August 10, Paddled to Hat Island

Parked at the end of Juddville Road a few miles North of Egg Harbor.
Light SW winds water warm…air 80.

It is a straight line paddle…three miles out, around the island, three miles back. The Island is nothing more than a gravel pile, used by the bird community to hatch and raise young and by bird hunters in the fall to take a few duck and geese.

There are the remnants of some old structures on the island, probably pre 1920’s and some modern amenities such as a boat lift, a crude boat railway and some blinds used by the hunters.

Many white pelicans, herring gulls, some common terns and cormorants.

I did see a young pelican…wasn’t able to fly yet, but it was in the water swimming.

August 10, 2010

July 12, 2006

In 2006 Laurel, Rich and I went out there on a hot July evening and I haven’t been back in the summer since…4 years, time flies. In Feb of 2008, Jeff and I met Rich out there. He had been ice camping and we walked across the three miles of frozen water to meet Rich and escort him back to shore. The Ice was thick…3’, but had stress cracks where water was bubbling up and pressure ridges that were close to 10 feet tall.

Febuary 3, 2008

It was pretty cool imagining we were up in the Arctic.