Trudy
Member
Like everyone else in the Hudson Valley, I woke up this morning to a fairyland of white - a sticky seven inches of snow fell overnight near Hudson, and it clung to everything, transforming the landscape. Adding to the surreal effect, a fog hung over the river. I could barely wait to get out.
Two weeks ago the Coast Guard cutter Penobscott Bay was opening up the shipping lane, but since the middle of last week the ice has disappeared. I tried to put in at a nearby dead-end road, but there was no place to park and I nearly got stuck trying to turn around. I headed for the city of Hudson, three miles away, but the public launch hadn't been plowed yet, the DPW's priority understandably being the streets.
I parked near the new waterfront park south of the launch and dragged my kayak over to the old ferry slip. It hauled easily over the snow. Normally I wouldn't consider launching here, as the shoreline is all rip-rap boulders. But with the tide out there was a strip of sand exposed and it was an easy put-in.
I paddled up to north bay and the RR bridge. The John Reinauer tugboat pushing an RTC barge north churned by. The river was full of floating wood. Every once in a while a ray of sunlight broke through, illuminating the snow-covered trees. The unexpectedly strong ebb tide under the RR bridge spun me around.
Definitely my last paddle for the year. I'm not the only one thinking that the season isn't over yet, though. Yesterday at Kingston Point I met a group of four heading out with sea kayaks and Greenland paddles. One of them confirmed that he was intending to roll.
Two weeks ago the Coast Guard cutter Penobscott Bay was opening up the shipping lane, but since the middle of last week the ice has disappeared. I tried to put in at a nearby dead-end road, but there was no place to park and I nearly got stuck trying to turn around. I headed for the city of Hudson, three miles away, but the public launch hadn't been plowed yet, the DPW's priority understandably being the streets.
I parked near the new waterfront park south of the launch and dragged my kayak over to the old ferry slip. It hauled easily over the snow. Normally I wouldn't consider launching here, as the shoreline is all rip-rap boulders. But with the tide out there was a strip of sand exposed and it was an easy put-in.
I paddled up to north bay and the RR bridge. The John Reinauer tugboat pushing an RTC barge north churned by. The river was full of floating wood. Every once in a while a ray of sunlight broke through, illuminating the snow-covered trees. The unexpectedly strong ebb tide under the RR bridge spun me around.
Definitely my last paddle for the year. I'm not the only one thinking that the season isn't over yet, though. Yesterday at Kingston Point I met a group of four heading out with sea kayaks and Greenland paddles. One of them confirmed that he was intending to roll.
