Mattawoman Creek, Indian Head, Maryland

I heard about Mattawoman Creek from a kayaking group in the area. They mentioned about the lotus blossom which I had never known that the flower even existed in this country and the best part is that there is a boat rental! So I just have to see it!

The lotus blossoms are along the creek. So just paddle toward East or you reach Occoquan Bay. The rental office has a map showing the location of the blossoms for you to look at. 

My paddling path. A little short today.

To see the flowers up-close you just need to paddle though the weed. I hardly saw one right on the edge of water trail. Not easy but it's a good exercise for your torso (as all the experts say you shouldn't use your arm or shoulder muscle). Just paddle with low angle so you don't spoon the heavy weed out of the water.

Isn't it weird to see a trail on the water ?

 

Hello there!

Fishing

Today was so warm (and the storm never came) that after 2 hours of paddling I was pretty much drained and grilled. I wish they opened at 7 am instead of 10 am. Next time I'll try to go further down the creek. Just want to see more of it.


More photos available on my photo page.

Check out this funny slideshow from their paddling at the creek. Unfortunately I didn't see any froggy today.

Another interesting place nearby is Mallows Bay Park where over 100 ships were sunken and tons of wildlife to see. Definitely on my wish list. And stay tuned for my next night paddling tours at Fountainhead and Algonkian on the two upcoming weekends. Who said there is nothing to do in DC area ?!

OH! Have you tried Young Lotus Root Salad from Four Sisters Vietnamese Restaurant in Fall Church, Virginia ? Very refreshing. If you like Papaya Salad at a Thai restaurant, you gonna love this dish. If you have never had it, just give it a try!

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Let's talk about the rental a bit. I rented a kayak from Up the Creek. The staffs were so nice and kind. The lady at front desk let me look at the "Hobie kayak" at the back of their store and explained how I could put a propeller on the back of the boat. Then showed me the map of lotus blossoms locations. She even cut the plastic package of the ice pop for me I bought before I left (so I don't have to bite it off. ha ha.)

Their kayak, my junk, my lunch bag and their paddle.

Since it's a very active launch site and today there was a group of at least 20 kayakers about to take off when I got there. A young staff came to tell the front desk I might want to get ready soon otherwise I might have to wait for a really long time to launch.

THE launch pad (or whatever it is called...)

The reason is that this rental has a fancy launch pad for a kayak...at least it's fancy in my opinion. :) The lady at the dock walked me through since she probably noticed I have never used it before. It's basically a big plastic tray with handrails and series of rollers at the bottom so you don't drag your kayak on a hard surface. 

General Information about Up the Creek:

Website: http://www.upthecreekrentals.net/
Rental Hours: Friday-Sunday, 10am-6pm
Good to Know: 
- Concrete boat ramp is available for your kayaks, motor boats, paddle boards etc. The office has their kayak launch pad.
- The park closes at dark.
- Mattawoman Creek is a great place to fish.
- I would say the kayaks and all the gears here are in great care. It seems they are kept indoor. Sit-in and Sit-on-Top are available. You can have a propeller attached to the boat too!
- If you're small and have short legs like me, make sure you ask for a smaller boat. (But I am not sure they have one.) My feet couldn't reach the foot rests unless I stretched my legs damn straight which is very awkward to paddle like that.
- Many selection for ice cream at the rental office. Perfect for a hot day like this. (or any days actually)

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First Descents: Outdoor adventure for cancer fighters and survivors

These days my eyes always catch the words: paddling, kayaking, canoeing pretty fast. And today I came across an inspiring story on CNN, "Extreme kayaker helps young adults with cancer through outdoor adventures" by Natalie Angley. It totally moves me. I lost both of my parents to cancer and I really appreciate this effort. I had never thought kayaking could help people this way. To be honest I really want to volunteer for their camp photographer. I paddle. I shoot photos. More importantly I have days off left and I need vacation!

Check out First Descents website. You might be able to help them out in some ways.

8 Ball Kayak at Teva Mountain Games

I came across this 8 Ball Kayak at Teva Mountain Games on a cable tv at my friend's house. The game is in Vail, Colorado around beginning of June. Absolutely crazy. ha ha. Never thought there is such a game. But probably fun to watch ? This is just one of their crazy games.

These are great professional photos by Scott McClarrinon.

Check out their Facebook page for updates and photos from the event.

2012 Great Falls Race

Update: 2012/07/18

This year the race was on VA Line. The overlook 1 was where you can witness the whole race. 

You can check out the photos from the race by clicking here.

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Original Post: 2012/07/07

Oh my goodness. This is so cool! I had never known that there was an event right here. I am going to be there......for photo shooting of course. Check out their photos or their video from last year. They're great!

The 2012 Great Falls Race from Simon Braun on Vimeo.

The exact location of the event has not been announced yet depending on the water level. But check out the official website at Great Falls Race

My First Whitewater Kayaking, Violette's Lock-Pennyfield Lock, Maryland

Honestly, I don't know where to start writing about the lesson I took today, an EZ whitewater class with CKAPCO. There were so many things to talk about from this 5-hour class. I could possibly write 3 blogs out of it.

The class took place at Violette's Lock and ended at Pennyfield Lock, Maryland. This water trail is quite pretty and unique. You can also find a flatwater and a whitewater on the same trail. Hard to believe it is so close to the city. We got 3 students today. The other two students were a couple from Richmond and wanted to take this class specifically with Mike. (And I decided to take it partly just because it's a Friday 13.) 

After getting all dressed up and drilling some essential skills on a fairly flatwater area which I totally enjoyed, the real moving water was right in front of me.

Umm...it's really moving.

New vocabulary and important skills I learnt

Ferry -  Basically you can't paddle straight against the stream. You need to angle your boat while paddling and edging otherwise you will end up paddling like a hamster on a wheel and going nowhere...the same way I paddled to Chain Bridge for the first time. (Looks like I need to give Chain Bridge another try.)

Eddy - It's the reverse current formed behind an obstacle which is basically your rest area during whitewater paddling. And you need it.

Eddy Turn - An important skill to get to an eddy. I ended up paddling upstream a lot because I didn't make a turn in time. You need to know where is the eddy line, when to initiate the turn, when to change your edging and when to apply the counter-turn.

Umm...who says it's easy ?


Experience to share

I like when the boat is passing through the rapids (...well...as long as I don't capsize I guess. : P). It's like driving on a hilly road.

Every student capsized. I capsized once when I was about to finish one of my eddy turns. It was at the most unexpected moment in my opinion. I was almost there to stop...then I flipped. Just like that. So I had to pull my boat up to a rock which was slightly steep to drain the water and launch it back to the water from there. So I was on a kayak on a rock. And, of course, it was photographed as a record.

Oh, don't forget to put a skeg up before dragging the boat on a hard surface.

Image from My 365 Day 195

I managed to surf a kayak on a rapid once after failing to do so about half dozen times. It's a part of the lesson. Basically you paddle upstream toward a small rapid and try to stay on it by using forward and rudder strokes to keep the boat straight against the stream. It's pretty much like playing a game with the water.

Always have a spare paddle in your group. Another student lost her paddle when she capsized in the middle of rapids. We're glad she's ok. After searching for the paddle for a while Mike decided to tow her boat which we shouldn't do on a whitewater but we had no choice.  Half way into the towing he decided to tow my boat instead since it had a skeg so I got a free ride. Yeah~. (Please note this is not included in the package or the lesson.)

My free ride. 

(^_______^)

Ok...I promise I stop babbling soon. At this point I think I prefer paddling on a flatwater...or probably until I master my eddy turn. :)

If you want to know what it's like, just give it a try. (Umm...not by yourself.) The most important part is that make sure you know your real paddling skill and your limit. Mike told me stories of his students and it's amazed how many people think paddling on whitewater is something to fool around. Ignorance doesn't do any good when you paddle especially on a whitewater. (Actually it doesn't do any good anywhere.)

Once you get the feel of the moving water, how to handle your boat, your paddle, your body, and how they all work together, all these will come to you naturally. Some of you might get these faster than others. I am physically slow by nature. I failed my eddy turn about a dozen times before I could relate it to the practice at the beginning of the class. I still hear "No wimpy stroke!" and "Good forward stroke!" in my head pretty clearly which is very helpful actually. Sometimes it is much easier to have somebody tell me what to do when I can't think straight. (Good job, Mike.)

Photo of "Kayak Master"
taken by me, the baby grasshopper.

Anyway, until next paddling. Stay tuned on the photos from Great Falls Race 2012 where wimpy strokes only mean troubles.

Have a great weekend!

Check out some more photos from here.

My First Night Kayak Tour at Pohick Bay, Lorton, Virginia

Check out more photos from my photo page.

Just about an hour drive from Reston, Virginia, Pohick Bay is a great place to paddle for a beginner. A safety tip from our tour guide is if you capsize, just stand up. (I love it!) The water is pretty shallow but doesn't mean you can be careless. Wear your life jacket (and tighten it up) anyway.

Paddling toward sunset

I highly recommend this night tour. I am not sure you agree with me but I think it is a nice way to spend your evening before going to bed. It costs you only $30. The park main gate closes at dark so this tour gives you an exclusive access to the bay at night. If you're not a big fan of bugs, put some spray on before embark. Brushing them away while paddling is not fun. (I learnt it hard way.) Bring a flashlight with you since it's pitch-black after the sunlight is gone. There are very few artificial light at the bay.

Our tour guide who has done this for 8 years.
(No raft-up required here!)

Unfortunately I have no photo from the second half of the tour for you since my camera can't handle 'no light' environment. (^^) It's actually the fun part of the tour because we went through narrow path where the water was covered with plants and debris in some areas. It's like going through a maze. I have no idea how our guide knows his way around.

Oh I learnt that there is one, only one, resident at Pohick Bay. Her 3 houses and her 5-acre land right on the waterfront (if I remember correctly) is here before the park. Lucky her! She still lives in one of the houses and rent the two to others.

Great scene. Don't you think ?

The tour lasts about 2 hours excluding the introduction and launching parts. Though the park says no paddling experience is required for this trip I personally think the trip will be more enjoyable for you if you have some.

Definitely do it again. (Actually I already registered for another one!)

Trust me the red moon was big and gorgeous.

My next paddling is going to be a whitewater lesson! Stay tuned!

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General Information about the tour:

Pohick Bay Official Website: http://www.nvrpa.org/park/pohick_bay/
Where to meet: Marina boat rental (There are about 20 parking spots including ADA ones.)
How to register and make payment: Registration is required, over the phone only, accept only Visa and Master Card.
What to bring: water, bug spray, a flashlight

I wish I had these in my backyard!

Also good to know: A boat rental is available. There are canoes, kayak, tandem kayak, paddle boards and Jon boats. Launch-your-own-boat area is a bit further down on the same road. You just need to pay the fee. Restrooms and vending machine are available. 

Check out more photos from my photo page.