Cedar Creek
by Peter Walker

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Karen R, Jan R, Carrie C and Charles F joined Naomi and me on the annual Cedar Creek August paddle, so we launched with 2 inflatables, 3 recreational kayaks and my Old Town kayak to paddle the creek from the Ore Pond put-in to Wm. Dudley Park in Berkeley, and 4 of us stayed for dinner at the Shady Rest.

It was a beautiful day, but heavy rains the night before had put plenty of water in the creek - the Western Blvd gage went up so much overnight that before we met up I stopped at the outfitter near the put in to make sure that they were still sending people down the stream.

While the fast flow made getting round some of the bends and past some of the partial blow downs more challenging, the higher water level did mean the beaver dams took nothing more than a little "shake & bake" to get over.

Water was flowing over the dam, but the adjacent steps were dry, so the portage went smoothly.

The high water level also meant our usual beach for lunch was much reduced in size, but we squeezed onto it with three or four family groups and some of us enjoyed a cooling dip.

A few photos are at https://goo.gl/photos/cLoi37y76Y1dgihVA (the beach was even more crowded when we arrived.)

Peter