By Saturday evening, there were three people signed up to join me, Audrey, Bob and Pam.
Since I had only been here in the fall, I did not know how busy Russels Mills Landing would be. In the fall, on a Wednesday, nobody else had been around all day. This time, on a Saturday morning, it was a different story. I watched 4 or 5 kayakers and a power boat use the boat ramp as I waited for my paddling buddies to arrive. By the end of the day, the parking lot was ringed with cars in the shaded parking. The playgorund and tennis court weren't getting much use on this very hot day.
We had the ramp to ourselves as we were all ready to launch.
Pam and Audrey getting aquainted.
An osprey nest and a low perch, both occupied.
We made good time getting to the end of Slocums River. There wasn't as much wildlife to take pictures of on the way down the river as there had been last fall.
Bob suggested we stop to stretch our legs and take a swim when we reached the beach at Demarest Lloyd State Park.
After our break, we headed around Potomska Point and up into the Little River.
The winds were still light but the forecast was for them to build throughout the afternoon. We were also now paddling on a falling tide.
The water was getting a little lumpier.
Cormorants and ducks on a rock.
The house lots in this area are pretty large. No crammed together cottages around here.
The tide was flowing out and the wind blowing in, but getting under the bridge into the Little River was not too hard. The fishermen on the bridge were nice to us and pulled up their lines each time we passed under.
Once we got inside, the water texture changed to being very calm.
We made our way into the larger part of the river, but it didn't look like there was much wildlife nearby. I think all creatures were seeking shade today. I started worrying about how much rougher it would be on the way back out of the river as the current flowing out and the increasing wind blowing in would be causing the waves to build. So I lobbied for us to turn around and head back to Slocums.
As we got to the bridge, the rougher water was very visible on the other side.
The waves weren't too bad, but it made for a slightly dramatic picture.
We paddled back to the beach we had stopped at earlier and had lunch. As the tide was falling, the sand bars were rising. Bob wanted to paddle out to Barneys Joy Point at the end of Slocum Neck, but I was afraid we'd get stuck on the wrong side of the sand bar and end up having to do some walking. I couldn't chance that with my weakened knees 3 weeks after surgery. I realized Bob did not have sunglasses. The water depth and sand bars were so much more visible through polarized lenses so I had Bob take a look using mine.
We decided we'd explore the Giles Creek within Slocums River on the way back to the take-out to extend our paddling a little further.
It was interesting watching locals who knew the sand bars power and sail their way around like it was no big deal. This sailboat had a favorable wind to make his way back up-river.
As we got back in our boats and started paddling, we came across people fishing from the sand bar.
Audrey and Pam in shallow water with people wading on the sand bar behind them.
As we headed back up the Slocums River, the eddy lines were visible in foamy lines in the water.
We headed into the Giles Creek area. It was getting shallow so we didn't hang around too long.
Bob and I both admired this sailboat as we paddled by.
I remember seeing this boat lift in the past. I don't recall seeing how big the boat is that they suspend above the water.
Here's a topo map of the area with the route we covered highlighted.
A few statistics from the trip:
Launch time: 9:35am
1st Stop:10:32am Distance traveled: 3.26 miles
Back paddling: 10:50am
Lunch stop: 11:52am Distance traveled: 6.36 miles
Back Paddling: 1:10pm
Take-out time: 3:00pm Total Distance: 11.33 miles
Thanks for joining me Audrey, Bob and Pam.
