[Journal entry for March 28, 2009] Delaware and Raritan Canal, near Manville, New Jersey. After spending the morning at the Paddlesport 2009 kayak exhibition in Somerset, Lee Reiser and I paddled on the Delaware and Raritan Canal. This now-disused waterway, built in 1834, initially provided a shipping route between Philadelphia and New York City. The segment that we paddled parallels the course of the Millstone River, but a slightly higher elevation. It’s deep but relatively narrow, and has a tow road (now a bicycling path) on the side nearest the river. The two path has a low spot every mile or so which functions as a spillway. The opposite bank is hillier, and in placed has low bluffs of red sandstone.

We parked near the intersection of Weston Canal Road and Manville Causeway, where the canal is crossed by bridge. We just tossed the kayaks in the calm and slowly flowing canal from the edge of the bicycle path and headed upstream. The day was overcast, a little breezy and about 55°F. A few people were about, some fishing from the banks, other walking, running or bicycling on the path. The water, at 49°F, is still pretty cold. Lee and I wore dry suits, just in case we fell in. Some trees are budding, and a few shoots of cattails are poking up along the river bank, but otherwise the vegetation shows little evidence of spring. The turtles were out, though, in plenty, soaking up what little sun there was, and the marshy areas resounded with the voices of frogs. The frogs mostly kept out of sight, though I did spot one enormous bullfrog, sitting on the bank.

We paddled upstream at a relaxed pace. We noticed quite a bit of beaver activity, with many of the trees along the canal having been stripped of bark and a substantial beaver lodge that extends out from the bank into the canal. This area has many old houses, some which we suspected date from the Nineteenth Century. We passed a summer camp, complete with an old red bunk house and a rack of canoes. We chatted briefly with a couple sitting on the dock at Colonial Park.

We turned around at the bridge at Amwell Road. I scooted under the bridge. It’s very low. I had to hunker way down, and even then, had only an inch of so clearance. The downstream side affords a nice view of the town of in East Millstone. It has several picturesque buildings that face onto a grassy square.

We encountered some interesting vegetation during the course of our paddle. As with our trip last year on the Millstone, we passed a large stand of bamboo. This invasive plant seems to be getting fairly common. I know of several stands of it elsewhere in New Jersey and southern New York. And we spotted holly, including a pair (male and female) of enormous trees in East Millstone that looked as if they had been planted intentionally. Perhaps they are the progenitors of the several more bush-sized version we encountered.

Overall, the trip took about two hours.