BAREFOOT BEACHCOMBING

Sunday, May 26, 2013 - Indian Creek - Northwest River

First solo trip!!  (Subtitle - WILD KINGDOM on the Northwest River - more on that later)

I decided to venture out solo today.  I took extra safety precautions.  Sent my float plan to various family members via email.  Printed out the float plan and left in on the dash of my car.  Printed out my planned route as well.  Launched from a well-traveled spot.  Plus all my regular safety gear (first aid kit, safety flag and light, rope, etc.)  And I brought a spare paddle with me.  I also decided to take the Ride 115 instead of the Dagger 12.0 because in the (unlikely) event that something happened and I ended up in the water, it's easier to recover with the Ride (especially solo).  So I think I was pretty well prepared.  All of which was good for peace of mind but thankfully I didn't need any of it.

My original plan was to go out on Saturday, but when I woke up on Saturday it was 48 degrees and the wind was blowing about 15 mph.  Not a good combination for kayaking (especially solo) (especially the first time).  So I waited until Sunday. 

I decided to launch from Indian Creek Road.  There's a little "put in" along the road near the entrance to Northwest River Park.  It would be a stretch to call it a "ramp" because it's not much more than some gravel/broken asphalt to park on and a couple of clearings in the trees along the bank from which small boats can be launched.  But for kayaks, it's perfect.  There's also another small launch on the other side of the park off Baum Road.  There were several trucks already parked at the launch when I got there, but I managed to squeeze in.  There is only room for about 4 vehicles.

Indian Creek connects to the Northwest River after about a mile and a half.  Northwest River Park (as you might imagine from the name) is on the river at the junction of Indian Creek and the Northwest River. 

Indian Creek is pretty muddy looking which is understandable with all the rain we had last week, plus I think that the creek receives a fair amount of runoff from the surrounding land.  There are a lot of farm fields to the north of the creek.

I saw a few turtles sunning themselves on the downed trees.  If you look carefully at the pictures,  you will see a big splash where one of them dropped off the log as I was passing.  There were a few fisherman out in a variety of boats (jonboat, paddleboat, kayak).

I got to the convergence of the Northwest River at the south end of Northwest River Park.  You can tell you have hit the river because the water isn't muddy but moreso because there is significantly more current and water movement.  I crossed the river and paddled along the bank opposite the park and then went onto the southern branch of the river toward a small creek.  Since the river is wide and long, there is always a fair amount of powerboat traffic.  But paddling in the small creek kept me away from that.

I had been seeing and hearing lots of different birds in the trees, overhead, and along the banks.  And I was listening as I paddled down the creek.  But as I was coming around a point of land, I heard a HUGE SPLASH.  Much bigger than the turtle splash earlier.  It sounded like someone doing a cannonball into a pool.  But there were no people around.  So I'm thinking, LOCH NESS MONSTER!  :)  I came around the point of land and saw a tan animal swimming across the river.  At first I thought it was a dog, but the ears were too big.  And it's not a place where dogs would be.  Then I realized that it was a fairly good sized deer.  Yes, a DEER.  I managed to get a few pictures from a distance before it disappeared on the other bank.

I paddled to the end of the little creek.  The creek had a LOT of submerged vegetation.  It was very thick in places which made the paddling feel like slogging through mud (or thick pudding) at times.  But along the way, I was accompanied by two Great Blue Herons.  And it was very scenic.

I came back out into the main river and was heading back along the shore when I saw a bobcat walking amongst the vegetation.  I saw it three times (and I was fairly close to it) so I'm sure that's what it was.  Crazy!  Wild Kingdom, I tell you!

In addition to the many osprey and hawks keeping watch overhead, I saw a pair of geese with three goslings swimming near the park.

 Three hours and 30 minutes on the water.  6.8 miles on the GPS.

Great day!!  Although I do believe that the backs of my hands got a wee bit of sunburn.  :)

Edit: Here's the video. Kayaking 05-26-2013