Various paddles, 2006 and 2007.  No pictures.

No paddles in 2005:  We moved to a new house in Chesapeake and had a lot of different things going on.  My kayak, "The Rory" is still not officially finished.  I hope to start working on that again in the late fall of 2007.  I plan to do a bit of paddling in 2008.

Feeder ditch of the Great Dismal Swamp to the Army Corps of Engineer's campground and spillway, late spring 2006:

I have been wanting to do this paddle for some time.  I took a weekday off and made the trip.  All in all a very enjoyable paddle.  Not extremely scenic but interesting.  The spillway and campground were a real treat.  I spent some time talking to the spillway tender that day.  Storms were expected so I left in the early afternoon.  I was just turning north onto the Dismal Swamp Canal from the feeder ditch when the storm caught up with me.  The front edge was menacing but mainly just a bit windy.  I managed to get back to the boat ramp on route 17 and had just tied the boat down when the bottom dropped out as the storm hit with full force.  I can't wait to do another trip here and paddle Lake Drummond.  My plan is to spend the night at the campground and paddle the lake the next day before heading home down the feeder ditch.  The only wildlife I saw sadly enough was only two dead snakes.  I encountered two kayakers from Maryland on that trip.

Northwest River from Bob's Fishing Hole (at route 168) west towards Bunch Walnuts Road, early summer 2006:

The very next weekend after paddling the feeder ditch at the Dismal Swamp, I paddled the Northwest River.  This was a much more enjoyable paddle and I paddled for 4 hours or so up the river.  I saw lots of birds, one dead snake and one live snake.  There was a small, delapitated pier that provided a place to rest.  I could have gone further but again there were storms looming.  I would like to try and make the paddle all the way to Bunch Walnuts road in the future.  Also I still have the North finger of this river to explore as it heads up to the Northwest River Water Treatment Plant.  Another future paddle here is going to be on the southern branch heading towards Tull Bay in North Carolina.

Pocaty River, July 29, 2007:

Nothing much to add to my Pocaty River experiences here.  I have paddled this waterway more than any other and really enjoy it.  This time I decided to get out on the North Landing River proper and experience that.  I paddled south to the first oxbow and then back up to the Pocaty.  It was a typical day on  the North  Landing, lots of boat and jet ski traffic.  No problems though and the wind wasn't too hateful.  Once again I raced storms back to the put in site.  This was my late start to the 2007 paddling season and I am hoping to make a trip every two weeks if possible throughout August and September.