March 20, 1999

Homes of the Homeless

Trip #10

Map

Friday I called Joan to see if she would mind me changing the launch site. We had planned to meet at Leesylvania State Park for a trip South, but tide and wind made a trip north a better choice. We decided to meet at Gravelly Point instead on the North end of Reagan National Airport at 8:00am. This would give us 2 hours paddling with the tide and both wind and tide at our back for the return trip.

After getting to the launch site and unloading my kayak I milled around a short while until Joan showed up. She had gotten little sleep the night before and decided not to go out this morning. I thought for a minute about loading the boat back up and going somewhere else since I have paddled this part of the Potomac before. Then I remembered across the river was the Anacostia River. I told Joan my intention to paddle up that way and said goodbye.

After a brisk paddle east across the Potomac I turned southeast to head around East Potomac Park. Today a 5K run is just getting underway and I swing northeast into the Anacostia and paddle by the Washington Channel.

Passing a boat marina to my left the first bridge for today is the Douglas Bridge. Several barges with cranes aboard are underneath and people are busy at work on the bridge. Between marinas on river left is large factory style buildings and just around the corner is the Washington Navy Yard. Tied to the pier is a ship with a large gun on the front and one on the rear. I don't know much about Navy ships so I can't tell you what type it is. The number on the side is 933 and it looks fast. More Info

The next two bridges are the north and southbound lanes of I-295. The southbound bridge makes a tremendous amount of noise as cars drive across. The catwalk underneath the bridge sounds loose, as there is a lot of metal rattling every time a vehicle crosses the bridge.

On river right is the Anacostia State Park and joggers are just starting to appear. A group of 4 young kids are walking along the river moving at about the same pace as myself. They keep up for about a half-mile but finally get in a car with someone and leave.

Under the Sousa Bridge next and up the river is a bridge that appears too low for me to pass under. I paddle up close anyway and find I have plenty of room to get under the bridge. This is a railway bridge and doesn't appear on my river map, but does appear on the GPS. Just prior to the bridge some folks have put out canoes on river right. This looks like it might be a good launch site for trips further upriver.

The river splits with a long narrow strip of land between just past the Railway Bridge. I stay to the right as I notice my Potomac River map ends at this point. I know the two sections of river join back together up ahead, but I don't remember how far. To my left is RFK Memorial Stadium.

The river through here has been lined with a short retaining wall. On the right there are several places where this wall has been compromised and I suspect may do more harm than good if not repaired. On the left (the island) are thick trees and all kinds of different types of birds.

I suddenly get the eerie feeling I'm being watched. I start looking through the dense trees on the island and spot what at first seems like a building hidden among the brush. A closer look and now I can tell this is a shanty. A small dwelling assembled of all manners of materials. As a child I would have called this hideaway in the woods a "fort", although this one has much better craftsmanship than anything I could have built as a kid. And much larger. The smell of a wood burning fire fills the air as suddenly a large dog. No, make that a HUGE dog, comes charging towards the water from out of nowhere. This dog looks like a small bear and not friendly.

The dog is called off and I now see the eyes that were making me feel uneasy. We exchange waves and he turns back to warming himself by a small fire in a barrel. Deep in the trees are a few more dwellings that will be invisible to the world once the spring leaves come out.

Under the East Capital Bridge and more birds and the plastic litter becomes thick on the river's edge. At times I'm wondering if there is any other litter besides plastic bottles because it seems to be the most predominate form of litter. Benning Bridge and a Metro Rail bridge are next in this day of bridges. I'm convinced most bridge architects only live long enough to build one bridge. The diversity in bridge design is just too varied for any one man to have built more than one.

I finally reach the end of the island and decide to paddle back on the other side. There is a golf course on this end of the island and a wooden walkway going from the island to the riverbank. Shortly after crossing under the bridge the water gets shallow. With the now outrunning tide I get a little concerned the water may get too shallow on this side of the island and turn around to go back the way I came. I would later learn I was only 1 mile from the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens.

The trip back along the island is much the same as the trip up. Including the DOG. Damn that's a big dog. As I get near the Railway Bridge the canoes are out and it looks like they are on a mission to pick up the plastic bottles along the riverbank.

Back past the Sousa and I-295 bridges. As I get near the Douglas Bridge a tugboat has arrived and is in the process of repositioning a barge. I decide to just hold tight where I am and stay out of the way. The barge is repositioned in short order and I'm on my way again. The 5K run in East Potomac Park has now been replaced by a soccer game. I stop at the edge of the Potomac just long enough to take a bearing to Gravelly Point. There are boats out and about so I take a little more direct route to the other side and then turn north to head into the boat ramp.

Near the boat ramp I pop the spray skirt and put away the GPS and adjust my seatback to as far to the rear as possible. This allows me to scoot back a little more in the seat to make more room to get my legs out. I raise the rudder and after sculling sideways up to the ramp I get my feet and legs out of the cockpit and just stand up. This is the easiest exit I've made yet. I did have a hard time getting my legs past the coaming but it kept the center of gravity low and the kayak stayed stable by keeping my butt in the seat until my legs were out.

Total trip today is 13.41 miles as measured by the GPS track and Street Atlas, my longest trip by almost 2 1/2 miles. I'm tired but not exhausted. The rudder has easily added several miles to my comfortable endurance level since I can spend more time going straight and less energy trying to correct my course. The big lesson today is in how I park when loading/unloading the boat. I had pulled partway down the boat ramp while loading and ended up in such a manner that the back of the truck was high in the air. This made getting the kayak back on difficult. Next time I'll park on flat ground and just carry the boat up to it.