Wavy, Yo!

Went out yesterday with some intermittent sun and full-on wind. All was moving along during the wind-aided first part of the journey and just as I approached the Rocky Springs dock, the wind shifted and I had to work a bit harder to make things happen. 

It’s not that I mind the wind and if you have read a number of these posts, you know that I love going out in any conditions. Well… I will skip the all-out thunderstorm, but that’s about it. Oh, and when the river is totally frozen it’s hard to paddle, but other than that, I’m good to go out. 

Some of the time when the conditions are like this, the river develops swells. It doesn’t happen all of the time and if I knew more about fluid dynamics or wind/water physics or whatever, I could actually explain why this happens.

A few days ago, I cut through some chop, but yesterday, there were actual waves. So cool. This only really happens around the quarry where the wind has a straight shot for five-hundred meters or so. 

Not dangerous or exciting in a “I could fall in” sort of way, but waves are just one of a thousand different possibilities that keep me going out. 

One never knows what’s going to happen out there. 

Will today be the day I see that “injured” duck try to lure me away from its nest? Maybe I’ll see a deer carcass, or a mink, or an osprey. Only one way to find out. 

Reach out and join me. 

Ok, well, maybe not one foot swells, but... They waves!

Route: Perelman Park - Home

Perelman Park to Home

4.0 miles, 2 hours, 3.5 feet, seemed higher

Second warm day of the year! 

I put in at Manheim Township’s Perelman Park, four river miles up from our place, and checked out the houses. MT is noted for its big abodes and the ones along the river are certainly large. Shame so many follow an ethos that is all too prevalent along the river: lose the trees, bring on the lawn. 

Maybe they are all taking their cue from the country club, which one paddles through on this stretch. It’s a barren wasteland. 

To be fair, the majority of the river along this route is tree-covered and there are a couple of long, tree-lined straights that are pretty cool; the stretch down from the dam is one of my favorites.

Speaking of the dam, this is one of two portages on this leg of the river. There is early signage and there are also signs for the supported take-out spot, which is a few hundred meters from the put-in. There is also a spot where you can take out closer to the dam, but during this trip there was a family fishing there so I opted for the posted take out location.

The potage is pretty easy - grass, stairs, pavement, grass and then put in. 

A second portage is a few hundred meters downstream and this happens on the left as you approach a spillover. There is a concrete shelf just shy of the spillover, aim for that. Getting back on the water here can sort of be a pain, but it’s not really a problem. 

This stretch overall is pretty smooth. In low water a lot of it can be slow, especially when you get closer to the city and approach the dam. The only bumps of any note are just after the Eden Road overpass right by the old East of Eden restaurant, which used to have one of the few spots where you could have lunch and a drink along the river. Now a financial services company, you could, in a pinch, use this as a put-in/takeout, but if you leave a vehicle, you are likely to be towed. At least that’s what the owner told me once. 

Negotiate the “rapids” here by going 10+ feet to the left of the pile of rocks in the middle of the waterway. If you go right you will be knocked around a bit and the river angles sharply over there. If you don’t see any rocks in the middle, the water is high n you gonna rip. 

Apparently, this is also a good spot to moor a pontoon boat. I’ve thought about trying to get some sort of motorized craft for the river and once saw a guy buzzing up and down by our place in a “speed boat,” but I’m not sure a pontoon craft would be my first choice. 

Aside from being a pretty awesome ride overall, the highlight of the trip was seeing a fox buzzing by up on a ridgeline. I’ve only seen three or four foxes on the river and while I don’t much like them stealing our chickens, they’re still pretty cool. 

While there is certainly potential to see eagles on this stretch (I’m watching one circle in the sky at this very moment!), I didn’t see any. Herons are guaranteed as are waterfowl of various sorts. I think I saw one or two hawks. 

Because of its proximity to the city and ease of shuttling, this could be a really good option for a lot of people. There are also multiple ways you could extend this trip by taking out on S. Conestoga Drive (5.3 miles) or one of several take-outs in County Park, making the trip anywhere from 6.8 (Rockford) to 7.8 (Pavillion 3) miles. 

If you have any questions about this, or any section of the river, let me know. I’ll try to help you out or get you in touch with someone who can. 

Paddle on, Garth!

The Stretch

No Ice

Conestoga River - February 21, 2026

Beautiful day out on the Conestoga!

The temps are up, the water is high and the sun is out! Nothing better than to go out with Mr. Vogt and see what there is to see. Thank you Mr. Vogt!

Following a month or so of impassible ice, things are clear and after yesterday’s trip down to Conestoga Drive, I dropped the truck at the Rockford take-out in County Park (2.8 miles), cycled home and then paddled with the wrens and the finches and the cardinals and the herons and the hawks and the... 

Tomorrow they’ll be out again doing the same ol’ thing, but it’ll be totally different. And while I’ll look for that heron to fly like it did today, it won’t. It will still awesomely fly, it will just awesomely fly in a different way. 

These are the “free gifts” Annie Dillard writes about in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek; gifts we never expect and that are gone (perhaps) before we even know what we saw. 

Down by County Park. Sun!