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Monday, June 28, 2010

New Hamburg to Beacon and Back - 6/27/2010


I got on the water about 6:30 am at the boat launch in the lower Wappingers creek.  I paddled through a 2 ft wide patch in the weeds and into the main channel.  The creek was like a sheet of glass and the sun was coming up.  It was a perfect morning for a paddle.  I passed a couple of great blue herons and an osprey along the way. That is the first osprey I have seen.
I paddled under the railroad bridge and into the river heading south.  The river was as smooth as the creek and it was low tide with no wind.  I reached River Park in Beacon in about 1 1/2 hours and about 7 miles.  Rested for a while in my boat by the park and then headed back.
I stopped for a break at about 8 1/2 miles on what I thought was a sand beach.  As I got closer I realized the beach was made of old bricks.  There are thousands of them lining the river in that area.  I rested on the "beach" for a while and then headed back home.  Back in the creek I saw a mother wood duck and about 6 baby ducklings.
I reached the boat launch at about 10:00 am after traveling 14 miles and averaging about 4.4 miles per hour according to my GPS.




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