hit it while paddling.
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