Pocaty River trip, 8.17.2007

Maria and I had a nice Friday morning paddle on the Pocaty River.  Tina from the VKFA was kind enough to let us borrow her Pungo kayak on that day.  It was overcast, a little windy and a few raindrops fell but as usual the river was very nice.

This was Maria's very first time in a kayak. She did great despite being somewhat nervous about tipping the boat, snakes, spiders, etcetera.  Sometime in the middle of August a very large tree fell across the river just east of the put in site on Blackwater Road.  Upon arriving Maria pointed it out and for a minute I was dumbfounded.  It appeared to totally block our access to the river.  After further inspection and a quick paddle in Tina's kayak, I found that we could get through a very small opening that Maria had pointed out to me near the north bank. Much to my surprise, Maria was game and we both navigated through the opening to begin our paddle.

On my previous trips up and down the Pocaty I have not seen any snakes.  On this day,  I saw one.  It was most likely a water mocassin as it was swimming with it's entire body on top of the water.  It was very close to shore by the time I saw it.  Maria didn't see it as she was concentrating on her paddling and her balance in the boat.

We paddled about a mile, turned around and returned to the put in.  The wind was blowing at about 15 mph from the southwest and Maria decided that we should return since she was not used to paddling yet and unsure how long she could paddle without growing too tired.

I clearly remember my first paddle and how shocked I was at my seemingly unstable kayak.  I spent most of that first day on the water just trying to stay upright.  Turning and maneuvering at that point were barely within my capability.  My second paddle went a little better although I picked a busy waterway for the trip and was sorry for that.  My first "real" paddle came on my third trip and was on West Neck Creek, a much smaller waterway. It had it's drawbacks too as I had to maneuver around fallen trees and keep an eye out for snakes.  I was very nervous and cut my trip short because I was not sure how long I could paddle without tiring so  I can sympathize with Maria's nervousness about her balance and the surroundings.  It didn't take me long to start relaxing and within a trip or two I started to become very familiar and comfortable with my boat.  Maria has indicated that she could see how this would be enjoyable but would much prefer a more urban environment such as Lake Smith to try it again.  So I may be calling Tina again to borrow her boat.  At this point I am also starting to entertain purchasing a similar type boat so that Maria can go kayaking and so that I can take friends along on some trips.  We'll see.