Kayak Virginia Beach

After Ernesto - Ashville Bridge Creek - North Bay - Muddy Creek

So after my Urban Kayak adventure yesterday, I decided to see what was happening in a little less urban setting. I figured that most of the roads approaching Back Bay would be closed due to flooding, so I opted for Lotus Pond, because it is on a major road that was most likely to be open. Well I was right, but the road was still flooded, as well as the parking lot, but plenty of dry parking surface. The nice thing was, that the water was deep enough that I could launch from right from the parking lot.

It looks like the wind and water took their toll on the lotus, there were no flowers or seed pods visible whatsoever, and it almost appears that they may have even moved, from the wind and water. The area where the was the highest concentration of plants, was almost devoid of plants, but there were plenty further up the creek, and on the other side of the creek from where I normally see them. The leaves were not looking well either, but it is late in the season, so it may not be that big of a deal.

It was a definitely different feeling paddling down the creek, with the water at this level. I was looking in to trees, that I usually had to look up to, one in particular was a birds nest that I had gone under before setting off the ire of the bird setting on the nest, in the past it was over my head, but today I was able to look into the empty nest, at eye level.

I totally expected to the the cypress tree that has been leaning, the last couple trips to be in the water, but it looks as though it made it, with maybe a few more degrees of lean. I am pretty sure that the first North Easter that hits us is going to bring this tree down.

I was not sure what I was going to see at the Back Bay NWR Horn Point facility, other then a lot of water. As I expected, I had no trouble getting through the channel, with the exception off having to duck under a bunch of branches. The water level at the ramp was just about up to the level of the road, and the Eastern side was under water. I got out and saw that the shed was blown over on its side, and pretty much destroyed, and upon closer inspection it looks like it even ripped the water pump out of the ground. There was also some evidence the the entire facility was under water, a water line on the curb of the parking lot indicated that about the only thing above water was the sidewalk. Overall it looks like it faired pretty well.

I paddled around to the end of Horn Point Road, which is completely under water, I decided to see how far up the road I could paddle, and was able to make it around the corner, I could have made it further down the road, but I was hitting the paddle on the road, and I didn't want to mess up my paddle So I turned around.

On the way back I took a detour up Muddy Creek, not much to see here, except for the flooded forest floor. It seems that even though this is a nice stretch of water, nothing ever changes here.