[Journal entry for October 5, 2011; Spar Kill (creek)] Spar Kill is a small creek that drains the land west of the Hudson River. It joins the Hudson at Piermont, flowing through a narrow gap in the Hudson Palisade cliffs that marks the location of an Mesozic-age geological fault. It meanders through Piermont Marsh before flowing into the Hudson River at a point just south of Piermont Pier. The Pier is a large earth-fill structure that extends about a mile out into the Hudson; it is now a park.

I launched my plastic sea kayak Hraun from the Parelli Park boat launch, just north of the Pier. The late afternoon was gorgeous, especially in contrast to the unusually large number of damp days that we had in October. The sky was a clear blue and the air temperature was in the seventies, Fahrenheit. The water of the Hudson River was cooler, around sixty. Its water was still pretty muddy from Hurrican Irene last month. The western sun was lighting up the land and water vividly.

I paddled the length of the Pier, staying a few boat lengths off its north shore. The margin is rocky, and at one point I passed between a low rock breakwater and the shore. Hraun is a tough boat, so I was not worried about banging into a few rows, though actually I struck none. The water is rather more choppy than usual, with broadside waves up to three feet high driven by a wind out of the north. They caused me to bounce around a bit but were not a real problem, except to the extent that the slowed me down considerably and required some attention. Many people were walking about on the Pier, including a group of anglers set up at the docking area at its eastern tip. The Tappan Zee Bridge, which crosses the Hudson a few miles north of Piermont, was lit up brightly by the evening sun.

I rounded the tip of the Pier and paddle back to shore though the calmer water on the south side, covering the distance rather more quickly than the outward journey. The Spar Kill joins the Hudson River just south of the Pier Pier, after a brief meander of four or five turns through Piermont Marsh, a Phragmites and Spartina grass marsh along the west shore of the Hudson, by Tallman Mountain State Park. The view of the marsh and of the Hudson Palisade cliffs was very beautiful. I paddled up Spar Kill, passing ducks and a great blue heron. Some of the way is wild, but a few old houses are built along the north bank. The hill of the North Picnic Area of Tallman Mountain State Park was casting a long shaddow, so that parts of the Kill were shaded. After a few minutes I reach the built-up section along Paradise Avenue. The houses along this stretch of the Kill were quiet, as were the docks and the boats moored by them. No one was at the Paradise Boats Canoe and Kayak Rental shop, either. I turned about by the Ferdon Avenue bridge in Piermont NY, since the tide was too high for me to pass beneath it. Last year, when it was lower, I was able to squeeze benath and paddle up the Kill for another half mile or so, to the dam at Rockland Road. I have never gone beyond that point, but I suppose that one could portage around the dam and continue on further.

I reached sunlight again when I neared the mouth of the Kill. The low sun was lighting up the hills of the Hudson's east bank, and its towns such as Irvington, very vividly. The paddle back to the tip of the Pier was easy; the paddle back to the boat launch less so. If anything, the waves on the north side of the Pier were even higher than before. The were not a problem for me; I was wearing a skirt and I can handle a kayak well, but they would have posed a danger to someone with less skill. I opted to sprint the distance, using the wave crests to my advantage, though having them broadside is less of an advantage than being able to run with them. I managed to keep up with a sailboat that was coming in to its anchorage. I finished the sprint in about 15 minutes, much slower than on a calm day, when it can take me as little as eight. The sun had set and the sky above Hook Mountain to the north was glowing pink as I loaded Hraun back onto my car.

My 103rd day of kaying this year.