On Saturday, my roommate and I put our boats in on the other side of the Crabtree Lake dam and quit at the bridge on Ebenezer Church rd. We put in around 10:30 in the morning and got out around 3:30. We definitely underestimated the time it was going to take us.

It was fun and relaxing when we weren't climbing over downed trees or tugging the boats over shallow rocks and sand. If we had about 4 more inches(that's what she said!) of water we would have moved a lot faster and not had as many problems.

The water was cool and refreshing to the touch. The rock formations and foliage made for great scenery. We saw some hikers, bikers, and people walking dogs too. We chased some ducks downstream for a ways until they finally stopped and let us go by them. Even saw a snake pulling a fish out of the creek.

Also, we found out after we were done that it's against Umstead State Park rules and regulations to use a non-issued boat on the park. How annoying. However, if we put in on Ebenezer Church rd and kayak through Raleigh it's fine because you're not in the park.

5/17/2009 9:19:32 PM

please tell more about the snake

5/17/2009 10:42:22 PM

i, too, would like to know more about said snake

5/17/2009 11:06:33 PM

we went 14 miles down the Neuse, put in at Falls of the Neuse, pulled out just before the dam

took us like 6 hours

it was my first time kayaking, i flipped over within the first 5 minutes... lovely.

still a good time

at least the water level was high and there was some current

5/17/2009 11:25:18 PM

i want to get a canoe and go down the neuse.

trying to convince the wife to let me buy one.

5/18/2009 12:25:17 AM

How did you figure out it was illegal?

5/18/2009 12:28:53 AM

Isn't the neuse all hog-wastey?

[Edited on May 18, 2009 at 12:33 AM. Reason : .]

5/18/2009 12:33:44 AM

i think the hog farms are more towards the east... i want to canoe the part between Falls Lake and New Bern Ave (old US 64)

(that's before it gets to the raleigh wastewater treatment plant!)

[Edited on May 18, 2009 at 12:38 AM. Reason : ]

5/18/2009 12:37:43 AM

With the amount of trees down across Crabtree Creek, there's a good chance that a narrow area along the Neuse could have a tree across it. Taking a canoe down it might be troublesome.

The Neuse isn't hog wastey up here, also, you're in a boat and not in the water.

We found out it was against rules and regs when my girlfriend picked us up. She parked along Ebenezer Church road near the bridge while we toted the kayaks up from the creek. A service guy from Umstead pulled in behind her and waited for us to get up there. He told us it was against the rules and that a park ranger could fine us for it.

The snake was about 2.5 ft long. I didn't get a good look at the pattern or color. It looked green/brown/gray but it was on a rock in the sun and the water was throwing up a mean glare. The fish it had was about 4 or 5 inches long and he was tugging it up the rock.

[Edited on May 18, 2009 at 12:41 AM. Reason : ^ That is our next kayak adventure. We're going to wait for a big rain before going though.]

5/18/2009 12:40:52 AM

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/urban-kayaking/4029675527

5/18/2009 12:50:53 AM

message_topic.aspx?topic=561269

5/18/2009 12:56:57 AM