|
Favorite
Trips |
From Carolina
Currents
(January/February 2008)
By Geoff Bowline
If you're a cruiser traversing new waters you know that a chart only provides minimal information, but you can usually find a cruising guidebook to tell you what to expect in each port and where to find the best anchorages. Similarly, anglers have fishing guides divulging some of the best fishing holes in which to wet a line (although you have to suspect the author keeps at least one secret spot for himself).
For those who prefer to explore the Tar Heel waters under paddle power, an essential companion has long been the book Paddling Eastern North Carolina with Paul Ferguson. With his second edition released in early 2007, Ferguson adds more than 600 new miles of maps, trip descriptions and advice to his already impressive tome.
Ferguson defines “Eastern North Carolina" in the broadest sense, covering some three-fourths of the state including nine river basins from the Yadkin-Pee Dee Basin just south of Greensboro and everything to the East. He omits only the mountain and western Piedmont regions where streams vary greatly based on rainfall and are prone to waterfalls and frequent rapids due to the steep gradient of the land.
While the guide covers some popular big boat cruising grounds such as the Dismal Swamp Canal, it is not intended for that audience and does not contain information such as depths and bridge clearance heights. Still, it would be great for cruisers to have aboard for side trips exploring smaller waters in a dinghy.
Ferguson launches the book with a broad sweep covering billions of years of geologic history to describe how the mountains, plains and coast - and the interweaving waterways - have developed through plate tectonics, changes in sea levels and erosion.
“Paddling the waters of North Carolina offers an excellent opportunity to view the results of geologic evolution," he writes. “The story is written in the rapids running over rocks, clay layers and fossils exposed on banks, sand ridges, and peat layers of swamps.”
He then offers paddling safety tips for avoiding strainers (dangerous obstacles like fallen trees) and foot entrapments, what to do after broaching and equipment recommendations. More helpful hints cover accessing streams, paddling courtesy, river camping, how to read paddling gauges to determine safe water levels and where to find information about water quality.
He then delves into detailed descriptions of more than 3,200 miles of paddling trips on 97 streams. Just the names of destinations such as Cowhorn Swamp, Devil's Gut, Drowning Creek or Whipping Creek evoke adventure. In 527 pages Ferguson meticulously describes trips on rivers, creeks and swamps, some not covered in the first edition of the guidebook.
Each trip includes tips, maps, distance, difficulty, ratings, width and gauge information, camping availability and ratings of scenery quality. Dozens of black and white photos provide a preview of what can be expected along the waterways.
Finally, five appendices provide sources for further information including books, websites, and government agencies and paddling organizations.
Ferguson has paddled the streams of North Carolina for more than three decades and has led trips for several canoe clubs. He's been down these waters more than a few times and knows his stuff. He has served the Carolina Canoe Club as president, board member, and safety and training officer, and he is a member of the Coastal Canoeists, Lumber River Canoe Club, American Canoe Association and American Whitewater. He has also served on boards of the North Carolina Rivers Assessment, North Carolina Trails Association and Dan River Basin Association.
Published 2007 by Pocosin Press, ISBN 978-0-9729268-1-9.
(Submitted
to)
The Paddler
Carolina
Canoe Club newsletter
May 2007
Book Review: Paddling Eastern North Carolina 2nd Edition
by Laura Evans
If you are planning any river, creek or swamp getaway in Eastern North Carolina, don’t do it blind without making advance preparations. Make your plans AFTER consulting Paddling Eastern North Carolina, 2nd Edition, by Paul Ferguson. It gives explicit information about locations, gauges, river levels, put-ins, take-outs, scenery, difficulty and hazards, camping and what you are likely to experience. In addition, the book has quick reference tables that make it easier than ever to find a river or swamp destination that fits your objectives.
So, you already have Paddling Eastern North Carolina, the 1st edition, by Paul Ferguson? That’s okay. You MUST get the 2nd Edition. It’s another MUST-HAVE for your paddling library. Paul Ferguson, former 2-term Carolina Canoe Club president and long-time canoeist, has done the unthinkable. He has improved upon the first edition of his wonderful paddling guide. The 2nd edition is different in many ways. Its bright orange cover grabs your attention. It boasts an additional 129 pages. It has new photos. It lists some new references that have become available since the original book, like Teraserver and Google Earth. It has improved River Selection tables making it easier to find a river of the desired length, class and suitability for camping. And, best of all, the 2nd edition contains descriptions of 27 new paddling destinations and extended descriptions of 19 streams covered in the 1st edition (more than 600 new miles).
The book covers Bear Island in Hammocks Beach State Park, Dismal Swamp and Cowhorn Swamp, along with updated information on the 96 destinations described in the book. See http://pocosinpress.com/NewSecondEd.htm for more specifics.
Paddling Eastern North Carolina, 2nd Edition makes it possible for you to “know before you go.” You’ll find yourself pouring over the River Selection tables then spending hours reading and re-reading about the destinations you marked.
You should also go to Paul’s website http://pocosinpress.com for more updates since the 2nd edition went to print, just so you’ll have all the information available. Once you get on the water, you’ll spend all of your time having fun, rather than dealing with the unexpected. Buy Paul Ferguson’s great new Paddling Eastern North Carolina, 2nd Edition.
Delay no more. You owe it to yourself. And, you owe a HUGE Thank you to Paul Ferguson.
Paddling
Eastern North Carolina
Home