Trudy
Member
4/1/08
After reading Jay's post, I think my trip was actually sillier.
The dilemma: It had been puzzling me for some time: how could I get across to Roger's Island in the Hudson River from my house? Roger's Island is an untrammeled paradise, a long slice of island north of Catskill and south of Hudson. Either of those towns is a fine place to launch for a visit, but I had something else in mind. The center of the island was only a few hundred yards downhill and across the RR tracks from my house.
If I stood by the tracks, the marshy island shore was about 300 feet distant and that narrowed to only 100 feet at the north end.
So near and yet so far.
Using my kayak would involve a long carry. I wanted quick and easy. Eventually I came up with the idea of using our toy pool float.
This was no ordinary pool toy. It was bright yellow, had high rounded sides like a real duckie and was 4 feet long by 2 1/2 feet wide. It was made of thin plastic. A gift from a high school friend who owns a liquor store, it carried an advertisement for Little Penguin wines. In the pool it was entirely seaworthy and served me well, despite its lack of cup holders.
Tuesday was the day. I inflated the raft and carried it down the path, being especially careful around grasping multi-flora rose and the barbs of buckthorn. I brought half of a kayak paddle. An Amtrak rushed by as I reached the tracks. I cleared all the spikey (!) water chestnuts away before setting the raft in the water.
The first thing I realized was that Little Penguin couldn't be paddled in any usual way. This had everything to do with the fact that it was oblong; it had no prow. Two strokes on one side sent me spinning. A south wind was in my favor. It pushed me towards my destination - a beach on the north end, about 400 yards away. I paddled first on one side, then on the other, as best I could.
I'm not tall or heavy, but I didn't fit in Little Penguin very well. I had to hang my feet over the front. It started to drizzle. I was perfectly happy. Two mating pairs of Canadian geese protested my intrusion. Three black ducks took off low over the water.
A five-car Amtrak whizzed by southbound. I might have been an odd sight.
I landed and explored the island for about an hour. I gave an eagle's nest a wide berth. The upper half of the island is low-lying on the channel (west) side and due to flooding the assortment of debris was staggering. There was a great deal of lumber, also barrels - blue, white and rusty metal - of all sorts. Remarkably, there was a shopping cart.
The return trip was dicey as I struggled for shore while the wind and tide tried to sweep me out into the river. Interesting trip, but next time I'll launch from Catskill. Pool duty only for Little Penguin.
After reading Jay's post, I think my trip was actually sillier.
The dilemma: It had been puzzling me for some time: how could I get across to Roger's Island in the Hudson River from my house? Roger's Island is an untrammeled paradise, a long slice of island north of Catskill and south of Hudson. Either of those towns is a fine place to launch for a visit, but I had something else in mind. The center of the island was only a few hundred yards downhill and across the RR tracks from my house.
If I stood by the tracks, the marshy island shore was about 300 feet distant and that narrowed to only 100 feet at the north end.
So near and yet so far.
Using my kayak would involve a long carry. I wanted quick and easy. Eventually I came up with the idea of using our toy pool float.
This was no ordinary pool toy. It was bright yellow, had high rounded sides like a real duckie and was 4 feet long by 2 1/2 feet wide. It was made of thin plastic. A gift from a high school friend who owns a liquor store, it carried an advertisement for Little Penguin wines. In the pool it was entirely seaworthy and served me well, despite its lack of cup holders.
Tuesday was the day. I inflated the raft and carried it down the path, being especially careful around grasping multi-flora rose and the barbs of buckthorn. I brought half of a kayak paddle. An Amtrak rushed by as I reached the tracks. I cleared all the spikey (!) water chestnuts away before setting the raft in the water.
The first thing I realized was that Little Penguin couldn't be paddled in any usual way. This had everything to do with the fact that it was oblong; it had no prow. Two strokes on one side sent me spinning. A south wind was in my favor. It pushed me towards my destination - a beach on the north end, about 400 yards away. I paddled first on one side, then on the other, as best I could.
I'm not tall or heavy, but I didn't fit in Little Penguin very well. I had to hang my feet over the front. It started to drizzle. I was perfectly happy. Two mating pairs of Canadian geese protested my intrusion. Three black ducks took off low over the water.
A five-car Amtrak whizzed by southbound. I might have been an odd sight.
I landed and explored the island for about an hour. I gave an eagle's nest a wide berth. The upper half of the island is low-lying on the channel (west) side and due to flooding the assortment of debris was staggering. There was a great deal of lumber, also barrels - blue, white and rusty metal - of all sorts. Remarkably, there was a shopping cart.
The return trip was dicey as I struggled for shore while the wind and tide tried to sweep me out into the river. Interesting trip, but next time I'll launch from Catskill. Pool duty only for Little Penguin.
