Kayak Adventure II: The Muddy Maumee

Saturday, May 19, 2009

It was rainy in the morning, but my buddy Andrew and I had every intention of trying the kayaks on the muddy Maumee River. It was a surprisingly perfect trip. We dropped in at Side Cut Metro Park in Maumee. This was a good choice. We were going to take off in Waterville, Ohio but that might have been too much for our first trip on this river. Now that I'm a bit more experienced I am going to add time onto the next trip on this river.

From Side Cut we made our way northeast toward Lake Erie. We paddled under two bridges, and explored an island by cutting through one of channels that split it. Actually having the choice of multiple channels to paddle through was an unexpected and fun part of the trip. We were able to get up close and personal to many turtles, and surprisingly close to the many Blue Herrings that call the islands home. We chased a couple of geese too. Another unexpected little piece of nature were the many birds that dug nests in the side of a sand wall on the eroding side of an island.

We ended at the Toledo Country Club. Andrew is a member so we were able to leave the kayaks in safety to get my car at the beginning of our trip. By this time the weather was bright and sunny, and comfortably cool. We took our time, so all in all the trip took about two and a half hours.

We both agreed that we have lived in the Toledo area far too long to not have experienced this river as closely as on this day. This is why I bought the kayaks, and this is why I know I made a good purchase.

I even gained a couple of souvenier blisters on my hands from the trip. They were proudly earned.