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Kayakers Hit the Creek for New Year's

2012-01-05

A group of local of adventurers started the New Year literally with a splash by paddling nine miles down the Perkiomen Creek in Jan. 1.

The group put-in the creek along the Perkiomen Trail at the Crusher Road access and paddled down to just above Collegeville. Paddlers enjoyed the unseasonably warm weather until the very end of the paddle when it started to rain, but the drizzle did not dampen the group's spirits.

Doug Chapman, who has owned Kelly's Canoe & Kayak Center in Gilbertsville for nearly four years, said, "New Year's is a good way to break up the four months that we don't paddle on a weekly basis. It is also a good way to start the new year off by living life to the fullest."

After the paddle, the group warmed up with some food and drinks at the Lucky Lab Tavern in Royersford.

Chapman has organized New Year's Day paddles for the past two years on the Brandywine Creek.

"A lot of people would like to paddle in the colder months but are either inexperienced, not sure what the proper gear is, or are simply afraid," he said. "The New Year's Day paddle is a safe way for the inexperienced to get out with some experienced paddlers and see what gear and precautions are taken in the colder months."

Some 25 people showed up Sunday morning to participate in the New Year's paddle, which took Kayakers about nine miles down the Perkiomen Creek to Collegeville.

Janice Fiore carries her kayak along the Perkiomen Trail enroute to the put in.

Kayaks fill the Perkiomen Creek in Marlborough Township after launching off near Crusher Road on New Year's Day.

Kayakers navigate a bridge abutment on the Perkiomen. Doug Chapman, who owns Kelly’s Canoe & Kayak Center in Gilbertsville, organized the event, which was held on the Brandywine Creek in previous years.

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