First Paddling to Riley's Lock/Seneca Creek Aqueduct

About two months ago I started planning a fall paddling tour for people at the office to join. And today (Saturday) is the day. (Yep. Me. Setting up a social event. Never done that. ha ha. Paddling really takes over me.)

The wind is at NE 9 mph and the temperature is 68'F high. Mostly cloudy with a bit of sun.

After Brian, my instructor from CKAPCO, introduced everyone to a kayak and the basics of paddling. We took off from Algonkian Regional Park heading toward east to Riley's Lock on Maryland side. It felt a bit strange when Brian told me to lead, I am still a newbie paddler! He told me to look for a flag (which...um...wasn't there today) at the golf course, which is the landmark on Virginia side that tells us to cross the river. Another landmark is a stone bridge with two arches (the third one was blown off) across Seneca Creek.

We parked our kayaks near the launch ramp at Seneca Creek Aqueduct and walked along C&O canal to the Seneca stone cutting mill, which provided the red sandstone for the Smithsonian Castle, to have lunch. Unfortunately the building is not well maintained even though it is a part of history.

The fact that Miss Sandy (a hurricane) will wipe out all the fall color with her 50 mph wind gust in a couple days makes me appreciate a simple good day much more. And just like the old says "if you wait for a perfect day, you will never get anything done." So just do it whatever you have in mind.

I am quite sure that this will be my last paddling of the year but my instructor says no way. So we'll see. :)

And even though it is the last one it is definitely one of the best. We have nice weather, beautiful cloud, fall foliage at peak, everyone is smiling, everyone is curious about how to maneuver the boat, willing to learn and try, my favorite instructor leading tour and everyone respects him as I do. I couldn't ask for more. Who knows I might get some new paddling buddies next spring!

Check out the rest of the photos from the trip below or just click this link to my Shutterfly page.

Until next paddling.

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"Real Men Wear Skirts"

I usually don't express my quirky thoughts through a t-shirt but this one is so funny that I have to have it!

First Paddling at Goose Creek, Leesburg, VA

After working so hard and beating the deadline early in the week I was able to take a day off today without losing my PDO (paid-day-off). So I decided to revisit a whitewater class and it was probably my last class of this year. Wow, time flies, doesn't it ?

Right at the edge of the dam.

My instructor, Mike Aronoff at CKAPCO, took me to Goose Creek in Leesburg, Virginia, after we recapped some maneuvers at Lake Audubon for an hour. We started at Goose Creek dam and ended the trip at Kephart Bridge Landing at Elizabeth Mills Riverfront. (I'll tell you more about the place later.) Goose Creek dam is a little hidden place since it's not open to the public. Mike got a special permit from the city so he had an access to it. (Lucky me!) The creek has series of class I-II rapids and flatwater in between so I think it's suitable for a newbie. The water was at 2.08 at the time we paddled. Along the creek there were old mills, residential area, golf course, bridges and a stone quarry (never imagined that). 

NO. We did NOT go down that fall!

And guess what ? I did NOT capsize today even though I got stuck on or between stones a couple times. My butt didn't even get wet at all. What an improvement! (in my opinion. :))  Good scouting and using rudder stroke were super helpful to go through the rapids. It's all about observation, feeling the moving water and the balance.

Taking a break at an old mill. Great view isn't it ? :)

Paddling straight forward is probably the hardest thing to do on a whitewater kayak. I was pretty confident about my forward stroke on a touring/sea kayak but it's because of the structure of the touring kayak's hull and a skeg that help me going straight. My whitewater boat, on the other hand, turned at its will from time to time and was super sensitive to any lean I made. This is because of its clean/round hull shape.

And I always turn my torso when I paddle but still not enough in Mike's opinion. Eww...(But it's good now. :))

Golf Course Rapids...because it's near a golf course.
I think these golf courses should provide a launch ramp on site.
It's a sin to not have access to this creek!

I felt a bit better about my low brace and high brace today. Just a bit. I definitely need a lot more practice so they become natural to me. I couldn't help thinking of those kayakers I watched at the races. Their braces were amazing. Powerful and very effective.

Now I think a whitewater kayak is a good boat to have for practice. (oops! Did I tell you I am still looking for my first touring kayak ? I am darn picky.)

There are always something to learn. So don't let anything stops you from learning and being open-minded in any circumstance. Ever.

Map of the Area

A trip tip from Mike. If you would like to paddle around here, you can launch your boat at Kephart Bridge Landing off Riverpoint Road. This is in a residential area so it might be hard to spot. There are about 10 parking spaces. It's free but the gate closes at dark. Then you can paddle to Algonkian Regional Park. I am told that there is no rapid. So it could be a good day tour. Wait until I get my boat, Potomac! (I don't have a suggestion about where to launch if you want to paddle through rapids though. Sorry.)

Washington and Old Dominion Bike Trial

Who would think Route 7 could be this pretty from down here ?

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the photos. See the whole album from the slideshow below. I didn't have a chance to take many since it's not a good idea to take photos while going through the rapids.

Until next time. Hopefully not too long. The weird weather will hit the area this weekend and my 6-hour trip at Jug Bay got cancelled. Better have a nice weather soon. I haven't witness fall foliage at peak from the water yet.

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