jeanettetb

Pre-Picnic Paddle on the Lower Wappinger Creek

Leader: Jeanette TB
Sunday, May 22, 2022

Twelve kayakers gathered early on Sunday morning for our pre-picnic kayak outing. Most were so early they were in the water before we took attendance. This was the first time we signed the ADK sign-in sheet while floating in the water. Thank goodness for dry bags!

It was great to be in the cool waters of the Wappinger Creek on such a hot weekend. We started paddling upstream, passing the Market Street Industrial Park. The brick buildings were built in the early 1900’s to house the Dutchess Bleachery. We turned around and paddled downstream, toward the Hudson River Estuary. Dave noticed an eagle high in a tree; there’s supposedly a nest nearby, but we couldn’t find it. Then we passed under the railroad bridge into the Hudson to paddle around “Rabbit Island”. On our way back, we were surprised to discover four heron nests in a single tree; each nest had a large heron guarding it!

This is always an easy, enjoyable paddle. Total distance covered was 4.5 miles.

Paddlers included CharlotteM, MarthaR, JonathanB, JoAnnN, KathyS, DianeD, DeaM, DavidW, JoanB, JohnA, JudyA, and the leader, JeanetteTB.

It’s easy to paddle under the Market Street Industrial Park bridge at low tide.
Paddling downstream
Eagle high in a tree
Paddling around Rabbit Island
Passing under the RR bridge from the Hudson into the creek… after at train passed over.
Just relaxing on the way back to the launch.
It’s easy to spot 3 heron nests, but where is the 4th?
The 4th heron nest is visible from a different angle.
New! A picnic table (held down by a huge rock) on a sand bar at low tide.