New Guy Wants to Talk Kayaks and Canoes

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TheePackRat

Scout
Mar 27, 2014
33
31
Atco
Hi, I've been lurking around here a bit lately and decided to jump in. So much good reading. Thank You. I love this state, it's history and many of the people in it.

I'm in Atco (grew up in Haddon Twp.) and badly want to get a kayak and a canoe and hit the rivers. I grew up canoeing Atsion regularly with my family and always loved it. I tried my first kayak a few years back and loved it more. Being down at water level is great as well as easier to deal with fallen trees.

Has anyone paddled the Mullica from Atsion Lake into Atco? Is it passable? Getting boat back to my vehicle would be the neat trick. I'm going to go to Bel Haven on Wednesday to check out kayaks. There has been no luck getting responses from any CL ads that I've replied to. Too late to the better deals I guess.

John
 
manumuskin

manumuskin

Piney
Jul 20, 2003
8,673
2,586
60
millville nj
www.youtube.com
I"ve canoed it maybe twenty years ago. It's tight and twisty but not a swift current like Mount Misery Brook.It's fairly shallow and has shores densley packed with over hanging brush.Good trip to pick up a crew of river spiders. Goshen pond is quite beautiful and the river really opens up here and stays more open on down to Atsion lake from there.This section would be a pain for long boats over sixteen feet.
 
46er

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,144
Coastal NJ
TheePackRat said:
Hi, I've been lurking around here a bit lately and decided to jump in. So much good reading. Thank You. I love this state, it's history and many of the people in it.

I'm in Atco (grew up in Haddon Twp.) and badly want to get a kayak and a canoe and hit the rivers. I grew up canoeing Atsion regularly with my family and always loved it. I tried my first kayak a few years back and loved it more. Being down at water level is great as well as easier to deal with fallen trees.

Has anyone paddled the Mullica from Atsion Lake into Atco? Is it passable? Getting boat back to my vehicle would be the neat trick. I'm going to go to Bel Haven on Wednesday to check out kayaks. There has been no luck getting responses from any CL ads that I've replied to. Too late to the better deals I guess.

John
Click to expand...

Might want to take a look at one of the lightweight pack canoes. I have a Hornbeck, bought it used, it is the perfect boat for me in the pines. Ten foot, weighs 16 lbs, can carry it anywhere and you paddle it like a kayak with a double bladed paddle. Can carry more stuff, and if a critter hitches a ride you can dump it really quick :eek: Hemlock and Swift are two other builders of lightweight pack canoes.

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ecampbell

ecampbell

Piney
Jan 2, 2003
2,889
1,029
How does the Hornbeck do when going over logs? With my kayak I just ram them, pop up on it and pull- slide over. Will these pack canoes take that? Will sliding over a gavel bottom harm them?
 
46er

46er

Piney
Mar 24, 2004
8,837
2,144
Coastal NJ
ecampbell said:
How does the Hornbeck do when going over logs? With my kayak I just ram them, pop up on it and pull- slide over. Will these pack canoes take that? Will sliding over a gavel bottom harm them?
Click to expand...

I've not had any problems getting around. Initially I bought it for use up north; banged it on quite a few rocky bottoms and boulders and launched off of many beaver dams. It's beat up a bit, many scratches and gouges. I find the pines have less abusive obstacles for it. The best thing about it is the weight, I can easily pick it up with one hand if need be. They were designed to be carried in to remote ponds. Might not suit everyone's use, but from the questions asked by the OP it seems like something worth considering.
 
amf

amf

Explorer
May 20, 2006
155
50
Swedesboro
ecampbell makes a good point to consider. Depending on how far off the main stream you go, piney creeks can have a lot of downed trees / branches. Some you can use his method on. Others you will need to get out and lift over. This is usually much easier in a canoe.
 
Jersey Jeff

Jersey Jeff

Explorer
Jun 22, 2012
146
29
Has anyone paddled the Mullica from Atsion Lake into Atco? Is it passable? Getting boat back to my vehicle would be the neat trick. I'm going to go to Bel Haven on Wednesday to check out kayaks. There has been no luck getting responses from any CL ads that I've replied to. Too late to the better deals I guess.
Click to expand...

I paddled this route in 2012. Put in is at the marked launch off of Route 206 just E of Atsion Lake. I paddled a canoe with my son and my wife paddled our kayak to the Mullica River Wilderness Campground. Water level was low and we were constantly getting stuck on submerged logs....it was very frustrating.

Day 2 paddle to Pleasant Mills was MUCH easier.

I used two cars, but most of the canoe/kayak rental places in the pines will transport your own boat back to your car for a modest fee.
 
T

TheePackRat

Scout
Mar 27, 2014
33
31
Atco
Thanks for the tips and ideas. That Hornbeck sounds great. Lightweight is a big plus. I'm not a big guy. I've done enough of my share of carrying/ dragging canoes from lake to lake to long for something that light. I'm very seriously thinking of building my own wood kayak(s). My Dad used to build wood racing sailboats and showed me alot about woodworking. Unfortunately, he passed from Parkinson's before he had a chance to teach me the tricks and pitfalls to building a boat.

I went to BHP and it looks like I'm getting a used aluminum 15' Grumman canoe. It'll be perfect to teach my 12 year old son to paddle (and capsize, I'm sure). Take him out on a lake before hitting any rivers. With any luck, he'll get hooked and want his own boat.

Kayak Karl, that link for the splash and paddle goes nowhere and I can't find out any info online. Was it cancelled?
 
bobpbx

bobpbx

Piney
Staff member
Oct 25, 2002
14,658
4,834
Pines; Bamber area
Jersey Jeff said:
I paddled this route in 2012. Put in is at the marked launch off of Route 206 just E of Atsion Lake. I paddled a canoe with my son and my wife paddled our kayak to the Mullica River Wilderness Campground. Water level was low and we were constantly getting stuck on submerged logs....it was very frustrating.

Day 2 paddle to Pleasant Mills was MUCH easier.

I used two cars, but most of the canoe/kayak rental places in the pines will transport your own boat back to your car for a modest fee.
Click to expand...

Jeff, your post has me confused. He asked about Atsion to Atco. Your post sounds like you went downstream, the opposite direction?
 
woodjin

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,342
328
Near Mt. Misery
Hey John,
I think you will be happy with the 15' Grummen. I used to have a 17' grumman but it was a bit too long for pine barrens waterways. I have a 13'8" kayak and 14' canoe that get around very well now. Grummans are nice and light and can really take a beating. The aluminum is not the best for fishing (loud) but good for everything else.

where do you plan to end up in Atco. I've taken the mullica eastward from Jackson road but I haven't taken it west/south upstream. It gets real shallow when you get near the power lines behind atco raceway. It would definitely be an adventure that is for sure.

See you on Wednesday, John,

Jeff
 
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T

TheePackRat

Scout
Mar 27, 2014
33
31
Atco
Well, we put in at Atsion Lake last Sunday for a couple of hours. It was a perfect day. My son took to it pretty quick after a few pointers. The lake and surrounding trees seemed more peaceful and beautiful than I remember. We both needed some stress release and we got it.

I figure I'll take him out on a lake one more time before we hit a river.

Any suggestions for a short river trip? Somewhere fairly lazy with fewer obstructions.

Hey Jeff! Did you get those "I love my guitar teacher" bumper stickers yet? j/k

John
 
GermanG

GermanG

Piney
Apr 2, 2005
1,143
479
Little Egg Harbor
If you want a short, easy river trip with few obstructions I'd sugggest the Rancocas, from the put-in at Burlington County College downstream to Rt. 616. It doesn't get much easier than that. A slight step up in difficulty once you are more confident would be the Wading, perhaps Evans Bridge to Beaver Branch.
 
SpinyPiney

SpinyPiney

Scout
Jan 15, 2013
71
76
I paddled my kayak upstream from Goshen Pond late last fall. According to the locator beacon on google maps on my phone I made it a little more than halfway to Jackson Rd with no real issues. Could've kept going but I only had a few hours to get out. The water was high enough to make it over a few fallen trees at ramming speed, but I think they might be an issue in a 15' canoe if it was any lower. Keep your eyes peeled because about a mile or so up some idiot strung up a large diameter steel cable across the river just high enough to clothesline and capsize someone if they weren't paying attention. It's dirty and rusty so you don't see it till the last minute and I had to lift it up to get under it. Next time I'll try to remember bolt cutters.
 
SpinyPiney

SpinyPiney

Scout
Jan 15, 2013
71
76
It's dangerous to paddlers whatever it is. I didn't notice any trails to it. Are you supposed to shimmy across it? Any idea why it's all the way out there? I saw a few posted signs and assumed the land owner was just being a D while trying to keep people off his river.
 
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