Up to Great Flat and Back

 I set out, finding the ebb current quite a bit stronger than I expected. Combined with that was a down river wind, which also was quite a bit stronger than expected. I crossed the river right off using the eddies behind the bridge abutments to make easier upstream progress. Once above the bridges, I crabbed to the far bank holding about a 45 degree angle to the river flow. Still, it is a very nice autumn day.

I headed up behind the four islands, as I often do. This side of the river is salt marsh islands and maintains some state of wildness. The east side of the river is a retired coal power plant. I look forward to seeing that plant removed and replaced with some natural vegetation - someday.

It is most definitely a grind up river today. The wind is a good deal more than the weather prediction and as I cross from the tip of Long Island to Pope's Flat, I am already deciding to cut this trip short. However, the east shore provides better cover from the wind and the going improves.

I spot two wood beams and what looks like the remains of a stone wall in the cut bank right below the electrical towers on the east bank. They are almost three feet down from the surface and the marsh soil above them looks undisturbed. I have no idea what might have been here, and since the soil above the features appears to have naturally collected, it might be worth some research. That amount of soil hints at something pretty old. Peck's Mill stood directly across the river from this spot. Peck's was noted on an old map as there are no obvious remnants.

The beams are approximately 3x8 inches.

I turn when I am just below Great Flat (the 6th island from the sea). There is no hiding from the wind for the next mile or so. It has taken over an hour to get here today, nearly double the normal time. It is, however, an easy return.  The wind dies to almost nothing when I am about a quarter mile from my take out. Timing is everything.