My First Paddling at Riverbend Park

Dear Readers,

Riverbend Park has become my most favorite place to paddle. (Did I say something like this on the previous posts ? ha ha.) Last Friday when we got the blue moon I joined a canoe tour provided by the park. We got a perfect weather and sky. The Potomac River looked all lovely. The tour started about 6 pm and lasted for 2 hours. So we saw the sunset and the moonrise in one trip.

We had two paddlers per canoe. I teamed up with the tour guide. I was a bow paddler. We paddled upstream toward the pump house. The water here was super flat and clear although our guide said it didn't mean it was clean. But once we passed the pump house we got a bit of small rapids here and there. They were not considered as whitewater. However knowing the principle of ferrying helped me a lot and of course I was glad that I still remembered how to canoe since I hadn't done it since last year.

And good news for a newbie with no boat like me. There is a boat rental here but you can't rent until you attend their tour or their classification class which I did earlier this summer. If you attend a classification class you can rent a kayak for 3 hours for free. The instructor will sign a paper and a member card for you. Don't lose them! :)

If you own a boat, the launch fee is $5 per boat as of the day I am writing this blog.

Well, don't want to bore you anymore with the text. The photos are way more interesting. (And I have 2 more blogs to finish! I shouldn't have paddled at 3 different places 3 days in a row, should I ?!)

Enjoy! And see the detail about the park and the tour below. :)

If you have a trouble seeing photos hosted by Shutterfly, please drop me a comment.

 

                     Click here to view these pictures larger

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General Information about the tour:

Riverbend Fairfax County Park Official Events Website: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/riverbend/kayaktours.htm

Where to meet: near boat launch ramp (with Restrooms at the Visitor Center which is just steps away.)

How to register and make payment: Online before the event, accept only Visa and Master Card.

What are provided: boats (depending on the tour but canoes, solo, tandem kayaks and row boats are available), paddle, PFD, helmet (optional)

What to bring: water 

Riverbend Boat Rental Information:

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/riverbend/fishing.htm

A Night Tour at Fountainhead Regional Park, VA

I finally got back on to the boat again yesterday for a 3-hour-long night tour at Fountainhead Regional Park. Well...it's dark. Very dark that you could see lots of stars. Unfortunately my knowledge in astronomy is zero so I couldn't tell you what I saw. We're lucky that we got a very clear sky as well. The water was very calm that I think you could just float your air mattress on the water and stay there all night.

It's quite different from the tour at Pohick Bay since the water here is wide open. We visited a couple coves not too far from the boat launch and came across deers, birds, frogs, submerged concrete structure with spiders, etc. The paddling was relaxing. All you can hear was the paddle hit against the water which was very loud when you had 15 people on the tour. (ha ha I could see my instructor clutching his head.) If you just want to paddle away, here is your place.

The moon rose above the trees line about half hour before the tour was over so it's rewarding.

Meanwhile you can check out the photos I took last year by clicking here. It's really pretty in fall. I am sure I'll be on a boat for hours here later this year.

Stay tuned for a tour at Algonkian Regional Park next week. I promise some photos since it's a morning tour!

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General Information about the tour:

Fountainhead Regional Park Official Events Website: http://www.nvrpa.org/park/fountainhead/events
Where to meet: Marina boat rental building (with Restrooms)
How to register and make payment: Registration is required, over the phone only, accept only Visa and Master Card.
What are provided: Boats (single-person kayaks, tandem kayaks, canoes - for the tours, more options for rental) paddle, PFD, headlight
What to bring: water, bug spray (I don't need one this time. :) It's breezy.)

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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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.

The Rappahannock River, Fredericksburg, Virginia

Note: More photos available on my photo main page.

If you read my previously blog, you probably wonder why I was here in Fredericksburg, Virginia, instead of my friend's new vacation home and the Adventure Sport Center near Swallow Falls in Maryland. Well, the trip got canceled at the last minute. My friend had a family issue to deal with. I am so okay with it. A family always comes first. It's tough to be a parent. And somehow it worked out beautifully for me because I had a chance to be at the American Canoe Association's Celebrate the Rapp festival in Federicksburg on Saturday and paddled on the Rappahannock River for the first time. (So no worry, Karen! We'll do it next time.)

The City Dock

So I convinced and nagged my other friend, Christine, to go to the festival with me and I agreed to see Yanni Concert at Wolf Trap with her in return.  Hey that's a spirit of compromise!  (It's an amazing concert by the way.) So here we go. One of the most fun weekend. Just like an old saying, "it's not about destination. it's about whom you travel with". I think it's so true!

A lovely house near the City Dock

We arrived around 10:30 and helped cleaning up the City Dock right away. It's done within about an hour. The parking lot was the worst. We almost screamed when we saw people started smoking when we left. The cigarette company should pay for the clean up, seriously. The area wasn't big but we picked up almost 2,000 cigarette butts according to the volunteer leader whom we ran into later that day. 

Along the road

The back of an art gallery

The pump house and the bridge over the river

I like the fact that you can access the river and see it almost at any point along Sophia Street. I didn't have a chance to explore the real downtown area but I'll try next time.

View of the railroad bridge over the Rappahannock River from the boat

Under the railroad bridge

A sketch I made later while waiting for the movie festival to start
for my 365 Day161

And here is a painting of the bridge for my 365 Day163

Such a lovely sky we had today

So now we're here for the festival.  there were a bunch of vendors, food, craft etc. The highlighted activities were the river clean-up, free 45-min paddling lessons for kayaking, canoeing and stand-up paddle (SUP), the historical river tour and Reel Paddling Film Festival which showcased nine best paddling films of year 2012. (I wrote about the film festival on the previous post. They were great! Don't forget to check it out. It's a must.) 

The festival was a bit smaller than I thought and some volunteers were not quite informed about the activities. I ended up walking around a lot between the city dock and the festival but I got to experience the town along the riverside a bit better (and took a lot of photos so who cares!). 

Based on my experience you don't need to sign up anything online for next year. Maybe with an exception of stand-up paddling class which was very popular and maybe the river tour because they had to have a boat for you. But do it early, not the night before or your name won't make it onto the list. My friend name wasn't on the SUP class.

Our guide who has been here for over 25 years

Our tour group

Paddling time! We had about 12 people at the tour group. Mr. Greg Mertz of US Park Service was our guide. The tour was about visiting the sites during Civil War. I learnt about what happened, where it took place and what the pontoon looked like! Now I want to read more about Civil War. This was a 2-hour-long tour at $5. (Oh my! It's 10 times more expensive here and we're just an hour away! Unfortunately the tour was just for this event.) 

A view during the tour. (Trust me I was listening!)

The reflection and the shadow at the boat ramp

My fav photo!

I am jealous! The boat ramps were pretty busy. 
There were boats in and out all the time.

I was caught taking a photo of their canoe.
They said I should take a photo of them instead
because they were a better view. Ha ha.
(Hope you see my post! :) )

People here were so friendly and relaxed. The pace of the town is much much slower than the city which was very nice. A lot of fishing, paddling, boating and unfortunately smoking.

After a great and relaxing dinner at Brock's Riverside Grill near the railroad bridge we strolled down back to the festival and decided to just relax at the dock while the sun was setting. Not much to say. The views were just simply lovely.

View from a dock at the park

Another favorite shot

Our dangling feet

The movie screen with a perfect auditorium-seating-like sloped area
right in front of the river.

Aww here was the best part, 2-hour-long Reel Paddling Film Festival, you just have to read about it on my previous post. I can't fit it in here! It's too good. I wish there were more people sticking around. They should show this in Reston or DC. There must be a lawn somewhere here. We have thousands of paddlers. They could make a lot more money from us. I definitely go again if they come to the area.

The last shot of the day

So that's the end. We left the town around 11 pm. Driving on I-95 was scary but we drove slowly, kept chatting and sang songs out loud to stay awake. I guess you can tell we had great time. I hope you have a chance to be here in the near future.


Until next paddling~


Note: More photos available on my photo main page.
Note 2: I am so sorry about the typo for the town name!