Gunkholing

One of the things I like to do on the Hudson is explore little places I haven’t been before. I’m always on the lookout for an interesting cove or hidden creek. I love finding a new spot that people don’t go.

I teach in Newburgh and enjoy going for an after-work paddle. Last Monday night I was looking at the Newburgh riverbank on Google Earth and noticed a little creek I hadn’t seen before. Its entrance was right alongside an industrial dock probably used for oil shipments. I traced its path inland and saw it made its way quickly into town, even passing under a bridge I drove across every day! I had always wondered what was beneath that run-down bridge. Now I knew.

I launched from the park on the bottom left of the riverbank and paddled north to Quassiac Creek. The entrance is just north of the uppermost set of round oil tanks. At lower right is Bannerman’s Island, site of the famous castle.

So that would be the goal for my next paddle. Launch from Kowawese Park in New Windsor and paddle north about two miles to the creek. Then enter the creek and see how far I could go. I changed into my paddling clothes at school, then got to the park about 2:40. By 3PM my board was inflated, and I was in the water. The tide was going out and the wind was weak and from the north, so it would be a two mile pull upstream.

The wind was almost nothing, so it took about half an hour to get to the creek. It was a peaceful paddle alongside an industrial coastline. I’ve learned to come to peace with these things. Of course I prefer natural riverbanks, but it’s always interesting to see how humans make their temporary forays into water. They never last long, no matter how permanent they seem. Even as I paddled, there was a part of a landing decayed and a tumble of metal and crumbling banks. This isn’t sad to me. I actually like seeing nature in the act of reclaiming its territory.

The creek entrance wasn’t hard to find, although there were some tricky shallow areas. It was a quick paddle up to the bridge, passing a couple fishing. The River Road bridge was pretty low, so I had to get on my belly and prone paddle. Once past that, the creek got shallow, too shallow for my board’s 9″ fin. So it was time to stop, drink some water, and take pics.

The view from the creek into the Hudson.

So while the creek wasn’t much of a paddle, I was happy to have found a new spot. I paddled back to Kowawese satisfied, enjoying my ride back with the current and strengthening winds. As I got near my launch point, I looked up at Storm King mountain and saw something interesting. The leaves on the lower elevations were starting to burst from their buds, but the higher, colder elevations hadn’t started yet. It was almost as if I was seeing spring creep up the mountainside.

You can see the line where winter ends and spring begins.

I posed my video at home, and a paddle buddy from New York City, Davis Janowski, called what I had done “gunkholing”. This was finding and exploring secret spots. I really like the term, so in respect to Davis, that is the name of this activity from now on.