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December 30, 2006 Trip |
on the Conococheague Creek |
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Last Paddling trip of the 2006 season,
December 30, 2006 |
Where: Conococheague
Creek from Martins Mill Bridge to Rt. 40 bridge in Hagerstown,
Maryland. |
Distance: Not exactly
sure... |
Time: 5 1/2 hours.
Put in at 1:00, took out at 6:30 |
Commentary: |
For the past couple of years I have been
trying to find a place on the Conococheague Creek to put in
other than Rt. 40 in Hagerstown, MD. In November, while on a drive
with my oldest son (he's currently on his learners permit,
trying to get the hours for his drivers license), we found
this almost unmarked park, Martins Mill. Though it was a
little further north then I was looking for, it still was the
perfect spot to put in.
My son Thomas
and I put in at
Martin's Mill Bridge, just outside of Greencastle, PA.
Let me add real quick, If you're going to take this trip
down to Rt. 40 in Hagerstown, MD, leave yourself
plenty of time. |
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We got a late start, not putting in
till 1:00, our trip took us until 6:30 in the evening and
would have made a perfect summer time paddling ride.
Needlessly to say, the last 1 1/2 hours of the trip was made in
darkness since it is now December. Not something I recommend when paddling on a
section of water
you’re not familiar with. The temperature
range was about 40 - 45 for the trip and actually pretty
pleasant. The water flow was a relatively easy Class I, with
only a few small islands to navigate around. It
did get a little shallow in a few spots, but we where able to
navigate around those with out any difficulty, except for
once, where I had to get out and pull us through for about 10
ft. (The section was hard to see because it was getting
dark.) All in all, this was a nice leisurely trip. |
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There is a lot of scenery out here, not to mention all the
wildlife. I didn't see any fish, actually wasn't
looking. However, there were many places where the
fishing looked pretty prime. We spotted at least 3
different types of woodpeckers, about 20 blue herons, at least
1/2 dozen red tailed hawks, a falcon, a few owls, about 30
wild turkeys, and yes a beaver! As Matter of fact, we
spotted the beaver at first about 60 feet down stream from us.
It disappeared on us, but then as we got close to
it’s
home it
resurfaced for about 20 seconds. Just long enough for me
not to have time to get a shot in with my camera. You
see evidence of beaver in this area here and there while
paddling and hiking, but it is very rare to see one, so I feel
we were pretty blessed today with seeing the one beaver that
we did. |
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When taking trips of several hours or
longer my family and I always pack food with us. This
would be a great trip to bring a grill and a cooler along and
have a cookout on one of the small islands along the way.
As always,
think about safety on your paddling trips. This trip,
I learned my lesson
once again. Two things this
time: Make sure you have plenty of time to finish your
trip in daylight. Navigating unfamiliar water is hard enough,
let alone having to do it in the
dark with no light other then the moon. The other safety
consideration could have been more serious if was colder
outside. Even during the winter months when the air
temperature may not be that cold - plan on it anyway. I
mentioned that one spot where I had to get out and pull
us through,
well, when I got out, I was still in the water and this
time of the year its cold. I ended up getting wet to my knees
when it was all said and done with. I really should have been
wearing hip waders of some sort to keep my feet and legs
dry...
I am anxiously looking forward to taking
this trip again, especially in the late spring and summer
months, and am really considering that cook out idea that I
mentioned earlier! |
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