Kayaking on the Susquehanna

 I've lived a 10 minute walk from the Susquehanna River for the past 6 years ... and I only kayaked on it for the first time this week.  There is a new business that opened up on the Isle of Que, the island between Penns Creek and the Susquehanna, that rents kayaks for an extremely reasonable price.   I noticed it on one of my runs this summer ... then I had a torturous 40 minutes left to think about how great it would be to be kayaking instead of running.


So, when Tim came to visit, I was finally able to cross "kayaking on the Susquehanna" off my list of things to do!  We took a 2 hour kayak trip that the owner recommended. 

We paddled up one side of the river with a short detour through a marshy island in the center of the river.  The river was so low that we were able to get out at one point and walk our kayaks up the river for a few feet.  We also discovered an inlet off the main river.  As we entered the inlet, I felt like I was entering newly discovered land.  We were surrounded by trees and bushes on either side.  Suddenly, though, a hint of civilization appeared in the form of a tire swing.  It was a quintessential Americana summer location. 

Shortly after leaving the inlet, we paddled over to the opposite side of the river.  After going under an old railroad pass, we found an island with a nice beach to stop at for lunch.  Just as we sat down to dig into our chicken salad wraps, we saw a bald eagle.  It was both of our first time seeing a bald eagle in the wild and it was pretty impressive.  After lunch it was time for a swim, of course!

We ended our trip with an enjoyable, and easy, paddle downstream.  Next time a 4 hour trip is in order.  We also want to check out the fall foliage tour that this place offers.  They also have photography tours, which I may look into as well!