Ten hearty paddlers arrived at the Blackwater Landing Boat Ramp in the misty 44 degree overcast morning. Ellis, Marti,Sandy, Bob M, Bob A, Bruce, Margaret, Don, Carolyn and I were up for the 14 mile paddle down the Blackwater River. We unloaded all the boats and then drove to the take out at Dockside at Battle Beach on the Nottoway River. That was a 20 minute drive from Franklin. Marti and Margaret J stayed behind with all the boats while the drivers were shuttling their vehicles. Local volunteers Bobby Turner and David Boykin drove us back to our boats in Franklin.
We left the dock at 9 to take advantage of outgoing tide. Low tide arrived eleven minutes later! We paddled along the awesome paper mill for a half mile. Local ambiance included a tractor trailer truck being lifted to dump the wood chips, the rumble of giant logs tumbling to remove the bark as we paddled by the abandoned tugboat dock.
After paddling under the US 58 Bypass Bridge and under the rickety South Quay Bridge, we stopped for lunch. Bruce was a big help getting kayaks far enough on shore so paddlers didn’t have to get their feet wet! Restroom facilities were bare minimum. I tried to give away two cans of King Oscar double layered sardines but got no takers. We still had eight miles of wilderness to paddle. Still no sun but the wind was light to calm.
We stopped to see the claw marks on the clay bank where bears had climbed out of the river. That was across the river from the eagles nest in a very tall pine tree. The river was like glass with not a breath of wind. For several hours we paddled in wilderness without a sign of anything manmade! We saw herons and a few turtles. Those of us without time commitments slowed our pace to savor the experience of paddling the glassy smooth river. The others were able to paddle ahead to their waiting vehicles thanks to David and Bobby’s shuttle. The last ¾ mile of the Blackwater River had North Carolina on the East Bank and Virginia on the West Bank. The Blackwater River ended when it joined the Nottoway and formed the Chowan. I photographed Sandy and Bob M in the center of the three rivers.
Paddling up the Nottoway, the adverse tide and the current were not noticed. The last paddlers arrived at Dockside about 3:42. Nice to have our vehicles there.
We all completed the longest Tuesday paddle of the decade and saw some wonderful wilderness!
Special thanks to Riverkeeper Jeff Turner for his trip planning help!
--Bill Billings
The longest Tuesday paddle of the decade!
I put notes on most of the pictures. To see the notes:
View the album one picture at a time
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My comments are in the upper right next to the picture.
Click to view Bill's Picture Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/hhV8ypKHS8R3RbFg6
Thanks to Bob M who also took great pictures of our day: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LjGoghPesjNJeMBn6