Kayak Review: Crescent Kayak Splash II

We purchased a tandem (Lifetime Spitfire 12T) and found it to be a very fun and capable paddle craft. We tend to use solos for day to day paddling and break out the tandem for road trips where we will be doing day trip paddles and when friends wish to join us on paddle trips. We road trip back and forth to Louisiana on a regular basis to visit Kelly’s parents (driving straight through) 2 to 3 times/year, so we decided to leave the Spitfire 12T in Louisiana and purchase a 2+1 tandem to replace the Spitfire. So in November 2022, we went to visit the nice folks at H2GO (awesome, local paddle shop) in Monroe, Louisiana a bought a Crescent Kayak Splash II.

Packed up for another day of paddle camping. White Oak Landing, Mattaponi Creek, Merkle Natural Resource Area, MD. 9 April 2023.

Having the Spitfire 12T at Kelly’s parents is awesome! We get better gas mileage when driving without a kayak and do not have to listen to the roof noise associated with a kayak. It costs $80/day to rent a tandem kayak in Louisiana – the 6 Louisiana paddle trips we took in February 2023 almost paid for the Splash II in rental fees alone. However, the Splash II was not just bought because it was tandem – it is a 2+1.

Such room and luxury afforded by the spacious Crescent Kayak Splash II! Spice Creek, MD. 23 April 2023.

As a 2+1 the Splash II can be paddled by 1, 2, or 3 people up to the weight limit of 500 lbs total payload. The Spitfire is conservatively rated at 500 lbs, while the Splash II is perhaps wishfully rated at 500 lbs – this is an important distinction. When we are both in the Splash II we need to use scupper plugs to prevent the boat from filling with water. However, we bought the Splash II to also upgrade Kelly’s solo boat, so while the Splash II does see use as a tandem it earns its keep as a nice upgrade for Kelly’s solo paddling with extra room for the dog, a longer and faster hull, and awesome cargo transport options.

The Crescent Kayak Splash II has plenty of space for ‘stuff’. Anacostia River, Bladensburg Waterfront Park, MD. 21 April 2023.

The Splash II has a very funky, bulbous snout – this provides extra floatation for the front paddler and doesn’t seem to make the kayak less stable in waves. There is a long center keel to make the kayak track straight, but sufficient rocker to make the kayak turn and handle waves well. The kayak needs deeper water than other kayaks I have paddled (perhaps because of the keel) so be aware of mudflats in outgoing tides. This kayak is fun to paddle, responsive, and fast.

Every kayak is a compromise, there is no ‘best’ kayak. At less than 70 lbs, the Splash II is on the lighter side for HDPE tandem kayaks. However, that light weight comes at the expense of bells and whistles – like side handles to help move the boat around out of water. The boat is not a high volume boat, so I wouldn’t use it out on the Chesapeake Bay as a tandem (but I might as a solo). As a river cruiser this kayak would excel, but in shallow rapids (even class I) I would expect the keel and depth requirements to create problems when trying to slide over rocks. I find the boat to be comfortable enough – I do not even use the seat backs, but Kelly does. It would be nice touch to have a storage pouch on the back of the seat pad. Even on longer paddles we are not adding sit pads to the cockpit(s) – the molded in seats are nice. We did add some grip stickers to the front to help Anacostia Riverpup stay in the boat – but the kayak is well thought out as is.

Tandem boats offer a special paddle challenge: communication. I enjoy paddling a tandem with Kelly. The 2+1 means that this tandem is primarily single providing Kelly with a longer, faster kayak with amazing carrying capacity. After 6 months of use I can say this is a great boat that is exactly fulfilling the purposes we bought it for.

Boat Ramp Follies: the High School Rowing Coach

One of the banes of Springtime paddling on the Anacostia River is the high school row teams. I don’t mind seeing the kids and it is good to see more people using the river, but the other side of it is the coaches somehow think it is their river and they do not share well. When the event described in this cartoon occurred, the high school coaches were so out of control that two non-high school rowing people had been ‘waked’ out of their single sculls (rowboats).

The Maryland portion of the Anacostia River is designated as wild and scenic and also has a 6 knot per hour speed limit (<8 mph). Additionally, turbidity is one of the water quality parameters that is limiting the recovery of the Anacostia River – this is not helped by boat wakes (the waves a boat makes when moving through water).

Anyway, it is a basically true story with some changes to fit format, etc.

Paddle Camping: Spice Creek, MD.

We used the information at http://www.patuxentwatertrail.org to plan yet another fun trip on the Patuxent River and its tributary, Spice Creek.

Selby Landing: where the paddle trip begins and ends. Patuxent River Park, MD. 23 April 2023.

Everything about this trip was excellent. The trip out from Selby Landing was absolutely perfect – just one of those amazing, life-affirming paddles that remind you of how splendid it is to be alive on this planet. When we reached the Spice Creek paddle-in campsite it was also really nice. The standard for Patuxent Water Trail campsites seems to be: decent paddle access, no drinking water, picnic table, and a fire ring – Spice Creek also has some nice benches that were a boy scout project. After we set up camp, Ani and I went for a paddle up as far as a kayak gets up Spice Creek.

Spice Creek paddle-in campsite was a wonderful place to spend the night! The kayaks are fully loaded for the start of day two. Spice Creek Campsite, MD. 24 April 2023.

We enjoyed a nice campfire, staying up until the fire was barely smouldering. We then put the fire and ourselves to bed while serenading barred owls filled the woods with “who cooks for you all?”

A well-used trail leads from the landing to the campsite. Spice Creek Campsite, MD. 24 April 2023.

On the Patuxent River a tide table is a useful planning tool. Day one we paddled with an outgoing tide, downstream, and with the wind. Day two we paddled against the tide, against the wind, and upstream. Day two we still had a great paddle, but it was a hard paddle. If our trip planning had included a tide table we might have still been paddling upwind and upstream, but we could have paddled with the tide.

Ani enjoying creekside dogwood blossoms. Spice Creek, MD. 23 April 2023.

This was a simply wonderful trip.

Creekside Rhododendron in bloom! Spice Creek, MD. 23 April 2023.

The Patuxent River Water Trail has been fun for us to explore and camp. Remember that the Patuxent is tidal, so carry in lots of drinking water and have a good camp out.

This is about as far as a kayak goes up Spice Creek. Spice Creek, MD. 23 April 2023.

Sunset from the Patuxent River. Patuxent River, MD. 23 April 2023.

Kelly built a wonderful campfire! Spice Creek Campsite, MD. 23 April 2023.

The Patuxent is a big, wide, shallow, windswept, beautiful tidal river for kayaking. Patuxent River, MD. 24 April 2023.

Back at Selby Landing. Trash haul = 1 bag of plastic and a bunch of balloons. 24 April 2023.

River naps

When I was younger and predominantly a canoe paddler, I used to enjoy taking naps in my canoe while on the water. It is so relaxing and peaceful to fall asleep in a gently rocking canoe listening to the sounds of water playing upon the hull of the boat. However, as I grew older I did not have the luxury of napping as time was limited. I had responsibilities, and waking up just any old place (sometimes the boat is in mischievous or interesting water when you wake up) just wasn’t an acceptable option.

Anacostia Riverpup was sound asleep and I was jealous, but she woke up when I unzipped my life vest to get my phone to take this picture – well, because I keep snacks in my life vest too.   Spice Creek, MD. 23 April 2023.

Fast forward to now and all my river naps are enjoyed vicariously through Anacostia ‘Boom-boom’ Riverpup as she naps on the kayak. It is still wonderful and magical. It still makes my spirit soar. Just one more reason why a good paddle dog can be so darn important.

The world needs more river naps.

Balloons: again

Today I had to wade across a mudflat to remove a bunch of balloons. As I was slogging through the knee-deep muck I thought about Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet. I simply must call them out on their balloon attitude. Some of us can be uncheered by a balloon.

Yet another big tire day on Dueling Creek

Everyday should be Earthday, but today is the one people celebrate. It was windy, incoming tide, and the river was packed with people. Anacostia Riverpup and I chose to opt out of the river scene and paddled up Dueling Creek instead to work on a tire project we had noticed before. The tire was buried on the shore of an island way up the Creek (so it takes a high tide to get there and most importantly paddle an overloaded kayak back out).

Big ol’ semi tire. Dueling Creek, MD. 22 April 2023.

Sure enough the when we reached the spot and assessed the situation there was 5% tire above ground and this was another Dueling Creek semi tire. Luckily I had my magic shovel on board, so we got to work. As an added bonus the creek is higher than the island at peak high tide and the tire was buried in a vertical orientation. The excavation was epic! Removing the mud-filled inner tube and tire rim guard was not easy. When I finally had the tire free of the roots, sticks, and dirt, I hopped into the tire hole to lever the tire out and found that the water was over my waist. At least that gave me a head start on the lift. After that came the easy part: changing my kayak configuration so I could paddle from the back deck, loading the tire, adjusting the load so that the kayak floats correctly, and then simply paddling the entire mess back to the boat ramp.

Safely back at the Bladensburg Waterfront Park boat ramp. Bladensburg Waterfront Park, MD. 22 April 2023.

This was our third semi tire from Dueling Creek. Given that some people call semis 18-wheelers, I guess we may have another 15 tires up there somewhere. Hopefully, the next 15 won’t be this much work.

Household IPM: Embrace a new lawn paradigm

IPM (or Integrated Pest Management) is a conceptual framework for making decisions with regard to activities used to maintain systems. At the core of IPM are human values, the idealized landscape and what we want from it are the standards to which the system in question is compared. If the system is not attaining our goals, then what activities will bring the system in line with our goals? We then choose to perform an activity and re-compare to the ideal. Of course the activities are have costs and an important aspect of an IPM framework is the concept of economic threshold which can be thought of as either ‘bang for the buck’ or ‘cost and benefit’. Given that a weed or pest species is a human construct, what happens when the human values that guide IPM change? This blog post examines that conceptual change.

Close up view of a lawn that receives water, fertilizers, pesticides, and at least weekly mowing. NE DC. 11 April 2023.

A recent post told a story of a lawn and pesticide use associated with a church.  Every house I have owned I have replaced portions of the lawns with garden beds, no-mow strips, native plants, shrubs, and trees. Additionally, my lawn care routine has consisted of minimal water, minimal mowing, no supplemental water, no fertilizers, and no pesticides. I just do not understand why people would want a chemical-drenched, water-intensive, and biodiversity-impoverished monoculture of a (more often than not) non-native grass.

Close up view of a lawn that receives only occasional mowing. NE DC. 11 April 2023.

This blog post is accompanied with photos of two lawns that are across the street from each other here in NE DC that are very differently maintained. One I don’t even like to walk my dog on because of all the pesticides used – the little signs a commercial applicator installs after a lawn pesticide treatment are there because pesticides are poisons. Being mortal I tend to avoid poisons. The other lawn is at the home of a hard working gentleman, who when he isn’t working is often helping other people – as such his lawn receives minimal care and does just fine because of it.

Overview of a lawn that receives water, fertilizers, pesticides, and at least weekly mowing. NE DC. 11 April 2023.

Up close, the first thing you notice is the low maintenance lawn is much more colorful. Next you will notice is that the high maintenance lawn is primarily one species of grass while the low maintenance lawn may not even be predominantly grass, however, among the grasses in the low maintenance yard are prized native species like little blue stem (Schizachyrium scoparium). The low maintenance yard has butterflies and bees visiting the low growing flowers, while the high maintenance yard does not. I have not done cover plots, but to my eye, both lawns have a similar amount of bare ground.

Overview of a lawn that receives only occasional mowing. NE DC. 11 April 2023.

From a distance, both lawns currently look pretty much the same. The high maintenance lawn will not change much, while the low maintenance lawn will have a seasonality as the spring weeds yield to summer weeds which will yield to fall weeds. The low maintenance yard will get about a foot tall between mowings.

The big difference between the two lawns is the high maintenance lawn represents increased ( perhaps unnecessary) fertilizer and pesticide run-off into the Chesapeake Bay. The high maintenance lawn represents pesticide drift and contact exposure to pesticides for any animal that happens to cross the yard. The high maintenance lawn means all the noise of equipment and applications. The high maintenance lawn represents so many resources wasted to achieve an aesthetic paradigm that any idiot willing to poison themselves, their neighbors, and their environment could achieve. To me it is just ugly.

The agro-industrial lawn complex has spent a great deal of money and time selling the beauty of a high maintenance lawn to consumers. Lawns are important. Lawns can create a fire defensible space around a house, lawns are important as spaces to recreate, and lawns help moderate urban heat island effects. I do not hate lawns, I hate toxic, bio-impoverished, environmentally hazardous lawns. There is a difference, and the choice is up to you.

Trip report: White Oak Landing, Mataponi Creek, MD.

White Oak Landing, Merkle Natural Resources Management Area, MD. 8 October 2021.

Kelly and I first paddled to White Oak Landing during a day trip on Mataponi Creek in 2021. It was a pleasant place to park the kayaks, stretch our legs, and have a snack. The landing is part of Merckle Natural Resources Management Area, but we found that campsite reservations are made through Jackson’s Landing of the Patuxent River Park, Jug Bay Natural Area.

White Oak Landing. Merkle Natural Resources Management Area, MD. 8 April 2023.

We could have started the trip at Jackson Landing (we had to go there to pick up our parking pass), but we choose to use Selby Landing because it is much closer – regardless, the trip starts on Jug Bay. Jug Bay is a wide, shallow stretch of the tidal Patuxent River and has the potential for waves and winds that require your attention when paddling and require that your gear is securely attached to your kayak. The advantage of planning a shorter distance to camp is you can always dump your gear and paddle more – but if waves are rolling through your kayak cockpit (we paddle sit-on-tops) you can dry off in camp and go for hike. This is especially important in spring and fall when water and air temperatures are more challenging.

We found a few tires and some plastic trash while paddling. White Oak Landing. Merkle Natural Resources Management Area, MD. 8 April 2023.

One of the things you will notice at the campsite is a large staircase that ascends a hill. It leads up to a big opening with a portable toilet, a couple of picnic tables, and a fire ring. This would be good for larger groups or warmer, buggier days when getting up where there is a nice breeze (and a view) would be refreshing. There is a road that leads from the campsite up to a gate. Past the gate is another road that loops through Merkle Natural Resources Management Area. If you go to the right on the road you will come to a cute pedestrian bridge that crosses Mataponi Creek. If you travel toward the Patuxent River you will reach an observation tower that has some pretty views.

Camp sweet camp. White Oak Landing. Merkle Natural Resources Management Area, MD. 8 April 2023.

Both Mataponi Creek and the Patuxent are tidal bodies of water with about a meter of height difference between high and low tides. Bear this in mind, because it would suck to be exploring and end up stuck on a mudflat for a few hours waiting for water. The mudflats in this area seem to be deeper than the mudflats on the Anacostia River. While I may get into knee deep mud on the Anacostia, the mud is often mid-thigh or even crotch deep in this system – which made pulling tires from the low tide exposed mudflats a bit more work than normal. Mid-thigh deep mud also means getting back in your kayak may be a little more difficult than you are used to. I also wished I had brought extra water for washing all of this mud off.

View of southern Jug Bay from an observation tower. Merkle Natural Resources Management Area, MD. 8 April 2023.

Tidal rivers usually are not entirely freshwater, so we usually bring all of water with us. While not ocean salty, it often is not a ‘refreshing’ beverage and your noodles will suffer from the saltiness too. The Patuxent has an abundance of waste treatment outflows, while this a steady source of water for paddling, this too, is a good reason for bringing water from home. We use a 5-gallon water cube – for our 1 gallon per person per day of fresh water. It packs and travels ok in my kayak, but at 18 kg (40 lbs) it really has to go in the cockpit to maintain boat trim. If we ever do a really long trip in tidal waters, we will need to find freshwater sources for refills.

Sunset. White Oak Landing. Merkle Natural Resources Management Area, MD. 8 April 2023.

The campsite itself is a really cool spot to hang out. We watched beavers going to and fro, osprey building their nest, bald eagles, other cool birds, all from the comfort of camp. Being situated in a wide bend of Mattaponi Creek allows for a huge view for your camp enjoyment.

Sunrise. White Oak Landing. Merkle Natural Resources Management Area, MD. 9 April 2023.

On our way in to the campsite we noticed quite a few tires. We pulled three and continued on to camp – a kayak can only carry so much of a load safely. I went back out after setting up camp and grabbed another five tires and some plastic trash (there is much less plastic trash here than on the Anacostia River). We left eight tires at the campsite (and let rangers know the tires were there) and managed to pick up two more (and a plastic tote) on our trip out. On both trips we found the waterways to be pretty clean, unfortunately I cannot say the same for the campsite. While the campsite itself was reasonably clean, the surrounding woods had a pretty good layer of trash – we picked up some, but not all.

Morning calm – great time for a paddle! White Oak Landing. Merkle Natural Resources Management Area, MD. 9 April 2023.

I did go for a quick morning paddle to enjoy the lack of wind, smooth water, and just watching the marsh wake up for the day. One of the advantages of paddle camping is you can enjoy evening, morning, and even night paddles without too much effort.

About as far as a kayak can get up Mattaponi Creek. Merkle Natural Resources Management Area, MD. 9 April 2023.

I am so grateful that we have areas like this where we can go and enjoy some solitude, nature, peace, and quiet within less than hour from our DC home.

Camp all packed up and loaded onto kayaks. White Oak Landing. Merkle Natural Resources Management Area, MD. 9 April 2023.

Back at Selby Landing with more tires and plastic trash. Jug Bay Natural Area, MD. 9 April 2023.

WWJS – what would Jesus spray?

Another herbicide application. NE DC. 11 April 2023.

We live with a church as a neighbor. As neighbors go, you could do worse. They are nice folks and good for the community. However, for the past month the annual herbicidal barrage towards perfect lawns has begun. The church feels the need for a perfect lawn and therefore is using monthly applications of pesticides to accomplish the goal. This is not a benign process. Even though we do not use lawn pesticides at our house, we have been impacted by herbicide use in our neighborhood. Herbicide applications leave the application site via: drift, volatization, aqueous run-off, erosion or soil movement, percolating into ground water, and via transfer of plants. Additionally, herbicides are released into the environment by: sloppy handling, spillage, accidents, applying to the wrong location, inappropriate handling of used pesticide containers, and poor waste handling practices. David Pimental (1995) found that less than 0.1% of pesticides applied for pest control reach their target pests and 99.9% of pesticides used move into the environment. This 99.9% of pesticide released into the environment affects public health, beneficial organisms, soil, water, and the atmosphere.

Pesticides can be magical, I like to think of them as the Genie in the bottle where the wish may not be granted as desired. I have seen insecticides used on beneficial insects and insects that were no longer present. I have also seen multiple herbicide applications used on plants that were not correctly identified and not susceptible to the herbicide used. In these instances the entire application is without a beneficial impact.

Because herbicides are historically new (herbicides are very new – like cars), religious texts are not entirely up to the task of informing integrated pest management schemes. Just as the religious texts do not entirely explain air traffic control principles. Still, I would like to think a Christian church might think about how Jesus may have dealt with an issue they are facing – like weeds

Jesus was a carpenter, not a farmer or lawn care technician, so I really do not know where he may have stood on pesticide use. In fact, the new testament has very little advice for carpentry, so it isn’t surprising that the New Testament doesn’t provide guidance specifically for pesticide applicators. If Jesus did use pesticides, you can be pretty certain that the motivation would be love and the purpose of the treatment would be to praise God. Which is why Jesus might have taken the approach of nurturing the lawn, rather than poisoning the weeds – but, as stated previously, the New Testament is not entirely clear on Jesus’ lawn care preferences.

Reference:                                               Pimentel, D. 1995. Amounts of pesticides reaching target pests: environmental impacts and ethics. Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Ethics 8(1):17-29

Pine-oak gall rust, Cronartium quercuum

Anacostia Riverpup and I were hiking about in the oak woodlands of Merkle Natural Resources Management Area during a recent paddle camping trip when we came across a stand of Pinus virginiana and, sure enough, these trees were hosting Cronartium quercuum.

Host tree, Pinus virginiana. Merkle Natural Resources Management Area, MD. 8 April 2023.

The teliospores of Cronartium quercuum infect a pine tree ( several species) and develop a canker on a branch which takes time to mature. When mature, the fungus produces orange asexual spores which will be released to the wind in spring to infect the developing leaves of a new host, oaks. On oak, the fungus passes through the sexual stage of its life cycle, forming small hair-like telia which release teliospores. The teliospores re-infect pine trees in autumn. Oaks are an important part of the life cycle of the fungus, but experience little damage. While the galls on pines can kill young trees and create cosmetic damage on more mature pine trees.

Cronartium quercuum. Merkle Natural Resources Management Area, MD. 8 April 2023.

It is always cool to run into species that do not have a ‘straight-forward’ use of the environment. As far as I know, neither tree benefits from the presence of the fungus, and I haven’t ever heard of a pine-oak woodland collapsing from a lack of Cronartium quercuum. We are just beginning to explore the fungal world and glimpse the secrets within. However, just like when I crawl out of my tent at 2am and stare amazed at the stars – I do not need to understand the universe to be amazed and enthralled.

While a small, spore producing canker on a pine tree may not be as spectacular as a star-filled sky, it still is a wonderful and interesting thing to find and ponder about.