Saturday, July 5, 2014 - Smith Creek - Northwest River
I decided to launch from Baum Road and check out Smith Creek (which leads to the eastern side of Northwest River). The put in at Baum Road is just a little gravel parking lot leading to a clearing on the bank. It is managed by the City of Chesapeake. The bank is sandy/muddy and makes a very easy launch.
Smith Creek flanks the southeast side of Northwest River Park (also managed by the City of Chesapeake). The water in the first part of the creek is a little muddy (but much less so than Indian Creek on the west side of the park). After the first quarter of a mile, the water is clear but still darkly stained. And the tree cover opens up considerably.
I was a little concerned about how much wind there might be with the remnants of Hurricane Arthur and the cold front that came in behind it. The creek, however, was protected and as you can see in the pictures, there was little wind. Although it did pick up pretty well at one point and I was able to a get a picture of my flags flapping heartily in the breeze.
The creek had a variety of interesting features and artifacts. Some docks (both in use and not in use). Several wood duck boxes. Lots of interesting tree root and stump formations. I even managed to capture a picture of a dragonfly in flight! I came out of the creek into the main part of Northwest River. There was a little bit of wind, but it was actually refreshing. There were a few boats and jetskis but not nearly as many as I thought might be out on a holiday weekend.
I turned to the left and went south along the river for a little bit and then tucked into a little side creek that looked interesting. There were some fallen trees that had interesting shapes. I even picked up a hitchhiker on the front of my kayak in the form of a dragonfly.
There didn't seem to be a lot of birds out, but I did see on Blue Heron and a White Heron and also some hovering hawks.
It was a great paddle. Definitely a place to return to. Lots more to see than I expected. Color me pleasantly surprised. Two hours and 10 minutes on the water.
4.1 miles on the GPS. Scroll below the pictures to see the track map.
