Beaver Dam Hopscotch

I put in at the top, which is the only option since the pandemic.  The lower put-in for this section of the river is on private school land and they closed off access for safety reasons.  This inconvenience for myself is a benefit for the swamp as a great amount of re-wilding has been going on with the big drop in casual visitors.  In fact, due to a big log jam at the midpoint, I haven't been in the lower three miles for almost two years and I doubt that hardly anyone else has either.

The water is high as in something normal for May, but not October.  

As soon as I'm in the water, I hear voices up ahead.  Just 150 yards in is a brand new beaver dam, and three guys in rec kayaks wrestling with crossing it.  This explains the high water.  I cruise up to the dam, hop out onto it, slide the canoe over, and hop back in.  Kayaks are poorly suited for beaver country.  It's just too difficult to get up onto a beaver dam from the Barcalounger.  The second new dam appears just 50 yards later.  The third is a hundred yards more, but it's an easy slide over.  The first log crawl comes less than 600 yards from the put-in.  The swamp's people filter is set on extra-high.

A well maintained lodge

 

After that, the route opens up, as usual, and it is spectacular, as usual.  Many of the swamp tree leaves are turning orange and yellow although it seems that much of the color is from vines wrapped around dead snags. The forests on the distant sides of the valley are still quite green. Cattail spears are turning tan and most of the cattails have burst open. Most of the lower shrubs are still green.  I flush a Great Blue Heron every once in awhile, but otherwise it is a bird quiet day.

About a mile in, I come to another log crossing.  

The fourth or fifth beaver dam

 

After that, it is easy open paddling down to the bridge at the midpoint.  This area has been a mess of downed trees for a couple years and today it is worse.  Two large trees have come down upstream of the old bridge.  In part to make the trip last a bit longer, I pull out my bow saw and cut a gap 20 feet into the new deadfalls.  I can't tell how much weight is on the next cut, so I back out  That cut should be done when there is someone else around, just in case.  Hopefully, the new saw cuts will encourage someone else to clear a bit more.

The return is an easy cruise, perhaps somewhat more spectacular with the sun behind me.  I find the three guys at the third beaver dam... wrestling.  I wait out of sight.  They're having enough fun all by themselves given the use of flowery language.  Once they're clear of the gap in the dam, I speed up through it, exchange pleasantries, and move on.  They're having a good day, making more work out of it than necessary, but still having fun.  They should finish the last 400 yards... in about 2 more hours.