Paddling Patuxent River to Bristol Landing

 We enjoyed paddling the Patuxent wetlands so much the other day, that we decided to explore them further today (Tuesday, August 11, 2020).  This time, we paddled, south, downstream, on the river toward Jug Bay.  Our goal was to get into the channels and wetlands near Glendening Nature Preserve where we recently hiked.

The day was brilliant, with a blue sky that had grace notes of white.  However, it was hot, so we got as early start as we reasonably could.

We paddled down the river to Galloway Creek, which cuts back up to the northeast toward Maryland Highway 4, and explored it as far as the water lilies and other vegetation would permit.  It still hadn't narrowed much when we paused to look at the wetland vegetation.  The water was still muddy from recent rains.  We were fortunate that the tide was incoming, so the river's current was more than neutralized:  our paddle south was with the current but against the tide, and our paddle back was with tide and wind and against the current, so, in a rare event, we faced neutral currents in our paddles both directions.

None of the water lily blossoms are blooming yet, but some are just about to open:

Paddling up into the second estuary south of our put-in site, into Old Galloway Creek, we quickly found the landing at the end of the boardwalk where we had hiked the other day.  Kathy yelled, "Hello, Hikers!" but no response came back -- so we concluded that not too many hikers were in Glendening Nature Preserve on this hot day.

We did run into one fellow who had figured out how to walk across the river, and we caught him mid-stride mid-stream!

Kathy likes to collect any trash she encounters, in order to keep our paddling waters clean.  She remarked how clean this section of the Patuxent River is, because she only found two or three pieces of trash.  There was, however, one discarded item she couldn't haul onto her kayak.  We wondered if some pontoon boat partiers had lost a keg of beer before they kicked it.  We'll never know, because it appears the keg had been in this spot for some time, and any beer within would surely be skunked:

We declared a turnaround time after 1.5 hours, and just as our deadline arrived, we came to Bristol Landing.  It appears to have once been a bustling boat landing, perhaps with a snack bar and petrol, and spots for picnicking.  Now it appears privately owned and, while it is being preserved, we're not sure the facilities have been used in years:

Here, Kathy inspects the building that boasts the "Bristol Landing" sign, but it does not reveal its secrets:

Within the landing cove, we spotted this osprey nest that looks like it is, or has been recently, occupied.  But we saw no evidence of its occupants, so we supposed it has been vacant.

Turning back upriver, we took one last look at Bristol Landing before crossing the river and paddling up the western shore:

We had spotted this brightly painted bird box on the far bank of the river, and, as we paddled upstream, we had the chance to get closer and look it over:

One more complete osprey nest sits just opposite the opening to Old Galloway Creek.  Just about at this point, we looked out to the treeline west of the river, and we spotted two pairs of osprey, each pair occupying the upper branches of a dead tree.  We inferred that each pair made its home in one of the two osprey nests we spotted.  While we'll never be sure, we saw no better candidates for those raptors' nests.

One of the more unusual sights we've seen as we've paddled waters around North America was this old hunters' blind, well disguised with dried bullrushes.  Interestingly, it had what appeared to be an old, disused osprey nest on the left side of its roof.  We paddled up to take a closer look.  At the rear was a little door that peeked into the blind.  There was a raised floor that was just dry, above the water level of the river, and two small seats for those doughty duck hunters, and one or two old beer cans to show that they had been here not too long ago.  But, most significantly, we spotted twigs and branches on the inner floor that had clearly fallen from the osprey nest that graced the more-or-less open roof.  We concluded that the ospreys must have moved in when the hunters moved out, but that no one has lived here for a year or two.

We paddled another mile or two back up to our entry point, and, as we turned into the channel that led to our boat launch, we spotted this sign marking Patuxent Wetland Park, which we photographed for the blog about our prior paddle trip.  However, this time, the sign was nearly submerged, whereas last time, the entire sign and much of its support post were clear of the water.  We knew these waters were tidal, but we were amazed at how much the water level rises and falls with the tides.

Our attempt to find another entry point for Jug Bay failed on our drive home, so we plan to explore Jug Bay itself, further south from here, by taking the kayaks back to Jackson Landing in the Jug Bay Natural Preserve, then paddling across the river and into that large web of paddling channels.  We can't wait!