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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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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First Fall Paddling of 2012!

It was a lovely day to be outside. So I drove up to Riverbend Park and used my free kayak rental voucher that I got from the certification class a couple months ago.

It was very crowded at the park but I managed to find a parking right near the river. (There is an option to park at Nature Center if the parking at Visitor Center is full.)

The river was gorgeous. Not many people on the water so I basically had the river by myself. :) The fall color started to come out a bit. We got some rain earlier so nobody was allowed to paddle toward east which was toward the dam.

As I mentioned on the previous post what I love about the river at Riverbend is that there is a mix of moving and flatwater which is a perfect place for a beginner like me to fool around. I played with the rapids by trying to stay on it like I learnt in the class. (And I did! But I couldn't go pass it though. Coz of my wimpy stroke ?) I even snugged my boat behind the rock in the middle of river and had my snack there listening and watching the water running around me. :)

Anyway, it is going to be a busy paddling season! Enjoy the photos!

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Deep Creek Open, McHenry, Maryland

After a very miserable weather on Saturday we got some sunlight on Sunday. I had a chance to paddle at Deep Creek Lake in the morning with my friend and watched the slalom competition at ASCI (Adventure Sports Center International) in the afternoon. I can't think of a better day than this. Do you ? I've never watched the game before. It was so fun to watch. I guess once you know how hard it is you start to feel it in your blood. I can't help feeling jealous of those with the perfect high brace though. :P

The age of the competitors varied from 12 to over 50 years old. Many of them were teenage. But it doesn't mean much here. I think the fierce look and the smile on their face while paddling through the crazy water and after they completed it were priceless.

I don't know much about the rules yet but I am sure I'll dig into it soon. I hope you enjoy the photos from the game as much as I do.

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Lake Audubon, Reston, Virginia

Taking off at 9 am!

The forecast said that we would get few shower on Saturday morning so I didn't want to drive far to other boat rental places. (But we didn't get any. Got a lot of sun instead. Brownie me.) I decided to ask my instructor if I can try some of the school's boats to explore Lake Audubon when the class took place. I had been wanting to explore this lake since it is so lovely in fall.  My request was granted so here I was. Paddling.

Houses

Lake Audubon is a bit bigger than Lake Anne and surrounded by higher-end housing but no boat rental available. The launch boat here is very active and no fee is charged. I took some photos and I hope you enjoy them. (You can check out more photos on my new photo page on Shutterfly. I am in a progress of moving my photos from multiply.com as it is closing down its photo sharing service.)

Aww there is a little cove to explore here...

A pedestrian bridge number 37 over Snakeden Branch.

The prettiest setting for a storm drain I've ever seen so far.

Heading back to the lake

I scared him/her and a couple turtles today. 

Houses around the lake and a lovely sky

Who doesn't love flowers ?! (ok..I was stuck.)

Water can have a pattern too.

Sleeping Duckies

Jackson Journey 13.5, my ride in the morning.

I also took this opportunity to paddle (and carry) 2 kayaks, Jackson Journey 13.5 and 14. And of course practiced paddling strokes and maneuvers. I'll write about them on a separate blog. Yep! I am on the search for a boat. We'll see if I decide to keep renting for another year instead.

Oh well I am sore. (good sore) I ended up paddling for over 3 hours instead of 2 hours as planned. My instructor talked me out of it with by asking a very simple question "Did you practice all your strokes ?" Eww.

Anyway, I would say you can paddle around the lake for fun in less than 1 hour. 

Until next paddling. If the schedule works out, I'll be canoeing at Riverbend! :)

Low Brace and High Brace

I spent over 3 hours on the lake today. My instructor let me try his Jackson Journey 13 and 14 to fool around while he was teaching others. I enjoy doing series of strokes and maneuvers. Love the feeling of the boat gliding through the water. But when it comes to bracing...ugh. Probably because I am uncomfortable with being on the edge of capsize. well...I know they're essential.

And let's not talk about wet exit practice. I am so bad at flipping the boat back. I haven't successfully rolled either but I do think about taking pool rolling class during winter...just to keep my paddling spirit high. :) (Yesterday I saw a video on how to do sweep roll and I feel like I want to try it. I guess that's a good sign!)

So next time I am on the water I am going to practice bracing. I promise!



Oh and I won't believe the weather forecast anymore. It said we would get few showers. It was so sunny that I turned brown.

One Square Mile of Hope

They did for Guinness record last year in New York. It's called One Square Mile of Hope. 

I would love to be on one of those boats! I would never capsize. (But if I did, it would be very scary too!)

Deep Creek Open

If you're in DC area, you might want to drive up north and see this! I am going there (to watch) for sure. Deep Creek Open and U.S. Nationals Canoe/Kayak Slalom– September 8-9, 2012

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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