Hammocks Beach State Park and Bear Island
I have paddled a canoe and kayak from Hammocks Beach State Park to Bear Island and camped there several times, but it has been a few years. And, the last couple times I went, the sea grass in the estuary had grown so tall that the paddle trail markers were almost obscured, making it hard to navigate. On May 8, Janet and I made a day trip there to paddle the trail for practice, to increase my familiarity, eat a picnic on the island and then return home. Our plan was for Janet to use her binoculars to spot the trail markers. At each one I would enter a waypoint on my GPS. Then on my next trip to paddle and camp, I could plot a route on the GPS more easily to follow.
Before the trip, I researched the circumstances, and the conditions seemed perfect. Predicted weather was mostly sunny, rain chance 10%, temperature 82degrees and wind 6 mph. We would start paddling at 11 a.m. when the tide would be falling; and return from the island at 2 p.m. when the tide would be rising, both times pushing us in the right direction.
Naturally, since things often don’t go as planned, when we arrived, we encountered wind blowing more than double what was predicted, about 15 mph. It was moving straight from the island to the mainland. As we set out, we were going directly against the wind. We could make some progress, but just barely. My lesson from this situation is to review the weather in advance, but don’t depend on the prediction. Upon arrival at the put-in, check the conditions, and if not as expected, then change the itinerary accordingly.
Next, our tidal calculations omitted one important factor. The Bear Island estuary has many shallow places. We were paddling just barely before and just after low tide. We soon encountered so many sand bars and mud flats that there was not enough water depth for our paddles to get good purchase. The wind was pushing us backwards equal to our paddling forward. Then, before too long, we ran into broader sand bars with no apparent way around. So, we turned back. We had been paddling about 45 minutes, and should have been about three-quarters of the way to the island. Instead, we were only about one-quarter of the way there. My lesson is to change our itinerary so that we are paddling closer to mid-tide or high-tide.
Coincidentally, just when we turned around, we lost the trail. We could not see the next marker anywhere. Then, when we got back to the mainland, I was downloading some data from my GPS, and I discovered that the device camp pre-loaded with many trails, both on land and the water. But I had to zoom in on the map to a very low level, which I had never done, for the trails to appear on the screen. Sure enough, the Bear Island paddle trail was there. Where we lost the trail, it turned sharply to the right, left the mail channel and went through a big sea grass island, which I did not anticipate. Next time, I will zoom in and follow the mapped trail.
So, when we got back to the mainland, we ate our picnic lunch on the dock. By good luck, there we encountered several more departing paddlers who told us about a barrier island north of Wilmington that we had not heard about. It is good for kayaking, camping and observing a lot of wildlife. The name is Lea Island and Lea State Wildlife Preserve. There is not a simple paddling route to there. You have to wind your way thorough many inlets and creeks in a large marsh, with no signs, so it will be challenge to access.
One of my goals from last winter was to increase my paddling stamina so I can go on 5 - 6 mile trips comfortably. Since then, I have been on three trips at that length with no problem, so I guess that goal is accomplished. The next step in my plan is to paddle 10 – 12 miles, so I can handle more committing trips, like from the Beaufort waterfront to Shackelford Banks. I am still working on this step
To get some mileage, one morning in early May, I went on a practice paddle to Smith Creek Lake near Wilmington. My intentions was to make 8 circuits of 1.25 miles each. Unfortunately, I only made it 2.5 miles before my old pinched nerve sciatica pain flared up and stopped me. Fortunately, I have an appointment with my surgeon on May 12 to schedule a second surgery to complete the repair.
While on the water this day, I took advantage of the situation to try a few paddling experiments. First, I used a wheeled kayak cart to move my boat from the parking lot to the lake. I had the repeated problem that the boat’s sharp V hull does not sit firmly on the cart. It tips over to one side, making it hard to tie on the cart. Then I remembered Bill Webb coaching Janet Smith when entering or exiting her boat, to avoid the same problem by not leaving the bow on the shore, but instead putting the entire boat in shallow water. Then the boat will float level and not fall to one side when she puts her weight on the seat. So, I floated my boat in the edge of the lake and more easily tied on the cart. Thanks, Bill!
Second, it was a warm but not hot day. I tried for the first time wearing my NRS Hydro-Skin shirt and pants, thinking they were thin and not very warm. Instead, in the steady sunshine, I got sweaty hot. What I learned is that Hydro-Skin is close to as warm as a 3 mm wetsuit, and should be saved for actual cold days.
Third, I did another test comparing my European paddle with my Greenland paddle. The European paddle has slightly more blade surface, and is curved in a concave shape on the power side. So, the European does grab the water more firmly, and can move the boat further and faster in a hurry. But I choose to keep the Greenland most of the time because: (1) since it is less grabby in the water, then when I start moving from a stop or want to move faster, I don’t jerk the boat as much and it keeps me from getting tippy. (2) the Greenland has a thick, solid wood handle. Most European paddles are in two pieces connected in the middle of the shaft by a fiberglass collar. I have broken one paddle doing a self-rescue with a paddle float on one end and putting all my 200 pounds of weight on the shaft. (3) I often stow my paddle under rollers on the front deck bungee cords, which fits the Greenland blade nicely, whereas the European blade does not go under the rollers well.
Fourth, right many years ago I owned a cheap plastic kayak which I did not know how to handle. I placed the foot pegs too close to the seat, which was difficult getting my feet onto when I entered the boat. It made me feel claustrophobic. Soon the pegs froze in place from salt water and rust, so I could not change them. Then when I got my current Eddyline Sitka XT, I went in the opposite direction and put the pegs too far from the seat. It stressed my leg muscles to keep reaching my toes too far to the pegs. Then, today for no particular reason, it occurred to me to move the pegs to an in between position. So, I moved them, and now they work fine.
Fifth, I used my Garmin Montana 750i and my iPhone app Paddle Ways to track the route. For the first time, they both worked correctly. They showed the waypoints, the route taken, speed, time and distance.
Sixth, for a while today I was in a fairly strong wind blowing directly onto my port beam [my left side]. I tried to use the skeg to keep the stern from drifting down wind, but that let the bow drift sideways and made the boat turn. I also tried paddling without the skeg, which kept the boat pointed straight ahead, but then the whole boat moved sideways. From among my readers, does anybody have advice which method is better?
In early May Janet Smith and Bob Laney drove to Oak Island, NC, for a day trip and e-bike tour. Before the trip we reviewed the Oak Island web site and found multiple references to about five bike paths around town, on the beach and at the nearby lighthouse. We saw that the references were text descriptions and maps. Unfortunately, none of the texts or maps had a street address nor any other information on how to actually drive to the trails. There was nothing describing specifically where the trails begin, traverse or end.
Upon arrival in Oak Island, we went to the Town Hall and ate our picnic lunch in a nice park next door under a beautiful, large live oak tree. For better biking information, a nearby town officer directed us to the Recreation Center building a couple miles away. There an employee gave us printed texts and paper maps; showed us more information on a computer screen and verbally described several trails. All of the biking information from every source was vague and unintelligible.
So, we started biking behind the Recreation Center where the employee said we could find a trail. For a few hundred yards, we followed a nice dirt path through a small patch of woods and on a wooden foot bridge over a creek and estuary. Then the trail ended. We were on a town street surrounded by beach cottages. There were no trail signs anywhere, in the whole town, on the beaches nor at the lighthouse.
We followed our nose down to the beach and had a fun time pedaling for several miles on the hard sand. Then we drove my Jeep to the lighthouse, but were not allowed to enter. There was no sign of an advertised trail. Eventually, we ate an early supper at the wonderful Koko Cabana restaurant situated overlooking the sand at the ocean front beach. They had a nice selection of wine and beer.
After arriving back home, I thoroughly hosed down the bikes to remove any salt deposits and sprayed the e-bike battery terminals with WD-40 silicone. We both liked Oak Island and will go back. But if you go, don’t expect to find bike trails.
Bob's and Janet's neighborhood. In old, historical Wilmington, NC. Near the downtown waterfront. Showing historical houses, flowering trees and shrubs, the Black Soldier's Cemetery, a quiet wooded and grassed park and well kept yards. Early April 2025.
Burnt Mill Creek Paddle
On the chilly and windy but sunny morning of March 27, Bob and Janet took our kayaks to Archie Blue Park, in a neighborhood just a few blocks from our house. We put in to Burnt Mill Creek.
One of the troublesome factors of paddling out of this park is that there is no dock or ramp; and the shore has no beach. There is a small, low place on the creek bank, adjacent to which a few inches under water is a sloping creek bottom that is only about two square feet. This spot is the same place where last Fall I was trying to exit my canoe, and the boat slid out from under me. I tore my hamstring muscle so badly that I could not walk for a couple days, and I had to hobble for about a month. Today, with some trepidation, we got in and out of our kayaks in a delicate maneuver that we managed to accomplish slowly and carefully.
The normal rule is to paddle up-stream first, but that way is blocked by some Wilmington Water Department structures. So, we paddled down-stream about a half mile to the junction with Smith Creek. If we kept going further down-stream, we would be on Smith Creek, which in a few miles joins the Northeast Cape Fear River. Instead, we turned right and paddled upstream on Smith Creek.
We were many miles from the ocean, but I can tell by looking at the creek when we drive by at different times of day that the water level goes up and down, so it is tidal influenced. Today the tide looked to be fairly high. We were slightly opposed by a mild current, which I could not tell if it was the down-stream creek current or an out-going tide.
We went about 0.75 miles up Smith Creek. It was early in the day, so we intended to keep going for several more miles. But my only map was the base map on the Montana GPS, which was not detailed enough. The creek winds around through beds of sea grass and mud, with many horse shoe bends and oxbow lakes of cut off prior creek channels. Eventually the way was not clear, and I could not tell which channel to follow.
So, we turned the trip around and went back to the put-in / take-out. We had gone total about 3 miles in 1.5 hours. I plan to come back next time with a paper USGS map in a clear plastic case. This area is in the Wilmington quadrangle.
Unfortunately, before, during and after this trip, I suffered from an abnormally large amounts of my multi-year sciatica pain and low back pain. In addition, I had recently developed an inflamed Achilles tendon in my right ankle, which was not healing. At the end of this trip, and particularly when pulling the boats up the creek bank and loading them onto my Jeep, I felt major sharp pain in all three places. The pain worked to make me feel tired and sluggish.
My concern was that I must get better control of my physical condition before I engage in moderately to strongly committing outdoor sporting trips. When I got home, I communicated with the trip leaders and cancelled my participation in the March 29 Twin Rivers Paddle Club kayak event on the Black River through the Three Sisters Swamp; and I cancelled my attendance in the April 5 – 6 New Bern Outdoor Adventure Club backpack on Shackleford Banks. Both of these trips have been on my bucket list for years. They were lined up to be the major highlights of my Spring season. I was angry.
The good news is that I have an appointment April 1 with a surgeon for a second opinion on what he can do to alleviate my post-surgery sciatica pain. And I have an appointment on April 2 to engage in physical therapy to get relief from my lower back pain. I am also getting medical treatment on my Achilles tendon.
Janet, along with me, is suffering from several physical ailments which limit her ability to engage in outdoor sports exercises. It looks like for the near future, we will be going to the YMCA a lot to swim and use the weight machines. I will keep my friends posted on what Janet and I can do next.
Trent River Paddle
My [Bob Laney] special lady friend Janet’s Wilderness Systems Tsunami 135, for some unknown reason, got a tiny hole knocked in the hull. I hired my good friend and kayak restoration expert Bill Webb to repair it. When the repair was done, there remained the problem of me in Wilmington getting the boat from Bill in New Bern, two hours driving time away.
Bill suggested we meet on March 19, which turned out to be a warm, sunny and windless day, at the Pollocksville NC Wildlife Resources Commission boat launch ramp on the Trent River. As happens about one time out of a thousand uses, my iPhone GPS went haywire. At the appointed meeting time, I was beside a blueberry farm on the other side of New Bern. I got Bill on the phone, who talked me through the route to back track and come to Pollocksville. On the way there, I had the bright ideal to switch from Apple maps to Google maps, which took me straight to Bill waiting patiently in the picnic shelter at the WRC ramp.
So, we paddled up stream on the Trent River. This trip was my first time there. It is near where Bill and Marla live, so he has been here many times. He had most of the river features memorized. He pointed out things like the fence at the beginning of the Marine Corps helicopter practice landing range; and the picnic shelters at the Marines recreational area.
We are both planning to go on the March 29 Twin Rivers Paddle Club trip [lead by Bill and my friend Justin Cavanaugh] for 10 miles on the Black River and through the Three Sisters Swamp. I have not paddled that many miles for many years, and then only in a canoe. I have not been more than 5 miles in a kayak. So, as a practice session for me, Bill lead our route today up-river against the current, then down-river with the current, and back to the put-in for our take-out. We went 6.5 miles. It took about 3 hours, and we averaged 2.7 miles per hour.
We shared right much conversation about kayaking equipment, paddling techniques, self-rescue, joint rescue, paddles, repairs, safety equipment, VHF radios and so forth. I enjoyed the trip, and the 6.5 miles was not a problem. At the end, I felt fine. I believe that I can handle 10 miles on March 29, especially since the current will always be in our favor, without a problem.
‘The picture of a restaurant is where I had lunch at local diner with wonderful home style comfort food. I had meat loaf, rice with gravy, broccoli, banana pudding and sweet iced tea.
Pages Creek Park
On a quiet, mostly sunny, temperate Sunday afternoon in late March, Janet, her golden retriever Gracie and I went to a county park that was new to us, Pages Creek. It has a mile long loop trail through the woods to some low country.
The trail is too long and full of rough places to haul a canoe or kayak for paddling, even with a wheeled cart. And at the end of the trail is an estuary with more sea grass and mud than water. Contrarily, the trail is too short and full of roots to go biking.
When she is near water, Gracie cannot contain herself and she must jump in, which she did today. The estuary was so muddy that soon her fur was covered up to the tops of her legs. Fortunately, Janet devised a plan to rinse her off before letting her muddy up the back seat of my Jeep. Janet threw a handy stick from the dock wooden ramp onto deeper water, from which Gracie jumped in and retrieved. Then Janet ran a few yards to a nearby sandy beach and called Gracie to her. Gracie dutifully exited from the estuary across the sand, mostly clean.
Our hike through the woods on a leaf covered trail back to the parking lot mostly dried off Gracie’s coat.
Smith Creek Lake Canoe
Janet and Bob plan to join the Twin Rivers Paddle Club kayaking trip on March 29 to the Three Sisters Swamp, a portion of the Black River, about 30 miles south west from Wilmington. We could not decide between taking our tandem canoe or two solo kayaks. The March 29 trip includes 1.5 miles of narrow passages wiggling between cypress knees in the swamp; and 8 miles of straight down stream paddling on the Black River.
All three boats are about 15 feet long. The canoe is easier to enter and exit, which will be better in the swamp when we may need to leave the boat to get around obstacles. The kayaks are faster, which will be better on the river. Bob has not paddled the canoe in about a year. Janet has never been in a canoe.
So, in late March, Bob re-arranged the flotation bags in the canoe to change it from solo to tandem. Then we went to Smith Creek Park Lake for a practice paddle.
At first, both of us were a little shaky. But it only took a few minutes for us to get comfortable. Janet in the bow showed her usual wonderful balance on the water by paddling smoothly and confidently. Bob sat in the stern and served as the guide and rudder.
The wind was up somewhat, so Bob displayed his usual precaution for staying out of trouble. We paddled straight up from the east end towards the west end of the lake, staying close to the southern shore, and going directly into the wind. We wanted to avoid getting broad side to the wind, which can cause more trouble in a canoe than a kayak. Being close to the shore would make it easy to walk out of the lake if we capsized. We also wanted to have the wind at our backs when we turned around to paddle back to the put-in, which was also our take-out.
Everything went well with no problems. After we disembarked, we shared opinions. Even though we could handle the canoe, we both felt that we will be more comfortable in our kayaks. So, Bob stored the canoe in the equipment shed until our next adventure calling for an open boat.
Goose Creek Kayaking with Twin Rivers Paddle Club
Abley directed by our frequent trip leader Carolyn Borgert, a group of about 10 paddlers took a pleasant trip in mid-March, launching in mid-morning from Martin Marietta Park and going to the narrow, upper reaches of Goose Creek [labeled on some maps as Bachelors Creek].
The weather was sunny and clear; the wind was mild; the water temperature was 58 degrees; and the air temperature was around 70 degrees. I wore a wetsuit, which was about right if I capsized [which did not happen] but was too warm most of the trip. I got a little sweaty, but was not miserably hot.
Along the way, we saw a large beaver lodge in the swampy area between the canal from Park and the main channel, an eagle’s nest, an osprey’s nest, an osprey and some nutria’s bank burrows.
Besides following Carolyn and the other paddlers, I checked our navigation with my Garmin Montana 750i. It worked well. Several other Club paddlers have commented that Google Earth on a smart phone also works well. It has a moving icon that shows where you are located, and you can see subsurface sandbars. So, for practice I tried to call up Google Earth, but it did not operate. I think it was due to lack of cell phone reception.
The trip was a little less than three hours; and a little more than 5 miles. For most of the group, those were leisurely measurements. But for me, those factors were stretching my experience in a kayak. The good news is that I handled the paddling well and did not have trouble. At the end, I felt good and could have gone further.
Along the way, I was able to paddle near Terry and Becki Rich, so we had some nice discussions about kayaking.
Credit for the group picture of all paddlers at the turn-around point facing the camera goes to the photographer Carolyn.
