Stone Creek is a small stream that runs parallel to the main road that runs from our house to town. In the summer, it’s usually tough to navigate all the way down it in a boat due to the many shallow spots. But a couple weeks ago, all the rivers and streams were running high due to rain combined with a large amount of recent snowmelt, and we figured this was a good opportunity to attempt the 17-mile section of the creek from our house to the town of Huntingdon.
A group of us met early at our place, clad in neoprene and drytops. We hiked with our boats across Rt. 26 and put on the creek by 9am, a whole day ahead of us to figure out just what was in store. I had never paddled any of Stone Creek—I had only done a very small section in an inner tube quite a few years ago, and all I remember from that experience is a lot of walking.
Luckily, this experience ended up being a lot different. Never was it too shallow to paddle through, and we only had to portage log jams twice in the 17-mile stretch, which was a lot less than we expected.
It was a chilly day, but the sun offered some reprieve from the cold breeze. We stopped often, to stretch, snack, check out interesting things onshore, and visit friends who live along the Creek. The trip ended up taking about 7 hours in its entirety, and it was a great day on the water.
Here are some pictures from our journey:
helena kotala 