Drums Along The Mighty Wallkill
by Martin W.
Saturday, April 18, 2026
(Alright, maybe no drums but I did hear a few "Oh crap, not another blowdown").
As I thought this would be a good paddle day since the weather forecast said "cloudy and in the low 60s" I was a bit disappointed that it turned out to be a cloudless and pretty hot day... at least the water level was passable but rather on the low side but in the past we've managed to do this trip at much lower levels though.
The eight hearty adventurers that day were Sumonnat K., Vicky G., Yvonne, Anne B., Al G., Dave M., Gary H. and myself.
We met at the usual back parking lot of the Sussex Queen Diner at the intersection of Rt, 2 and Rt. 565. Traveling the 2 minutes to the put-in along the very busy road, unloading the boats and doing the lengthy shuttle to our take-out at Oil City Road just over the NY border and back we finally got on the water around 10:30. Of course there was the muddy launch which is the hallmark of the mighty Wallkill River but we were on our way.
Entering the wooded section of the river the group came upon the first blowdown and then the next and then the next and so on. It's always "exciting" to have to duck under or pull over the downed trees so prevalent in the first few miles of this river. Luckily we managed to get through with only one dunking in shallow water. (Note: Always put your car keys in a watertight container). We did see quite a few deer running along the river banks.
After a while and many blowdowns later, the river widens out into a savanna type of terrain. Luckily since the Wallkill flows north (only two rivers in NJ flow north - the Wallkill and the Millstone) we didn't have the sun in our eyes like the usual situation on most other rivers... but it was getting quite warm. A bit of a headwind but not too bad.
Finally, after about 6+ miles we arrived at the usual lunch spot at Bassett's Bridge (there are practically no places to stop along the way since everything is either mud and/or poison Ivy) and took a break. After a short lunch we resumed our expedition and headed towards "THE RAPID". Since the water level was on the low side you get to have a thrilling but short ride through it. I warned everyone to stick to river left but forgot to mention to the kayakers that they should expect a lap full of water! Everyone made it through without incident and continued on. I did warn them about what lay ahead - The Redneck Campground - but surprisingly it was completely deserted. One more blowdown - and it was a doozy. Al found an abandoned saw bound up in the tree where someone tried to saw through but it had gotten stuck and was left. A few minutes later we arrived at the take-out at Oil City Road, hauled the boats up the steep muddy embankment and loaded up the boats on the cars and called it a success.
And again... No one died.
Martin