Friday, June 18, 2004
Hadnot Creek, June 17, 2004
What a wonderful Trip! No trash! Big Sweep, please cross this creek off your list for this year. It has no trash to pick up.
What we picked up was minimal thanks to the year round efforts of White Oak Bluffs' Homeowners.
The one large piece of trash wins all in the category of most unusual. Gary Scruggs found it. It provided a lunch stop seat for four of us. It is a brand new, unused, parking lot bumper, black, heavy, plastic, about eight by ten inches thick and six feet long. It must have been thrown off the Church Road bridge. Why?
That is Gary on the left with his find and Jim Stevens, Marie Justen, and Tom Fineco helping him hold it up. (It weighed all of 3lbs).
So, instead of pictures of trash, we have pictures of beautiful wild flowers to show you. Hope you can name them for us. It is a delightful change for us! Elmer
What we picked up was minimal thanks to the year round efforts of White Oak Bluffs' Homeowners.
The one large piece of trash wins all in the category of most unusual. Gary Scruggs found it. It provided a lunch stop seat for four of us. It is a brand new, unused, parking lot bumper, black, heavy, plastic, about eight by ten inches thick and six feet long. It must have been thrown off the Church Road bridge. Why?
That is Gary on the left with his find and Jim Stevens, Marie Justen, and Tom Fineco helping him hold it up. (It weighed all of 3lbs).
So, instead of pictures of trash, we have pictures of beautiful wild flowers to show you. Hope you can name them for us. It is a delightful change for us! Elmer
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
3rd day of paddling with Paul Ferguson, Monday, June 14, 2004
On Monday, June 14, 2004 we paddled and hiked. We put in at Hammocks Beach State Park and paddled over to te ferry dock on the island by followig Cow Channel, the ferry route. We put in at 9:00 and were over there by 10:30.
We hiked over to the new facilities,about a 1/2 mile on the ocean front. It is an ineresting hike with the natural fauna and flora being explained as you walk along the path. It is up hill all the way. (Paddling is a lot easier!).
The facilities are excellent and the view in all directions is overwhelming.
Looking west over the high dunes and the ocean.
Looking down over the beach and the ocean. They are Paul Ferguson an Jim Stevens.
We retraced our steps to the ferry dock and had lunch in the shelter there.
It was good to get back into our boats and paddle along the inland shore to the point at Bogue Inlet. Some of the dunes were 60 feet high.
On prevoius exploratory trips we have climbed up into this area. There are aand bowls up there with high dunes all around protecting you from the wind. It is a different micro world you hike into. It seems like you could be in the Sahara.
We rouonded the point and paddled into the stream that connects a large lake or bay at high tide. Unfortunately we hit it at low tide and we had to walk. Camp sites 13 an 14 ar right there. #22 is a litle further and the rest are down near the beach. In trying to hike to them we ran into a roped off area for the protection of shore birds.
This was about the ohly pieice of litter we had to pick up.
This is Paul and Jim with Emerald Isle in the background.
Pulling our boats out and tying them up before trying to hike over to the camp sites on the ocean front.
The paddle home was very pleasant following the markers on the trail from this point to the mainland. Marker was missing where a right angle turn is necessary. We notified the authorities.
We enjoyed the paddle and the hiking. It is a different world from the inland streams in the woods. Paul and I hit 5.7 miles perhour for 10 seconds on the way back with the tide and a south wind at our back. Elmer
We hiked over to the new facilities,about a 1/2 mile on the ocean front. It is an ineresting hike with the natural fauna and flora being explained as you walk along the path. It is up hill all the way. (Paddling is a lot easier!).
The facilities are excellent and the view in all directions is overwhelming.
Looking west over the high dunes and the ocean.
Looking down over the beach and the ocean. They are Paul Ferguson an Jim Stevens.
We retraced our steps to the ferry dock and had lunch in the shelter there.
It was good to get back into our boats and paddle along the inland shore to the point at Bogue Inlet. Some of the dunes were 60 feet high.
On prevoius exploratory trips we have climbed up into this area. There are aand bowls up there with high dunes all around protecting you from the wind. It is a different micro world you hike into. It seems like you could be in the Sahara.
We rouonded the point and paddled into the stream that connects a large lake or bay at high tide. Unfortunately we hit it at low tide and we had to walk. Camp sites 13 an 14 ar right there. #22 is a litle further and the rest are down near the beach. In trying to hike to them we ran into a roped off area for the protection of shore birds.
This was about the ohly pieice of litter we had to pick up.
This is Paul and Jim with Emerald Isle in the background.
Pulling our boats out and tying them up before trying to hike over to the camp sites on the ocean front.
The paddle home was very pleasant following the markers on the trail from this point to the mainland. Marker was missing where a right angle turn is necessary. We notified the authorities.
We enjoyed the paddle and the hiking. It is a different world from the inland streams in the woods. Paul and I hit 5.7 miles perhour for 10 seconds on the way back with the tide and a south wind at our back. Elmer
Day #2 of paddling with Paul Ferguson
We put-in in Peletier at the foot of a dirt road off Pettiford Road on Pettiford Creek. We paddled upstream under 58 and past Star Hill golf course and subdivision. This is through marshes and past mosquito channels cut by WPA years ago.
The river narrows and red cedars appear in gross forms and shapes. One we call the Dragon. Croatan National Forest is on our left and the newly acquired public land, by the Coastal Land Trust,926 acres is on our right
We arrived at the beaver dams at high water so we cruised over all the small ones. We pulled our boats over the larger ones.
We immediately came into a beautiful garden of pure white water lillies.
We also came upon some button flower bushes.
This next is Missy clibing ovr a beaver dam.
This is Missy chuting down over a beaver dam.
This is Missy's son, Stephen, doing the same.
We ate lunch at the large beaverlodge. It is between 40 and 50 feet in diameter and five feet high. After lunch we pushed further upstream and came uopon another equally large beaver lodge.
Shortly after that we had to give up and turn back downstream according to Gary. Gary opened up the beaver dams on the reurn trip for us so we could shoot down over them by paddling fast and getting a whte water thrill.
We saw many more wild flowers and large ferns and palmettos. The broken thruogh dam is always an interesting place with the island in the middle. There is supposed to be another old dam upstream but we never have found it.
When we get very high water again we are gong to put in at Millis Road and come down.(In the day time this time!). Elmer
We had a most enjoyable trip. Tis is one of our favorite rivers.We got back to the ramp at three as planned.
Participants were: Paul Ferguson,from Raleigh, Missy Tenet and her son, Stephen, from Oriental, Gary Scruggs from Newport and Elmer Eddy form Swansboro.
The river narrows and red cedars appear in gross forms and shapes. One we call the Dragon. Croatan National Forest is on our left and the newly acquired public land, by the Coastal Land Trust,926 acres is on our right
We arrived at the beaver dams at high water so we cruised over all the small ones. We pulled our boats over the larger ones.
We immediately came into a beautiful garden of pure white water lillies.
We also came upon some button flower bushes.
This next is Missy clibing ovr a beaver dam.
This is Missy chuting down over a beaver dam.
This is Missy's son, Stephen, doing the same.
We ate lunch at the large beaverlodge. It is between 40 and 50 feet in diameter and five feet high. After lunch we pushed further upstream and came uopon another equally large beaver lodge.
Shortly after that we had to give up and turn back downstream according to Gary. Gary opened up the beaver dams on the reurn trip for us so we could shoot down over them by paddling fast and getting a whte water thrill.
We saw many more wild flowers and large ferns and palmettos. The broken thruogh dam is always an interesting place with the island in the middle. There is supposed to be another old dam upstream but we never have found it.
When we get very high water again we are gong to put in at Millis Road and come down.(In the day time this time!). Elmer
We had a most enjoyable trip. Tis is one of our favorite rivers.We got back to the ramp at three as planned.
Participants were: Paul Ferguson,from Raleigh, Missy Tenet and her son, Stephen, from Oriental, Gary Scruggs from Newport and Elmer Eddy form Swansboro.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Day #1 of paddling with Paul Ferguson
Paul drove down from Raleigh on Saturday, June 12th and we met him at 10:00 in Peletier on Pettiford Creek which is the creek we intended to paddle that day.
The wind was strong from the northeast and Gary Scruggs and Paul and I quickly agreed we should take advantage of it paddle the White Oak instead.
We set up shuttle at Cedar Point at the ramp in Croatan National Forest and drove to Stella where we put-in at Boondocks at 11:00.
The wind blew us down the river. Paul measured 3.5 miles per hour. We lunched at the Eagles Nest Beach about half way,just below Little Kinston.
Very shallow water under a high bluff being eroded by the winds and high tides. Large trees, which had been uprooted by erosion at the top of the bluff, lie across the sandy beach. It was a lovely interesting lunch stop in Croatan National Forest and would make a great camping stop on the river.
This picture is of Paul and Gary at the bottom of the bluff. I am down on my knees taking the picture to get the top of the bluff in the picture.
This picture shows the sandy beach and a large tree which came down across it from the top of the bluff.
After lunch we paddled on down past the Amphitheatre and Pettiford Bay by Jones Island and Dubling Creek into the ramp on Boathouse Creek at Cedar Point. We arrived there at 3:00.
It was a most enjoyable paddle. I was amazed at how quickly we traversed the 10 miles of river.
The wind was strong from the northeast and Gary Scruggs and Paul and I quickly agreed we should take advantage of it paddle the White Oak instead.
We set up shuttle at Cedar Point at the ramp in Croatan National Forest and drove to Stella where we put-in at Boondocks at 11:00.
The wind blew us down the river. Paul measured 3.5 miles per hour. We lunched at the Eagles Nest Beach about half way,just below Little Kinston.
Very shallow water under a high bluff being eroded by the winds and high tides. Large trees, which had been uprooted by erosion at the top of the bluff, lie across the sandy beach. It was a lovely interesting lunch stop in Croatan National Forest and would make a great camping stop on the river.
This picture is of Paul and Gary at the bottom of the bluff. I am down on my knees taking the picture to get the top of the bluff in the picture.
This picture shows the sandy beach and a large tree which came down across it from the top of the bluff.
After lunch we paddled on down past the Amphitheatre and Pettiford Bay by Jones Island and Dubling Creek into the ramp on Boathouse Creek at Cedar Point. We arrived there at 3:00.
It was a most enjoyable paddle. I was amazed at how quickly we traversed the 10 miles of river.
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