September 7, 2003

Assateague Island Trip

by Michael Free

Day#1

I'm sure that anyone who went paddling last weekend, the 5th, 6th or 7th of September has some great stories to tell. What a beautiful weekend for paddling......anywhere! It has been years since I had been to Assateague and I have never paddled there before. Based on the trip reports that I read and the recommendations from members on this forum I headed down there early on Friday morning. My first stop was the National Seashore Visitors Center where I purchased the topo map for $7.50. There was a beautiful breeze, the bugs didn't seem too bad, and I wasn't working so I decided to try the Bay, see how far I got and check out the interior camping spots.

I launched at the end of Ferry Landing Road after signing in at the ranger station. Tent, two sheets sewn together too make a light weight sleeping bag, bug spray, suntan lotion, H20, Pocket Rocket, small cooler with dinner, breakfast, coffee, cooking gear, a bottle of Chardonnay and of course a collapsible wine glass all got loaded in less than five minutes.

A horse munched the grass nearby as I launched into the Bay. The best approach to Assateague Bay is not plan on going anywhere fast. There are endless rivulets to explore and I found that I wanted to explore each and every one. My original intent was to paddle south to the Pine Tree Campsite for Friday night and then on to Pope Bay for Saturday night. I paddled out and around Great Egging Beach and then just lost track of time. I explored dead-end rivulets, watched turtles come to the surface, passed several herd of horses, sat watching a beautiful Bald Eagle as it sat perched in a tree waiting for any movement in the marsh below, and generally just meandered along. Several times I had seen blue crabs just below my boat and I decided to find a spot to do a little crabbing. One of the nice things about the Bay is that if your legs get tired or you just want to cool off you just step out of your boat into 3-foot deep water.

I decided that I would make Tingles Island my home for the night. Not exactly the most hospitable campsite. I trekked through mud and sank to just below my knees in order to get to the site. Originally it looks like planks were layed down but these were long gone. The site was fine for my purposes but the bug spray had to come out I checked myself assiduously for ticks. I quickly setup camp and then headed back to the boat with a chicken leg, rope and net.

There are several narrow and shallow cuts into the interior of Tingles. I paddled (or mudslogged) through one of these and got out of my boat in 6 inch deep water. Looking this way and that I could see crabs on the bottom. I'm not sure that I really needed the chicken. I think I could have just scooped a couple up in my net but there is no challenge in that. I stood and caught and released several (or was it the same one several times?). They latched onto the chicken in no time. There is a rhythm to crabbing, which is soothing. throw line, wait, gently draw, raise the line and scoop. I kept one large one to have as an appetizer later.

It was getting dark....where did the day go.........so I headed back to camp. Boil some H20 and throw in the crab and voila a small but tasty appetizer. Save some of the crab for flavoring. Cook noodles, throw in some pre-cooked chicken, crab meat, peas, cheese, and let simmer. Pull out the Caesar salad. Pour a glass of Chardonnay as the sounds of night takeover.

Crawl into the tent as the bugs are getting bad. I pull out the headlamp and read a couple of chapters of "Enchanted Vagabonds" by Dana and Ginger Lamb. Personally I think it is one of the best kayak/canoe/sailing adventures ever written.

8:30 PM Lights Out!

Michael Free

(more coming soon!)