West Branch Brandywine Creek

April 8, 2010

Paddled the West Branch Brandywine Creek today with Cathy Gunn and her 14 year-old Springer Spaniel, Lacy. We put in at Corcoran's Bridge and took out at Shaw's Bridge Park. The weather was delightful - sunny and right around 80 degrees. The water level was nearly perfect also - 3.16 feet on the Modena gauge. Water temperature was close to 62F. This section of the West Branch is very pretty and the budding trees and flowering bushes added to the delightful scenery. Just past NorthBrook Canoe Outfitters is a small parcel of the King Ranch and there are Longhorn steers quartered in one of the meadows. These unique cattle are worth stopping to see.

The creek in this section tumbles gently over a few ledge drops and there are enough swifts and rocks to require some maneuvering, although it is still a pretty easy stream to paddle. The trip of just under 7 miles took only 2 hours and 15 minutes including a short lunch stop.

Wildlife seen today included a whitetail deer, a large groundhog, a great blue heron, a large redtail hawk, a huge turtle, mallards, wood ducks, Canada geese, red-wing blackbirds and many other species of birds. While in the canoe, Lacy sunned herself with her head resting on the portage yoke. She has enough experience in the canoe now to qualify as a canineoeist.