Adventure on the Mullica

[Teegate]

All,

At 8AM this morning 5 members of PBX headed out for a day of adventure on the Mighty Mullica. Below are a few photo’s of the day.

Here is Steve (Behr655) relaxing in his kayak.

Jeff (Woodjin) and Gabe (Pinelandpaddler) are back there somewhere.

Bob has his flower gear out and is inspecting one specimen, while Steve checks out the Beaver den in the rear.

Another specimen

Bob .... What the heck are you doing!

If you haven’t been to Lock’s Bridge in a while, it has collapsed.

One of the longest savannahs you will ever see.

Since we are hearing it is illegal to hold turtles, we decided to hide the face of the person holding this one. So Jeff dove underwater so I could get this shot

A blurry closer look. You can’t prove that is my hand .... no way!

Guy

 

[dragoncjo]

An old iron stained spotted. A old male it looks like with some battle wounds. About how deep was that water were he was, looks deep?

 

[Teegate]

It was. Jeff did some long term explorations by diving down and also by holding a paddle down. He estimated at one location in that area it was 15 feet deep.


Guy

 

[bobpbx]

Nice photos Guy, very nice, especially the Lophiola. I just woke up a half hour ago (asleep since 6:00) and am going to bed again soon.

I really had a great time today. Perfect weather, perfect river, and good friends. Can you beat that?

 

[Teegate]

I had such trouble taking photo's of the flowers as usual. Most of them look like the one below with my hand still in the photo as I move it away quickly so it stays in focus.

http://teegate.njpinebarrens.com/07142007/IMG_9506.JPG


Guy

 

[Boyd]

You had a great time, and got some terrific photos to prove it! Very nice.

 

[BEHR655]

Great shots Guy. It was a great day in the water.

Steve

 

[this_is_nascar]

Awesome photos Guy. It was a great day for it, that's for sure.

 

[bobpbx]

A couple more photos. The first one shows guy with his back to my camera. Look closely to his right and you can see Steve and Gabe far down the savannah. The next photo is the best I could do to capture them with 4 times zoom.

Side shot of the savanna.....

 

[woodjin]

What a great trip!
Beaver pond

Taking a break near locks bridge

One of the many sandy banks along the river

Somebody holding yet a spotted turtle

An old and huge iron ore mining pond

The most beautiful example of a common watersnake I have ever seen. Must have been a recent shed

Jeff

 

[bobpbx]

Wow!

You are right Jeff, I have never seen one so vibrant. I must have been asleep going by that one. It may not have been there; how could 3 of us not see it? You were, what, 30 minutes behind us at that point.

PS: it would be fun to digitally kick up the colors a notch in your edit program. Throw in some red!

 

[Teegate]

I think we would have noticed that. At least I hope so

Great shots Jeff!

Guy

 

[BEHR655]

I must have been sleeping.

 

[dragoncjo]

The cedar water has a tendency to really bring out reds and yellows. If you ever see painted and redbelly turtles in the water they are absolutely gorgeous compared to other water habitats. The cedar water keeps things very clean and when these things go under things to hide it is normally pine needles and moss vs. mud and dirt.

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Excellent time we had out there. That savannah was something else. I'm still in shock at how deep the water was in some of those spots. The Mullica has her share of mysteries.....

 

[woodjin]

I think he was out sunning himself for a while. I saw someone else in a kayak and Gabe go right past him without seeing him (and Gabe is very observant) I think the fact he was perfectly still made him easy to miss.

Jeff

 

[bobpbx]

We'll have to do another soon.......

 

[LongIslandPiney]

Never seen eastern redcedars so tall! Nice photos, though it must've been hot there. How were the pine flies and ticks?

 

[Teegate]

Never seen eastern redcedars so tall! Nice photos, though it must've been hot there. How were the pine flies and ticks?

I was not bothered by flies and I don't remember anyone else saying anything. I did find a very small tick on me this morning just as I sat down at the computer after getting up. It was walking so I guess it was waiting by my computer for me knowing I would be there eventually

Guy

 

[whippoorbill]

The fine photos and trip reports have me itching for another Mullica trip.

The last time I was on the Mullica was under a full moon, though that night I exclusively explored the beaver pond section above Lock's Bridge (I didn't know this bridge had a name until reading this thread). I'd always wanted to kayak these meadows under moonlight. Beavers were splashing their tails everywhere that night; and believe me when I say that there's nothing that tests the ticker like a sudden and very-nearby tail-WHOMP interrupting total serenity in near darkness.

The Mullica is a treasure. Thanks for sharing the photos.