Much as I love the Sunday morning stampede from Violettes Lock, that trip will never have the naturalist appeal of an evening paddle down through Seneca Breaks. Tonight, w LF gauge at a low low 2.67', Miki and I met for an impromptu trip. At 6:00, the sun was setting directly upstream. Low angle light brightened the forest downstream making it look very painterly. Hudson River School members may have been lurking nearby with their easels. The white sycamore trunks were brilliant. There are typically more birds in the evening although the eagle tree was empty tonight and we saw no roosting cormorants. White egrets were the bird of the evening, sitting on the trees hung up on the dam, silhouetted against dark green foliage at the mouth of the GW entrance.
The river was low for the normal run through dam #2 so we dropped through just before the island on the VA shore and worked our way back north to the main channel. Rocks that make surfing waves at normal water levels were prominent. The run was a route finding exercise through a river wide boulder garden, with the dramatic sky reflected off the water. The Belt of Venus rose directly downstream.
We ran into a catch and release fisherman just before taking out at Blockhouse Point, best catch a 17" small mouth bass. He added two data points to the site evaluation for an access project there. He put into the canal at Pennyfield, paddled up to Blockhouse Point and put on the Potomac to fish. He carried back up and returned via the canal because at low water in low light, the Muddy Branch access to the boat ramp was too difficult to navigate in a fishing kayak. He added the details that his brother had a bad fall at the Blockhouse takeout several years ago and still has lingering ill effects from the fall. Something should be done.
The stars emerged as we returned up the canal. We were serenaded by the insect symphony with Canada Geese and an unknown owl adding bass notes. It was a pleasure to see bats circling and diving after years of white nose syndrome.
Trip was rated 10/10