NYCkayaker Delaware River Trip Report

[torahron at aol.com]

Trip Report:



Delaware River 5/3/08



Lackawaxen to Sparowbush



 



My sincere condolences to any of you who couldn’t join this
intrepid group of 14 paddlers. The trip was organized by Lee Reiser as an
outing of individual paddlers with no one or no club taking responsibility
(legal or otherwise) for death, dismemberment, drowning, trauma, mauling by
wild animals, shark bite, poison ivy, food poisoning, or any other mishap
either real or imagined.



 



Despite the palpable fear generated by this lack of
liability coverage, this pod of individuals was able to function as a cohesive
team, navigating the rapids with aplomb. 



 



The river gods cast only one of our number from his craft.
The boat was quickly emptied of water, mid river, by one of our group with an
efficiently performed K over K rescue and the unlucky padder executed a
flawless re-entry. Kudos to all involved. (Names omitted to protect the
innocent)



 



The weather was dreary and cold and more than made up for by
the warm camaraderie of the paddlers.



 



Many eagle sightings and countless other birds as well. The
22 miles of river went quickly and was punctuated by about 8 sets of rapids.
Great scenery abounds to distract your attention from the rocks.



 



My thanks to all who participated and made this a great
trip. Lee runs this trip twice a year and I urge any who have not joined him to
take advantage the next time he posts this trip.



 



It should be noted that the Delaware River
is a great introduction to white water paddling and a nice change of pace for
those familiar with the ocean. Its best traveled in the spring and fall when
there aren’t many tourists in rented boats to play bumper kayak with.