The trip.
Well, two friends and myself set off at about 10:30 on Sunday to greet what would become one heck of an adventure. It was a very wild journey but as peaceful as ever. The hot weather made things a little rough, but the water was still cold, so a swim every now and then was quite welcome. The most challenging part was without a doubt the portages over the many, many logs. I actually lost track of the amount of trees we had to pull over, but it was about 12-15 before Winslow Williamstown Rd., about 12-15 between Winslow and Piney Hollow Rd., about 10 to 12 between Piney Hollow and 14th St., and another 10-15 at least from 14th street to Rt. 561 (Mays Landing Rd.) Needless to say, we got quite good at crossing over the logs after a while. And that doesn't count the logs we were able to make it under, and slide over. It was one heck of an adventure, with some beautiful scenery.
It does look like someone occasionally comes down the river (between New Brooklyn and Winlsow Rd.) to help clean it out and quite a number of small and huge trees were cut in half by a chain saw, but the cut marks looked quite old. However there was much less cleaned out from Winslow Rd. to Piney Hollow. Absolutely nothing has been cleaned out for the hour run south of Piney Hollow Rd. and some of the tree crossings in that section were quite challenging. It looked like someone who lives in the neighborhood near Collings Lakes cleared out a decent section but eventually gave up a little before the Conrail (PRSL) bridge. Things went rather smooth from the RR bridge to just south of the Rt. 54 overpass. The spillway was fun, but might be harder to do in lower water. The turns got tighter and tighter the further the river got from Rt. 54 and eventually the river split into several sections and it was really hard to tell which was the main branch. Two of us took a left segment and got hung up on several trees, small bridges, and a lot of hook briars. My friend Bill took a right segment and was greeted by a large quantity of downed trees. There was one large tree just south of where these segments meet back up that was just barely above the water, covered in briars, and in a tight corner with a swift current. If someone wasn't prepared or really weak from paddling the whole time, this spot could be a disaster. It was also very, very deep there. The left side was just barely climbable and was tricky with a kayak. The sides of the river in this section (and actually a good part of the upper river) were a dense wall of straight and hook briars so going around was not an option. There were a couple more small tree crossings before we got to the Mays Landing Rd. bridge but by that time it was almost pitch black out (9:15pm) so we left the kayaks and decided to walk down the road to get the truck. Luckily we got a lift from a nice family with a pickup and they took us down the Black Horse Pike to the Hospitality Branch Bridge where we were parked.
It was tough, challenging, but really the most adventurous trip I have ever been on in a river in South Jersey. I took a saw and cut a few limbs here and there to make things easier for the next run, but there is still a lot blocking the way. I would be down to do it again, but my arms are definitely going to have to rest for a while. Feel free to ask any questions about this trip, as there was a lot to explain, and I'm sure I forgot some things.
Kevin
