A weekend on the Hudson

[Jay H]

I met Warren and two of Warren's NYC boathouse friends this weekend in and around Cold Springs and between Breakneck Ridge and Storm King Mt for a great, nah awesome fall paddle.. What a very nice section of the hudson, it's like in a huge valley between the towering peaks, the Beacon Mt firetower, Storm King Mt, Sugarloaf, Bull Mt, Break Neck Ridge, Crow's Nest.. West Point.... the list goes on. I launched from Plum Pt in New Windsor (just south of newburgh) at the park there to avoid paying a bridge toll and paddled over to Denning pt to setup camp. Then since Warren and the gang were launching from Beacon, north of denning, after eating lunch, I paddled up north towards the Newburgh/Beacon bridge and ran into the small group of 3 heading south. Back to camp, let them setup and then we launched again with lighter boats after about 1pm. Paddling south through Bannerman's Castle (they were doing a tour there) and stopped at Cold Spring's Foundry dock launch for a snack....

After a break, we paddled into Constitution marsh and kayaked our way down through the marsh... Since the kiosk at Cold Spring mentioned a one way trail through the marsh, we thought there had to be another exit south of the marsh.. but alas, there is a metro north tressle that is too low for us to go under plus, we could see some RR ties sitting lengthwise under the bridge making a nice waterfall with the ebb tide.... So after pondering going back up through low tide in the marsh.. we decided not to and portaged over the metro north lines, something the kiosk says not to do, of course...

So out into the main body of the Hudson, we are right across from West Point and into a section of the Hudson known as "World's End" (name is from the historic time of sailboats on the hudson and the big chicane through West Point that made the winds confused. West Point also owns Constitution Island itself and I gather that the famous west point chain they had across the hudson during the revolutionary war was here (parts of the chain wound up at Bannerman's Castle since he was a military junkie.). Anyway, it was getting dark, we could hear some big band music from a wedding reception going on at the Foundry Dock... Paddled up to Little Stony Point and took out at the beach to eat dinner. Now it was dark so we donned our kayaking lights for a nighttime paddle back to camp, very very nice, the moon was coming over Mt Beacon and was the usual moonlight glow.. Full Moon was just last week so it was dark til the moon came out. Very spectacular and the water was almost glass.

Back to camp at about 10:30, we BS for about 2 hours, had hot chocolate, ate snacks. Sunday, we had a lazy day, paddled back across the hudson and checked out Moodna Creek which you can paddle up to Rt 9W and go around a small marshy island. and then I left while they paddled back to beacon.

Jay

 

[deanmacg]

Hey Jay - that`s my home turf. You did a fine job over covering it all! It is an amazing section of the river - do come back.

 

[Jay H]

Sure, definitely coming back, I need to kayak north of Plum Point to go between the Mid Hudson bridge and the newburgh Beacon Bridge which I had a fantastic view for almost the entire trip. Bridge bagging!

Jay

 

[Trudy]

Great report, Jay.
What is Denning Point like?
My Hudson River Water Trails guide desribes it as an Indian burial ground. "The stone and brick ruins have a nice grassy area suitable for camping." Is it pretty well kept up?

 

[Jay H]

Hi Trudy, most of the hudson is kind of trashy, between all the boats and shore development, walking bearfoot is definitely not an option in any of the places I've camped at on the Hudson river water trail. I've camped at Mills Norrie, Denning, and Croton Pt Park so far and there is the usual trash issues, more so some places than others but it all washes downstreams and then gets filtered by the shore. Denning itself isn't bad but there is a bit of sea glass and then regular broken glass to be careful of. Also, there are a lot of...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_caltrop

Water chestnut seeds that are piled high on the high water mark that are sharp as hell! I had to clear a bit from my campsite to set up a tent. However, there was an obvious campsite that was precleared and a firering on the beach I landed at.

I've found that there is no HWT marker on Denning, like there is at Croton Pt Park (there was a post in the beach with the flag marker of the HWT there to mark the campsites but nothing was found at denning). However, at Denning, there isn't. However, we did land and camp at a beach on the west shore of Denning Pt... It's fairly obvious and I doubt you'd have any problem camping anywhere on Denning. I never found the trail to the stone and brick foundation and grassy area???? I didn't walk too far though on the trail though and it might be inland a bit. The point where we landed and camped just about sticks out into the hudson with a tree and large granite rocks that juts out into the hudson, look for that tree and that's where we stayed at.

I have the WTG and noted the Indian Burial grounds though we did not have any visitors from the other world yelling "Get out!!!"

You can see Gully's and the newburgh harbor lights and you will still hear the metro north train as it goes by... as well as the 5 mile freight trains on the west coast of the hudson...

Jay

 

[adkayaker]

Great trip report.

What would be suggested for a nice day paddle route and related first visit to Cold Spring itself? If we wanted to put in the river at Cold Spring, see the castle, return for dinner somewhere in town, what is the suggested launch, side excursions, and even restaurants worth considering?

 

[Jay H]

There are nice restaurants right by the waterfront in Cold Spring just north of Foundry Dock, which is where the boat launch is, by the Metro North station. In fact, there was a wedding going on there as I mentioned in the church that is right next to the launch. Then I think later, after the ceremony, the reception was on a nice restaurant on the water (we could hear the big band music). But even downtown Cold Spring is not too far of a walk from the launch.

However, you could also combine a paddle to Newburgh waterfront, cause there is Gully's a waterfront boat that is permanently docked in Newburgh that has ports you can dock at and eat lunch/dinner. (http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-...atlng=41498012,-74005940,15735945708100865601)

It is only open during the warmer months and I think it may be closed now...

You want to hit Constitution Marsh at somewhat flood tide or at least not at a low tide, as you may figure many of these salt marshes become mud bogs at low tide. Entrance to Constitution Marsh is at the Metro North tressle just south of the Foundation Dock at Cold Spring... Exit is the same way (officially apparently).

It is about 6-7 miles I think north to get to Gullys as it is about 6 miles from Denning to Constitution Marsh and of course, Gullys is across the hudson from Cold Spring. Along the way would be Moodna Creek (West hudson), Bannerman's Castle (east hudson), and of course, you are kayaking between Storm King Mt and Breakneck Ridge which is unique to the hudson except for perhaps Anthony's Nose/Bear Mtn area in Harriman... Even the catskills are a bit away from the Hudson....

Obviously, highly recommend the Hudson River watertrail guide.

Check the tides too, the hudson is tidal til the locks north of Albany. It is also brackish water in points, especially as you go further south...

Jay

 

[coldfeet]

Jay, that sounded like a lot of fun...stuff that I want to start doing after I purchase a kayak....app how many miles in total did u paddle? I've been reading about kayak camping on


http://www.paddling.net/guidelines/showArticle.html?317

I remember seeing that castle after coming back down from Breakneck a few years ago..interesting how I might end up going back there years later by water....

also thinking about leasing a kayak for the rest of the year...any thoughts on that?

 

[nancy]

Enjoyed reading your trip report Jay.

I had a little adventure in Cold Spring the weekend before last. Went with some friends who were given wrong info about the best time to go into the marsh and still get out. We went through the marsh to the railroad bridge at the other end. Decided then that it would not be passable. Some of the group (the beginners) immediately turned around and got out the way they came in. Three of us paddled around a little to check out the boardwalk and dock area which can be hiked to. The tide continued to get lower and we were unable to find a way back to where we started. There were many dead end channels and we started getting stuck in the muck. So it was back to the dock to hang out and possibly hike out if needed, rather than be stuck in the muck till the tide turned around. When the water receded, it became apparent where the main channel was to the "impassable" railroad bridge. We thought that it would be passable now that the tide was even lower than when we were there about 45 minutes prior. It was our only reasonable option out. I got down in my boat and laid back on the deck (not recommended!) My friend bent down forward and went through. It was scary looking at the underside of that bridge thinking of how your face would be scraped off. But we made it through by a few inches. You chose the smart way by going over the tracks.

That was just the beginning of our little outing. We had been warned that the Hudson narrows there. The wind can blow strong and with the boat traffic, the waves can be difficult to maneuver through. Well the wind wasn't bad, but the waves were unpredictable and very scary going around Magazine Point (I think that's what its called). I thought it was interesting that you didn't even mention that being a problem area. I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner kayaker. Luckily the beginners in our group were able to miss this excitement. Did you only go north from Cold Spring?

The lesson to be learned is to go closer to high tide if you want to get back out without a problem. I should have known something was amiss when there were people taking out as we were putting in.

Here's a map of our tracks

 

[Jay H]

Hey Nancy, Magazine point is at the end of Constitution Island and there is a little rocky bluff overhanging the hudson with a great viewpoint of the West Point campus...

As far as the currents go, we got out of the marsh I think around 5:30, It was an ebb tide til 10 something that day and at that time of day or evening, the boat traffic quiets and the winds were quiet. We didn't go south of the Constitution Marsh and we didn't get a chance to check out the CMAC or the docks that you mention cause we were more worried about the tide and not getting stuck in the muck (been there, done that! not fun ).

Since Warren, Rob, Monica, and I met at Denning pt, we set up our tents and went south, spending a bit of time at Cold Spring to snack and rest, we ran into a big group from Hudson Valley Outfitters coming back and we basically hung out there and checked out the place a bit. then we relaunched into the Marsh itself.. after that, we didn't go much further south and went north to head back and find our dinner spot at Little Stony Pt.

I found it very odd that the kiosk at Cold Spring shows only how to go through the marsh to the CMAC, it doesn't say how to get out although the big hint was we passed a few canoers going out the same way as we went in.. I guess that should of spoke something but it didn't register...

http://www.boscobel.org

BTW, the above you can see from the marsh...

p.s. I'll have to check out your trip track, I can't view webshots at work...

David, I think on saturday we did a total of around 14-15 miles... figure 6 miles out and back, the distance from the marsh isn't a straight line, and I paddled from Plum pt to Denning to meet up with the rest... However, I launched at about 10am and was out there for quite a bit at a very leisurely pace... Just like bike touring, you can do 70-90 miles very easily because you have all day long, don't rush, don't go into an anaerobic pace and learn to paddle efficiently with your lower body, legs and it's not too difficult. Not having your butt hurt after awhile is probably harder! Kayak yoga!

Renting a kayak for the rest of the year... Fine, days are getting shorter, water is getting colder.... It is probably a good time to look at buying used rental kayaks but I think it is more important for you to have the boat time to try out various ones.. You'll be happier in the end, even if you have to pay a little more in the spring... so keep on paddling and enjoy....

I'd let you borrow my 15'6" dagger prospect but I'm thinking you might be a bit too big for it. You are definitely too big for my Impex Mystic but the Prospect is fairly low volume with a fairly flat bottom hull. It does have a bigger cockpit though than my small impex...

Jay

 

[IndianChris]

Yeah, great report. Makes me wanna get onto the Hudson asap.
If you're looking for company on the next, let me know.

 

[Jay H]

IC: OK, might be out again in Nov, depending on Warren and I's schedule.

BTW, it's a nice spot for a fall folliage kayak tour, probably one of the best spots (at least this side of the ADKs where the hudson goes through)

Jay

 

[IndianChris]

Well, I was hoping to do some paddling the weekend prior to Thanksgiving. Went on a great trip along Long Lake last year same weekend and I'm gonna try to make it a regular thing (that weekend). This year, on the Hudson, would be great if we can aligne schedules.
The foliage would be great too as up in the daks last year, there were 2 colors...grey skies and brown, leafless trees. You know the scene. Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful, but no leaves.
If anything comes [email protected].

 

[coldfeet]

Thx Jay, as usual I'm always interested....let me know...i'll also pm IC, since he lives near me...

 

[IndianChris]

Coldfeet,
Can you paddle during the week at all?

 

[coldfeet]

IC, that's a tough question....I don't think i want to push that question on Mrs. Coldfeet....as u know I don't have a boat yet so when I rent one I'd like to get the most bang for my $....i get back to Plainview usually around 4....and it's getting dark around 6...If things go well I might go out in a rental on Monday, Columbus day...what's your plan?

 

[IndianChris]

Can't do Columbus Day but I'm thinking of tooling around somewhere with a drysuit I'm renting from the Kayak Academy (see website) on the 14th. Just want to make sure the thing is comfy/rite size before I buy. Maybe we could head out of the Nissequogue and into the Sound a bit if you're available. Ususally on the water early. Anyone's welcome.