Paddling the Potomac

Southern Living, May 2000 by Thomas, Les

A river journey lets you discover nature's treasures at the doorstep of our Nation's capital:

Until tonight, I never realized one of the best ways to get around Washington, D.C., is in a kayak.

It's almost 9 p.m. A plump moon the color of a ripe corn tassel is rising over the Potomac River. I'm with a group of 11 other tourists, paddling downstream to the Capitol on one of the moonlight tours offered by the Atlantic Canoe & Kayak Company.

All around us the river smells fresh and alive. It seems even more exciting to me because I've never been in a kayak before. Two hours ago, I wedged my 6'5" frame into a boat that fit me like a shoe. Then I took off with the group from a dock in Georgetown.

I probably wouldn't have made it this far if it hadn't been for an 8-year-old girl named Leigh from Silver Spring, Maryland. She and her mother are paddling effortlessly in one of the two-Beater kayaks ahead of me. When we pass beneath the last bridge, our guide asks if we want to go on a little farther. Leigh chirps without hesitation: "Go for it."

I'm glad we do. When we drift to rest near the Jefferson Memorial, I'm mesmerized by the way it looks from the water, bathed in soft light. I get a funny lump in my throat that people are susceptible to when they visit Washington. It's the same feeling I have when I look at the handwritten words on the original copy of the Declaration of Independence, or see a group of teenagers wearing corduroy "Oklahoma FFA" coats in the heat of summer, looking awestruck when they see the Lincoln Memorial for the first time.

Like those youngsters, I used to admire the Potomac River from afar. But over the past three years, I've discovered there are many ways to enjoy the recreation and heritage of the Nation's River near the city.

If you haven't visited Washington in a while, the popularity of the Potomac might surprise you. President Lyndon Johnson labeled it a "national disgrace" in 1966. While not all the environmental challenges have been solved, the 383-mile-long .river has made a remarkable comeback.

"Thanks to massive public investments, primarily in wastewater treatment, the Potomac is far cleaner than it was only a generation ago," says Jim Cummins, an ecologist for the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin.

The fish seem pleased. Three recent Maryland state trout records came from the North Branch, a stretch once biologically dead from acidic mine runoff. "Since 1994, trout have been naturally reproducing in the main channel for the first time in over 100 years," Jim says. The river around Washington, once considered vile, is ranked among the top areas in the United States for bass fishing. More than 30 tournaments are held each year.

Early one morning, I climb down a steep bank to a boulder-strewn section of the river in northern Virginia, about an hour's drive from Washington. Guides Butch Murphy, Mark Frondorf, and Dave Motes are taking me to cast a fly line for the fish they prize above all others in the river-smallmouth bass.

When Butch hooks the first one, I can see why anglers love to catch them. The fish strikes with a fury, then tries to toss the hook with an acrobatic jump. Pound for pound they've been called the gamest fish of all. They thrive in the clear-running sections of the river upstream from Washington.

On its way to Washington, the Potomac rolls through vast areas of mountains and woodlands. At Harpers Ferry on a spring morning, I plunge through the rapids in a raft with veteran oufitter Lee Baihly. Then we pull ashore to hike to Piney Creek Falls.

One of the reasons so much greenery remains along the Potomac is that there are large sections of parkland, including the C&O Canal National Park that preserves the 184mile length of the canal towpath in Maryland. Other groups, such as the Potomac Conservancy, have rallied to protect threatened areas.

Some of the river's most unusual sanctuaries are the tiny islands that dot its serpentine course. On a humid morning, when leaden clouds refuse to budge, John Phillips eases a raft onto the sandy bank of Conoy Island.

He leads the way up a winding trail that disappears into the wooded interior of the island where 300 Piscataway Indians once lived in a stockaded village. For the next hour, the island is a living classroom for John, an author and instructor of American history at the University of Virginia. He guides Potomac River trips equipped by River & Trail Outfitters of Knoxville, Maryland.

Most trips cover about 8 miles of the river, down from the landing at Point-of Rocks, Virginia. This day's journey ends at Meadow Island, with a stop for lunch. While everyone eats sandwiches, John tells about another river traveler who stopped here in 1785, and wrote about it in his diary. George Washington was exploring the river to plan the building of a canal. "He thought of the Potomac as the gateway to the West," says John.

In marry ways, the river is still a gatewaya gateway to adventure.