Kayaking Newbies

Sunday, 27 May

We woke up to another humid morning with the temp already at 69F (20C) at 6:00a.  Hoping that being on the water would keep us cool on a day forecasted to reach into the 90F (32C) range, we grabbed a light breakfast and got ready for our first-ever kayak outing.

On every trip to Pohick Bay Regional Park (PBRP), we’ve had plans to try our hand at kayaking.  But weather — in the form of heavy rain — usually intervened.  And if it wasn’t the weather, it was something else that got in the way.  So, when Mui sent me information about a 4-hour guided kayak tour a few days before this trip to PBRP, I said, “Let’s do it!”

OK, OK.  I took a bit more convincing than that!  My concern with the tour centered around going out with a group.  After all, we had no previous experience.  Wasn’t four hours a bit much for a first time outing?  Would we be able to keep up?  What if we wanted to turn back?  In the end, my concerns were for naught — of the ten people in the group, all but four were newbies to kayaking, so the pace was reasonably slow and easy.

Our route took us around Pohick Bay Marsh and a short ways up Pohick Creek.
This Google maps image shows our notional path: red dots = outbound leg;
yellow dots = inbound leg with a detour across the bay to see an osprey chick.

Figuring we might not want to hike back to the campground after paddling all morning, we drove down to the boat rental concession, arriving 30 minutes before the scheduled meet-up time of 8:00a.  The humidity was making its presence known, but the cloud cover helped to keep the temps at bay.  Later, we lost the clouds to blue skies, but an occasional light breeze kept conditions comfortable for the duration of the outing.

Looking out over the paddle boat dock towards Gunston Cove;
we paddled in the opposite direction towards Pohick Bay Marsh.

Our trip leader was Scott, who introduced himself as a volunteer who takes groups out because he enjoys being on the water himself.  After spending time kayaking, I can understand why.  Our experience was very reminiscent of when we went out in mokoros in the Okavango Delta of Botswana — peaceful, quiet, eye-level scenery, and plentiful wildlife easily approached.

With the group congregated at the boat rental concession, we signed the “If we drown, it’s our own fault,” paperwork, and were given PFDs (personal flotation devices) and paddles.  Next came a brief training session on the beach at the launch site.  Scott showed us proper paddle-holding technique, as well as the moves to propel ourselves forward and back, maneuver left and right, and stop the kayak.

Hmmm!  I wonder if we’re going to get a red, gold, or blue kayak.
As long as it isn’t tippy, I really don’t care.

All in all, we had about 3 hours on the water.  And a grand 3 hours they were.  The peace that surrounded us as we glided quietly through the calm, spatterdock-choked marsh was absolutely wonderful.  The paddle dipping in and out of the water was the only sound to reach our ears; even the birds were quiet.  The scenery was fantastic — all blues and greens with the occasional bright yellow of a spatterdock bloom.  And there were birds galore.  Egrets, great blue herons, eagles, and ospreys — we enjoyed their company throughout the morning.  I could have done without the water snake that we almost ran down while we were paddling, but as long as it stayed in the water and I stayed in the kayak, even that was OK.

No photos, I’m afraid.  We had Mui’s Canon S95 P&S (in the water casing) with us, but we were too busy keeping up with the group to stop and take photos.

Great blue herons in flight.
[taken from the kayak launch site before we joined our group for the paddle.]

Because I’ve never been very comfortable on the water, and also because I didn’t know if I could keep up with the group for the duration of the paddle, Mui and I went tandem.  Or as Scott put it, we paddled in a ‘divorce kayak.’  It wasn’t as bad as all that.  Really.  Once we got our rhythm in sync, we did just fine.  I liked having Mui sitting in the rear of the kayak, responsible for rudder duty!  One less thing for me to worry about on this first outing.  Paddling in the peaceful environment was very nice, but having someone else responsible for keeping us on the straight and narrow while I took in the scenery (and rested my arms) was priceless :-)

The only part of the paddle I didn’t care for was the short distance we went up Pohick Creek.  I didn’t mind that we were going against the current.  Rather, the water was very shallow — barely shin-deep in places, and there were a lot of obstacles along the way.  In fact, Mui ended up stepping out in one place to get us backed off a submerged tree trunk.  I’m not sure what Scott was thinking taking a group of newbies to a shallow creek, but we decided to hold back.  Parking ourselves in the water, and holding onto a log so that we wouldn’t drift down-creek, we waited while he took part of the group through a tight spot with thick, low-hanging tree branches.

Parked in the water (my paddle is jammed against the log to my left), Mui manages to
get the only shot proving that we went out in kayaks today.

The return trip down the creek was more or less a high-speed float.  With Mui using his paddle to maneuver us around some of the tree debris, we let the current take us where it pleased.

Once we were back out in the marsh, Scott led us to a spot where we beached the kayaks for a short rest/bathroom break.  More fantastic scenery, a nice breeze, and a couple of minutes to eat our snacks — oh, and let’s not forget, a large boulder that Harrison Ford sat on for a minute or two during the filming of a movie out here.

Ain’t that view of Pohick Bay Marsh grand?

Proof that Mui was with me on this kayak outing.

On the return leg, we made a detour, crossing to the opposite shore of the bay to check out an osprey chick.  No photos; it was in a nest high atop a tree.  But we did get to watch as mom fed the chick and papa brought home more bacon (so to speak) to satisfy its ravenous appetite.

The return trip to the launch site seemed a little long.  To be expected, I suppose, after having paddled continuously for so long.  We actually felt quite good despite the exercise our arms got.  Scott told us that we’d start feeling the aches soon, but that they would be gone in 3-4 hours.  I didn’t believe him, but he was right.  By the time we got back to the coach, we knew our arms had gotten a good work out.  By dinner time, it was like we’d not done anything out of the ordinary.  Of course, he also did say that if we went out on subsequent kayak outings in the upcoming days, we’d really feel the aches and pains.  No plans to do that :-)

We had a really good time on our first kayak outing and we plan to go out again.  This time on our own, so that we can take our time and enjoy what mother nature has to offer scenery- and wildlife-wise.  I missed not being able to stop and spend time viewing the birds at my own pace.  But, I’m also glad we went out with a guided group this time since we learned the basics of kayaking from Scott — like how to hold the paddle … important information, don’tcha think ;-)

We won’t be rushing out and buying kayaks.  At least not yet.  For now, we’ll rent when we feel like going out on the water.  I checked out the rental prices at PBRP — $10/hour or $41/day for a tandem.  Not bad; especially considering today’s half day outing was $30/person.

See you out on the water sometime!