Kayaking on the Wading Today

[Wick]

Took a nice kayak trip with the wife and kids today. On the way to Hawkins bridge there were maybe 10 cars in the Harrisville lake parking lot. When I got to Godfrey bridge the place was like a ghost town. Wading Pines was busy but there was hardly anyone in or near the water. Put in at Hawkins at 10:45 and only saw 3 people the whole day. Got back to Godfrey around 3:00. There was more people hanging out but not like usual. A police officer was there checking coolers. Have they been cracking down there on Hanging out?

 

[Teegate]

Maybe the pine flies are keeping people away. And many may have been down the shore.

 

[dragoncjo]

I’ve noticed less people in pines then ever. I think gas prices are a limiting factor and with Covid over the people who do have money are back to usual locations for vacation time.

 

[Wick]

That could be true we were out driving around in Greenwood WMA last weekend and on Friday and did not see another soul.

 

[Wick]

Maybe the pine flies are keeping people away. And many may have been down the shore.

Teegate, I was worried that the flies would be bad after your previous post. However did not have any issues with flies.

 

[Teegate]

Teegate, I was worried that the flies would be bad after your previous post. However did not have any issues with flies.

They singled me out

 

[Dochartaigh]

A police officer was there checking coolers. Have they been cracking down there on Hanging out?

Sorry for the little late reply (just checking on this forum about anything mentioning kayaking as that's my hobby but just had to reply to this:

Not that I'm a big drinker or anything, and I'm also NOT a lawyer... but they shouldn't be able to search you or your belongings unless there's probable cause a crime is being committed. So unless you're staggering as you walk or slurring your words or something denoting alcohol use, and since a cooler can be used for everything from food to baby formula to keeping medication cool (i.e. totally legal things) they are NOT allowed to search you or your belongings without cause. I just emailed the NJ State Ranger .gov departments email address asking them to confirm this... doubt they'll write me back but if they do I'll post the response here.

 

[Pan]

Sorry for the little late reply (just checking on this forum about anything mentioning kayaking as that's my hobby but just had to reply to this:

Not that I'm a big drinker or anything, and I'm also NOT a lawyer... but they shouldn't be able to search you or your belongings unless there's probable cause a crime is being committed. So unless you're staggering as you walk or slurring your words or something denoting alcohol use, and since a cooler can be used for everything from food to baby formula to keeping medication cool (i.e. totally legal things) they are NOT allowed to search you or your belongings without cause. I just emailed the NJ State Ranger .gov departments email address asking them to confirm this... doubt they'll write me back but if they do I'll post the response here.

"kayaking as that's my hobby"

Me too, or it was when i lived back east, canoeing (my favorite), sea kayaking. Since i lived in an apartment in Manhattan i had inflatable kayaks. I don't remember ever seeing any police in the barrens in the old days. I do remember once driving down to the PB I stopped at a rest area and i was talking to a po-lees. He told me that there had been a murder at a PB public campground the night before. See, that's why i don't like public campgrounds and wld much rather sleep in the wilderness. I worked at the Grand Canyon for a little while. The very first weekend i was there there were 3 deaths, a murder in the campground again, and two cyclists were killed by lightning while cycling on the rim. They didn't tell the tourists about any of that, or about the maniac who had been hiding in bushes along the rim trail and jumping lone women. Many people die by falls up there too (see the book, and some videos too, *Death In The Grand Canyon*).

Photo below: Sea kayaking in my inflatable, on an island off the coast of Brooklyn Jun 1993. That was yet another time I almost got killed at sea, returning to the coast after dark when the thunderstorms that were around earlier that day came back with a vengeance - and ik's aren't very good in the wind. That's my ik off in the middle distance.

(never mind - i can't get this photo to upload)