Closing Out 2006
2006 was coming to a close and after spending a quiet Christmas at home Dave and I were looking to get out of town. Now in late December that would normally mean a weekend skiing at Whitegrass but alas snow has been scarce this year. 60 degree days and 40 degree nights however we have had and that means kayak camping!
I hunted for a destination and the obvious choice was to look south where its warmer. But with only three days we couldn't go real far. Assateague seemed the most logical choice but I wanted somewhere new. Finally, I came across False Cape State Park. I remember Greg and Jenny from the CPA mentioning this before but we hadn't been there yet. Perfect.
From the forecast it looked like we'd have great weather on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday December 29-31 -- just the window we needed. I called the Park, got reservations for a bayside site, found a chart of sorts and emailed our usual paddling crew to drum up some company. Kingsley, Page and Frank D. all responded with interest. A trip was shaping up.
Since Dave had to work on the 1st, I took Friday off and we headed own in the morning. We arrived at Little Island City Park at 12:30 pm, found the put-in and began packing the boats. Funny how whether it is a two week or two day trip the boats are always full! The put-in was a very small, shallow inlet off of Back Bay and once we were fully loaded we had to line the boats out until we reached deep enough water to float the boats.
Once afloat we paddled south along Bay Back National Wildlife Refuge. The Bay itself is alot like Assateague with shallow waters easily affected by wind. According to a ranger we met, if a north wind blows for 48 hours water levels can drop two feet or more and that means walking in many areas. However, with no wind we had plenty of water. We opted to hug the shore to ensure we wouldn't miss our destination of Barbour Hill.
We needn't have worried because after paddling just over 5 miles we reached the very obvious boat dock at Barbour Hill. We had reserved site 3 and Kingsley and Page had site 2 for the following night. The sites, while large and shaded by huge trees, were a hike from the beach and we were glad to have packed bags to schlep the gear. The sun began to set just as we finished setting up camp. We cooked some dinner, went for a walk under the nearly full moon and turned in for the evening.
False Cape is great because in addition to paddling opportunities there are many hiking trails -- over ten miles in total. On Saturday morning we walked the 1.4 miles to the beach. The trail cut through the barrier island and passed the park office and the ocean side campsites before reaching the ocean. The beach was fabulous! Miles and miles of undeveloped, competely empty beach. We could have walked for miles in either direction but opted to return to camp to explore by kayak.
Back in the drysuits and boats we headed south again, paddling from point to point with the intent of checking out the campsites at False Cape Landing and possibly the Wash Woods area further down. We ended up missing False Cape as it is set back in a bay which we overshot in our point hopping. But we found Wash Woods and, after beaching the boats, hiked to the town's old cemetery and church. False Cape is rather cushy backcountry camping in part because the park is new and its infrastructure includes a collection of former hunt clubs, camps, and the community of Wash Woods.
Once on the water and heading north I heard Kingsley call out on the VHF. They had arrived at Barbour Hill but were going to continue paddling by circumnavigating Cedar Island. Dave and I kept an eye out to meet up with them but as we neared the campsite hunger won out. We enjoyed a some yummy soup and bread while waiting for them on the Barbour Hill bench. At last we could see their paddles glinting in the sunlight and as we finshed our lunch they arrived.
As they unloaded their boats we couldn't help but notice that Page's pile of gear was incredibly small. He has the go-lite thing completely down although he will tell you it is just that he doesn't have any gear. Frank also had a small pile but that was because somehow he managed to leave ALL his food at home. With normal campers this might be a problem but not with Dave and me. We always have too much food and feeding Frank turned out to be no problem. In fact everyone was so full after dinner we had to hike to the beach and back just to work some of the fullness off!
Both Friday and Saturday the weather had been impecible. Warm days and cool, but not cold, nights. The winds were non-existant and the water was flat, glassy calm. But Saturday night as the sun set you could see the forecast rain approaching on the horizon.
Sunday dawned a bit more cloudly and breezy than the other days but it was still comfortable. After a leisurely breafast complete with Frank's expresso (which was the one thing he didn't forget!) we loaded the boats and consulted the charts. We decided to explore South Inlet which cuts about half way into the island first and then make our way to the outside of the marsh islands that fill Back Bay. This would add a few miles to our return trip but also provide us new sights.
We picked our way around the bottom of Ragged Island and then headed north toward Long Island. Frank's GPS map was very detailed so we used it to navigate our way through the small channels surrounding Long. From the island's northern tip we could see the condos that marked where the put-in should be but still could not see the inlet itself. We continued to follow Frank's GPS, which assured us that there was a cut there somewhere, but it only became visible from about 150 feet away. Just as on the way out, one by one we all ran aground and ended up lining the boats up the creek in water too shallow to paddle.
It was a fabulous trip and we are eager to return. Next time we hope to have even more time to explore the Bay side islands and hopefully will be able to get out to the Ocean side to do some surfing as well. The rain even held off until we were all back on the roads driving home. Let's hope for a warm weekend in February! Did someone say something about global warming ...
I hunted for a destination and the obvious choice was to look south where its warmer. But with only three days we couldn't go real far. Assateague seemed the most logical choice but I wanted somewhere new. Finally, I came across False Cape State Park. I remember Greg and Jenny from the CPA mentioning this before but we hadn't been there yet. Perfect.
From the forecast it looked like we'd have great weather on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday December 29-31 -- just the window we needed. I called the Park, got reservations for a bayside site, found a chart of sorts and emailed our usual paddling crew to drum up some company. Kingsley, Page and Frank D. all responded with interest. A trip was shaping up.
Since Dave had to work on the 1st, I took Friday off and we headed own in the morning. We arrived at Little Island City Park at 12:30 pm, found the put-in and began packing the boats. Funny how whether it is a two week or two day trip the boats are always full! The put-in was a very small, shallow inlet off of Back Bay and once we were fully loaded we had to line the boats out until we reached deep enough water to float the boats.
Once afloat we paddled south along Bay Back National Wildlife Refuge. The Bay itself is alot like Assateague with shallow waters easily affected by wind. According to a ranger we met, if a north wind blows for 48 hours water levels can drop two feet or more and that means walking in many areas. However, with no wind we had plenty of water. We opted to hug the shore to ensure we wouldn't miss our destination of Barbour Hill.
We needn't have worried because after paddling just over 5 miles we reached the very obvious boat dock at Barbour Hill. We had reserved site 3 and Kingsley and Page had site 2 for the following night. The sites, while large and shaded by huge trees, were a hike from the beach and we were glad to have packed bags to schlep the gear. The sun began to set just as we finished setting up camp. We cooked some dinner, went for a walk under the nearly full moon and turned in for the evening.False Cape is great because in addition to paddling opportunities there are many hiking trails -- over ten miles in total. On Saturday morning we walked the 1.4 miles to the beach. The trail cut through the barrier island and passed the park office and the ocean side campsites before reaching the ocean. The beach was fabulous! Miles and miles of undeveloped, competely empty beach. We could have walked for miles in either direction but opted to return to camp to explore by kayak.
Back in the drysuits and boats we headed south again, paddling from point to point with the intent of checking out the campsites at False Cape Landing and possibly the Wash Woods area further down. We ended up missing False Cape as it is set back in a bay which we overshot in our point hopping. But we found Wash Woods and, after beaching the boats, hiked to the town's old cemetery and church. False Cape is rather cushy backcountry camping in part because the park is new and its infrastructure includes a collection of former hunt clubs, camps, and the community of Wash Woods.
Once on the water and heading north I heard Kingsley call out on the VHF. They had arrived at Barbour Hill but were going to continue paddling by circumnavigating Cedar Island. Dave and I kept an eye out to meet up with them but as we neared the campsite hunger won out. We enjoyed a some yummy soup and bread while waiting for them on the Barbour Hill bench. At last we could see their paddles glinting in the sunlight and as we finshed our lunch they arrived.
As they unloaded their boats we couldn't help but notice that Page's pile of gear was incredibly small. He has the go-lite thing completely down although he will tell you it is just that he doesn't have any gear. Frank also had a small pile but that was because somehow he managed to leave ALL his food at home. With normal campers this might be a problem but not with Dave and me. We always have too much food and feeding Frank turned out to be no problem. In fact everyone was so full after dinner we had to hike to the beach and back just to work some of the fullness off!
Both Friday and Saturday the weather had been impecible. Warm days and cool, but not cold, nights. The winds were non-existant and the water was flat, glassy calm. But Saturday night as the sun set you could see the forecast rain approaching on the horizon.
Sunday dawned a bit more cloudly and breezy than the other days but it was still comfortable. After a leisurely breafast complete with Frank's expresso (which was the one thing he didn't forget!) we loaded the boats and consulted the charts. We decided to explore South Inlet which cuts about half way into the island first and then make our way to the outside of the marsh islands that fill Back Bay. This would add a few miles to our return trip but also provide us new sights.
We picked our way around the bottom of Ragged Island and then headed north toward Long Island. Frank's GPS map was very detailed so we used it to navigate our way through the small channels surrounding Long. From the island's northern tip we could see the condos that marked where the put-in should be but still could not see the inlet itself. We continued to follow Frank's GPS, which assured us that there was a cut there somewhere, but it only became visible from about 150 feet away. Just as on the way out, one by one we all ran aground and ended up lining the boats up the creek in water too shallow to paddle.
It was a fabulous trip and we are eager to return. Next time we hope to have even more time to explore the Bay side islands and hopefully will be able to get out to the Ocean side to do some surfing as well. The rain even held off until we were all back on the roads driving home. Let's hope for a warm weekend in February! Did someone say something about global warming ...
