New Shoes

Canoeing shoes are a topic that, it seems, no two canoeists agree on. There are good reasons for this disagreement. Some paddlers kneel, some sit with their feet out in front of them, and some, like myself, alternate between sitting and kneeling. People wear everything from neoprene booties to tennis shoes, rubber boots or hiking boots. The one thing that serious canoe folk don't wear are flip flops and open sandals... no one wants to end a trip because they've sliced open their foot on a clam shell or broken bottle. Anyway, I need a soft sole shoe for kneeling, but it has to be stout enough for a bit of a portage, and stay on while wading or post holing in mud, and that is a difficult compromise to reach. For the last several years, I've been wearing Chuck Taylor high tops. I got a 2 for 1 deal on them, and with a good can of contact cement, I was able to keep them working for a few summers. In the process, they have acquired a surly funk and finally got to the point where I had to re-glue them weekly. This week, while it was too hot to canoe, I finally found some cheap running shoes for summer paddling and the Chuck Taylors found their way to the garbage bin. However, my favorite canoe shoes are a pair of neoprene mukluks, which are too hot for summer, but perfect for the rest of the year, almost. The mukluks have leaked from about the fifth trip with them, but it's a small leak, mostly because they have a full tube of sealant smeared all over the foot area... they are very pretty.

It's been steamy hot all week and I am not at all a warm weather person. The heat and humidity leaves me feeling sluggish and tired. A vacation to Florida or some such ungodly place impresses me as casual trip to the outer rings of Hell. In fact, if I should end up in Hell, it will probably look like a Florida beach resort.

I head out early for a short trip through the nearest big marsh. I put in under the tall bridge and head down river against a mild southwest wind, which is a positive thing for this day.  

The spartina has gone to seed and a blonde fuzz adorns the tops of the tall green grass. The marsh has a look that suggests a wheat field. I head in via my new favorite channel.  Where it forks and I normally head right, I continue left and find, or re-find, a nice meander to the lower end.  The wind has increased to a solid 15mph while I was hidden in the grasses.  I find a good dozen or so juvenile Night Herons in the lower east corner. This has always seemed to be a preferred spot for the juveniles although I don't know why.  They are perched on nearby houses and up in the dead trees.  From there, I grind my way into the wind over to Milford Point.  The tide is getting well into the ebb and there is a swirl of currents as water begins to drain. 

I head towards Nell's Channel, get momentarily lost and find a natural loop that both backtracks some and moves me closer to the channel. While doing that, I spook a minor fleet of 8-10 inch diameter turtles, flush a couple Black Ducks, and scare up a couple Willets.  I head up river in Nell's Channel.

Juvenile Yellow Crowned Night Heron

With the tide current in my face and the wind at my back, the main river has some medium sized waves building.