Doing the Wash - Great Swamp

I put in on the Great Swamp from the Patterson launch.  It is partly sunny going to overcast with a temperature of 65F and a light wind coming up the river. The water is a little high, but still within the banks.

I head upstream.  Upstream from Patterson is always an iffy plan.  Few people head this way, so there is always a lot of dead wood in the river.  A year or two back, I made it all of the way to the beaver meadow at the "height of land".  The meadow has plenty water, but at the point it is in channels that are too small for a canoe.  The small pond just below the meadow is formed by a 2-3 ft high beaver dam.

Wood Turtle

Things go pretty much as expected for the first 2/3 of the upriver trip.  I end run or slide over all of the downed wood.  It is a slow paddle because I am constantly making tight turns either because of the channel or to avoid the logs. There are a lot of turtles out.  I am pretty sure that many of them are Wood Turtles -  a species of some concern. I flush Wood Duck pairs quite often.

Nearing the high point

About 45 minutes up, the river starts braiding into 2 or 3 smaller channels. The channels are more twisted and usually only one of them is clear of obstructions. Quickly enough, I can't continue without climbing over logs.  I get in three moderately awkward log hops before I get to a spot where I can walk a few yards up and look over the scene.  I can see more logs and an increasingly thinner channel. This isn't going to go today. This part of the river is in the "between" stage - beaver marsh moving towards becoming a beaver meadow.  I turn back.

I pass my start point and continue down river. I have not seen anyone since putting in.  It is peaceful and, as I've said before, one of the most beautiful places that I have paddled. The sky is bigger than in the upper section. The gray sticks stand farther back from the river.  I flush more Wood Ducks.  I don't count but it must be 50-60.  See a couple Great Blue Herons.  Pass a Canada Goose nest that has been built right at the river edge.   There are three very well maintained beaver lodges in this section, and some recent scent mounds.  I usually don't spot too many scent mounds in this area, unlike farther down in the forested section where scent mounds are everywhere.

I turn back when I am a bend or two up from the Rt 22 bridge.  I can hear the traffic and would just rather not look at it.   

I return to my start point thoroughly washed out.