An Urban Boychick Takes on the Outdoors

Up the creek I've paddled Mason Neck a hundred million times, but I couldn't remember ever having launched from Pohick Bay Park on the other side of the same peninsula. I just had this impression that Pohick was busier and more filled with power boat traffic. Well, today I decided to check it out. As I pulled into the park I spotted the signs. "Seadoo test rides today!" they said. Uh oh. A bunch of newbies flying around on jet skis?! That's a kayaker's nightmare. Fortunately it was early and the test ride wasn't underway. The ranger did make me move my car to leave room for their setup - they were using the car-top launch area for the demos, not the boat ramp! - which ticked me off a little bit. Show me how you car top a jet ski and I'll be happy to move out of your way, buddy. "OK, time to turn down the New Yorker territorialism a little bit," I say to myself. The Seadoo truck pulls in - blasting hip hop - as I load my boat, but s...

Kayaking. Stand-up paddleboarding. War canoe. Outrigger. Rowing. Sailing. If it's a watercraft under human or wind power, I'm interested. I've been eyeing the Learn to Row class at Thompson Boat Center (TBC) for a couple of seasons now, and lo and behold, my pet uromastyx lizard Cooper signed me up for it this year as a Father's Day present. Clever little fellow - how did he know? And how did he get his hands on my Visa card? Learn to Row is a week-long class, five 90 minute sessions at 6:15 AM. If you thought the river would be peaceful and wonderful at this hour, you'd be right. If you thought the same of a rowing boathouse, you'd be dead wrong. Early morning is peak time for rowing, as that's generally the calmest, flattest time of day on the river. I arrived each day to find the docks already buzzing with activity - college summer rowing programs going out in "eights" and individual rowers in singles and doubles, a veritable rowing rush hour...

Last Friday I wanted to go see Mary Ann Redmond at Lubber Run Ampitheater. Since V & T had already laid claim to our cars, I decided to bike to the show - just a few miles away. The only challenge was that I had hurt my back the night before while loading my kayak and so had to take it very slowly - still, no problem. The really cool part was the ride home. After a very enjoyable show I headed home via the Bluemont Connector bike trail. It was pitch black except for my little LED headlight. The trees and bushes were full of fireflies. It was like biking through space, surrounded by stars. I had to take it nice and slow, not just because of my back but because of limited visibility. Every once in a while I'd come upon someone out for a walk, or a bat would fly by. Mostly, though it was just me and the field of stars, all the way to the lighted W&OD trail and home.

I started Father's Day with a solo hike at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maryland. 5.6 miles and home in time for lunch. Here are a couple of panoramic shots of  the vistas along the blue trail.

Yesterday I participated in the Chesapeake Paddlers Association Gear Day, billed as "A club show-n-tell, in the spirit of Sunday morning at SK102, to check out and learn about the incredible array of gear we accumulate for sea kayaking." There was a full schedule of talks covering equipment, technique, stories of expeditions, and safety. I volunteered to give a talk about kayak photography. In the end, my talk and about half the others wound up being informal chats around the table rather than formal talks but that was OK. I had been to Gear Day once before when it was held in Virginia. I have to tell you, Annapolis is the much more successful location. CPA tends to be more Maryland-based and lots of members showed up to just hang out and socialize. Plus, I think people were lured out by the perfect weather we were lucky enough to have, along with the setting at Truxton Park. Truxton park is located up in Spa Creek, and like much of Annapolis the area is filled with boats...