Windy day on the Passaic

I finally had it in my mind to get out and paddle.  Not a short little jaunt on the Black River like last time but a nice paddle.  The weather was supposed to be nice but, as it turns out, it was clear but windy as anything!  The last time I paddled this stretch of the Passaic River (from Columbia Turnpike/South Orange Ave in Florham Park to Passaic Avenue in Short Hills) it was windy as hell.  That was my first paddle with my canoe if I remember correctly.  This time, I had a little more experience under my belt.  It was a great time.  I took my time and just really enjoyed the trip.  The foliage hasn't started to come in yet so everything was still gray and muddy but it was nice.  At one point, at a blow down I had to go around, I decided to break out my hammock and take a snooze.  I got it all set up, started to drift off and just then, ATV riders came riding by.  I freaking HATE ATV's!   All in all, a wonderful day paddling.

Early Black River

I have been NEEDING to get back on the water in the worst way.  For some reason, the winter was long for me and I had Spring fever early.  I had a little time, and the weather wasn't too bad, so I decided to get on the Black River from Pleasant Hill Road and paddle upstream as far as I could.  I managed to get further this time than I did last time I tried this section as there was more water on the river.  I made it almost to the water treatment plant, turned around and came back.  It was a twisty turny river that seems clean and shallow.  I stopped off for a bit to just relax and then paddle the rest of the day.  It was really nice to get out.

Columbia Lake into Paulinskill River

Today was a PERFECT weather day for paddling.  The weather was clear, crisp and calm.  I had been wanting to paddle Columbia Lake and today I decided it was my destination of choice.  I'm really glad I did. First of all, I was alone at the lake which is always a big plus. When you first put in at the launch, the water is covered in lily pads with only a narrow channel to paddle into the lake.  We haven't had any rain so the water was really shallow, even in the lake.  My first impression, other than the Route 80 noise, was the beautiful flowers that seemed to be everywhere.  I paddled to the backside of the lake and then upstream into the Paulinskill.  As all of the trip, it was beautiful the entire way upstream.  It was scratchy at some points and hard to paddle up, but there was enough water for me to float down afterwards.  I just had to make sure to pick the right channels.  This is a place I will come back to.  Here are some pictures
Columbia Lake in Pictures
Here is the route I took
Map of Columbia Lake Route

The musky on canoe this time...

It was a lazy summer Sunday afternoon.  I wanted to get away for a bit and canoeing seemed like the perfect choice.  It was quite warm but also pretty windy.  I figured that it would be tough going on the canoe but i didn't care.  I headed over to the Musconetcong River and put in.  Almost immediately I was passed by two paddlers in a canoe and then I shortly thereafter came upon a whole lot of kayakers going downstream.  The rest of the way was quiet and beautiful.  Here is a video of some pictures I took.


Musky in a canoe

D&R Canal

I took the day off of work to do a little paddling.  I had a nice time the last time that I went on the D&R canal that I wanted to do it again.  It's a really easy, flat, straight paddle so I thought it would be fun with my canoe for a nice relaxing day.  I was right, it was both...fun and relaxing.  I tried to launch at the first causeway that I came to from 287 but they were doing construction so I had to make my way to Amwell road.  It was a nice easy launch and away I went.  I paddled for a total of 8 miles.  At my turn around there was a nice little area on the side of the canal, over a hill, that I could stop for lunch.  It was such a nice day.

Here is a link to some pictures:  D&R Canal in pictures

Caribbean paddle - or just White Lake

I paddled White Lake in Stillwater (or Hope or somewhere near there) today.  What a fantastic experience!  The lake is really more of a pond, it's not all that big and it's essentially round but the water was crystal clear and due to the bottom consisting of marl, which is a prehistoric deposit of aquatic shells, it was white which gave it the appearance of a Caribbean sea. It was a pretty neat experience.  There were quite a few paddlers/fisherman on the lake and you can see the fish swimming all over.  Here is a link to a video:

White Lake Paddle in Pictures

Cranberry paddle

I had a few hours to kill this morning before I go to a bbq for Memorial Day.  I decided to hit Cranberry Lake as I haven't been there since I was in college with Billy Hoffman.  It's funny how the memories of a place doesn't leave you...even after so many years.  I still remembered much of the lake.

It started out a nice, calm paddle.  I left the launch and headed to the "old lake".  I got over to the rocks and decided to do a little fishing.  Got a bite but that was about it.  I then paddled the circumference of the whole lake.  I think my favorite spot was a little hidden cove that was even too shallow for my boat but it was nice and peaceful.  After a while of paddling, and going under the bridge, I headed back to the launch and it became fairly windy and the boats were all starting to zoom around.

As a whole, I wasn't crazy about this lake to paddle.  It was all back yards and to me, dodging boats and seeing backyards isn't all that fun for me.