Just a head's up. I'll be paddling the Neuse River in conjunction with the Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation starting next week. We'll be doing some media events, working with area middle schools, having a public paddle session in New Bern, and there will be a slideshow series this fall.

My wife and I paddled the Mississippi River in 2005 with the Audubon Society, so this will be similar (albeit, MUCH shorter!)

More details are at: http://sourcetosea.net/paddling-the-neuse-river-to-promote-water-quality-awareness/

Gear List: http://sourcetosea.net/neuse-river-kayaking-gear-list/

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Source-to-Sea/140405517222

Feel free to holler with any questions.

-JS

8/20/2009 1:35:29 PM

Sweet, that sounds like a really cool trip. Best of luck and keep us updated.

8/20/2009 2:49:43 PM

I was just on the Neuse this past weekend with my wife. VERY dirty around Raleigh here. Tried to pick up whatever trash was floating around. Overall it was good. We ran into atleast 20 other paddlers this weekend. So, plenty of other people who go down the Neuse. We ran into a hard core kayaker who was paddling upstream. I guess it was like a workout for him.

Have fun!

8/20/2009 3:00:45 PM

I paddled the Neuse River Canoe Trail (Fall's Lake to Poole Rd) about a month ago. Some funkiness, some notsomuch. I'm getting paranoid about a hurricane blowing me off the river, but whatever. I can't wait to get going.

8/20/2009 3:05:45 PM

^my husband and I scanoed it

8/20/2009 3:10:46 PM

BEST OF LUCK JOHNNY!!!!!!!!



questions for those of you who have been on the Neuse around Raleigh:

Was the water so dirty you didn't feel comfortable swimming in it?

Did you see any good swimming holes?

Im looking for a good access point along the river that I cant drop by and do some swimming. I plan on looking at some parks this weekend (mainly looking at Anderson point park). The spot doesnt have to be in a park, just fairly close to a road with a non-sketch place to park.

[Edited on August 20, 2009 at 3:33 PM. Reason : non not none]

8/20/2009 3:32:41 PM

I swam in it when I paddled the Canoe Trail. (OK, splashed would be more like it, as it was less than 2' most of the time.)

There's some swimming holes south of Poole Rd. There's also an illegal sewage discharge right across from the Poole Rd Access, so there's that. I think WRAL is going to be doing a segment on that next Thursday with the Neuse Riverkeeper and I, but that's not set in stone yet.

8/20/2009 3:57:10 PM

It's brown, has plenty of trash, has runoff from nearby neighborhoods, smells funky, and plenty of news articles about piggy poopy floating down the Neuse. Use your best judgement ...

On a side note, when I was there this past weekend, there were some Mexicans waist deep in the water by Old Milburne gathering snails (to consume I'm guessing)...

[Edited on August 20, 2009 at 4:04 PM. Reason : meh]

8/20/2009 4:02:25 PM

pretty sure there is no hog shit in there now, that was after a hurricane caused a lagoon to bust.

8/20/2009 6:05:59 PM

There's still plenty of runoff from spraying the lagoon pits. A good part of that effluent either isn't treated, or is applied at too high of a rate for the ground to absorb.

I grew up on a farm, but nothing like these hog factories. No, I don't have the solution for what to do in an economically depressed area with only one surviving industry either. It's a lose/lose situation right now.

8/20/2009 6:12:29 PM

Fish Kill on the Neuse = 3.5 Million dead the last four days in Craven County

Getting interesting...

http://sourcetosea.net/fish-kill-on-the-neuse-river/

8/24/2009 4:24:43 PM

Isn't 3.5 million fish kinda a small fish kill (atleast as far as the neuse goes?)



I was also wondering if you could comment on some of the Neuse River laws in effect in that basin and if you think they have made a difference (atleast compared to late 80s mid 90s era).

It looks like your trip could take on added importance, I hope the media picks this up!

8/25/2009 8:08:49 AM

I live on the Neuse and see people paddling down all the time. A couple of weeks ago there where some guys standing in it just drinking beer. It wouldn't be what I would want to do, but it doesn't look too dirty around here. I thought most of the pollution was further east.

And a question for Johnny. What do you do when you get to that low head damn (i think ppl call it "Raleigh Beach")? Do you just take your canoe/kayak out and bring it down and put in again on the "beach"? It's been a few years since I've been there, but i think it is kind of hard to get down there.

8/25/2009 8:47:58 AM

TerdFerguson: 3.5 million isn't the biggest the Neuse has had, but it's substantial. Reports are coming today of more kills on the lower, but they won't have any real numbers for awhile.

The Neuse is in better shape than it was in the 80's, but there's also more pressure to put in more hog and chicken farms these day. I grew up on a farm, but nothing like factory farms down that way. It's a mess of a situation. I'm going to defer to the Riverkeeper Foundation regarding laws and impacts, as they're much more in the loop about the specifics of that than I am.



crazywolf96 I'm guessing you're talking about the Milburnie Dam. It's about 10-12' tall, and not really a lowhead dam, but anyways... Yeah, I've got to portage around it when I get there. The river's pretty low right now, so I may actually pick up my gear and supplies below there instead of humping it around the dam. The portage isn't great, but not that horrible either. Maybe about 200 yds or so. After all the portaging we did on the Mississippi River, I'm happy for anything that isn't a 1/4 mile over rip-rap, rocks, and up/down a huge dam.

[Edited on August 25, 2009 at 9:23 AM. Reason : .]

8/25/2009 9:13:40 AM

http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/59468242.html

Quote :

"RIVERKEEPER: Fish Kill Now At 50 Million In Neuse "

9/17/2009 10:36:25 AM

if only our government would quit listening to their wallets and crying farmers and developers. the solutions to this are quite simple yet no one wants to pay for it.

thanks NC government. thanks for aiding in the destruction of my home and home life.



[Edited on September 17, 2009 at 10:54 AM. Reason : .]

9/17/2009 10:54:04 AM

Bump to see if anyone gives a damn




http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/10815/millions-of-fish-die-in-neuse-river

Quote :

"Mr Baldwin [Neuse Riverkeeper] says 50 million of them have died. The state puts that number closer to 12 million."

Quote :

"He [Larry Baldwin, Riverkeeper] points a finger at hog and chicken farms and also believes added nutrients from residential, municipal and industrial run-off could be choking the Neuse. "

Quote :

"The state Division of Water Quality agrees that low oxygen levels are likely behind the fish kill, but says it has not found any water quality problems beyond that. "

Quote :

"Mr Baldwin told WNCT this is the third largest fish kill in the Neuse's history – and that more fish could continue to die. "

Thats seems like a pretty big dispute in the number of fish dead. And like ^Price said the state's hesitation to mention that development and Ag runoff played atleast SOME role in this fish kill is pretty sad and seems like a step back from the progress made on eastern NC water quality in the mid-90s. I guess unless the kills are pfiesteria related they can just keep downplaying it.

9/18/2009 9:33:11 AM

johnny swank made the front page of the goldsboro news-argus back on sept. 7th

9/19/2009 11:17:19 AM

I CARE JACOB, I CARE.

and that is a huge difference in kill estimation. It's plausible that Baldwin may be biased to overstate the kill so that he can raise more awareness and potentially get more help/money (not personally, but in the form of stricter controls, more BMPs, etc to protect his domain; and I do agree that these are needed). And at the same time, DWQ would understate the kill to save face... though I figured they may be able to fine someone if they could find a source or two... but maybe that's too far fetched. I think I'll just take the average of the two estimates

[Edited on September 19, 2009 at 11:29 AM. Reason : .]

9/19/2009 11:27:58 AM

1. all riverkeepers are full of shit and do not take a balanced approach to water management. They only keep the company line, and draw attention to themselves. Screw special intersts.

2. They are fish kills on most all water bodies this time of year as the waters "turn over" and dissolved oxygen becomes too low. These kills last about2-3 days and are natural phenomena.

9/20/2009 6:03:47 PM

1. yeh, they never tell the truth. it's all lies
2. yeh 12-50 million dead fish is completely normal

I know what turn over is and I also know that it is typically much less pronounced in moving water bodies, such as the Neuse. Yes, fish kills do occur due to turn over however if you are implying that pollution is not a problem in the Neuse, you are grossly mistaken. I live on the river. I know what fish kills are caused by. Fish kills in the Neuse probably have three causes or at least attributable details:

1.) Pollution
2.) Turn over (which I'm not too sure of for the latest, considering it's still early september and water temperatures really shouldn't have changed much... I'd have to look into
3.) Due to the decline in menhaden fishing the population has increased greatly thus it is plausible that a slight change in WQ conditions could have a seemingly larger affect on fish, mainly menhaden as this is the species that is apparently affected the most.

9/20/2009 6:32:30 PM

yeah, pops went fishing last week and said there were little dead menhaden all around

9/20/2009 10:24:55 PM

Quote :

"but there's also more pressure to put in more hog and chicken farms these day."

There is currently a moritorium on building new hog lagoons. No new lagoons means no new hog houses. There is no pressure to open new hog farms b/c it has become so regulated. The only thing happening is that large corporate farms from up north are buying up all the small private farms around here so they can increase production. Chicken houses, on the other hand, are increasing in number, but the current econom has put a dent in them too.

9/20/2009 11:36:13 PM

Quote :

"yeah, pops went fishing last week and said there were little dead menhaden all around"

did he catch anything?


http://www.newbernsj.com/news/river-48094-class-water.html

Quote :

"The division and foundation groups have different numbers for the kill. But they agree that it is, by either group’s numbers, the largest on the Neuse this decade and since the division began official sample counts in 1997."

so it was a significant kill no matter whose numbers you believe, but its slowing now.

9/21/2009 9:13:09 AM

anyone ever tubed/floated down the neuse near raleigh and if so, where did you put in and out?

i've found some references to putting in at anderson point, but not where to get out or what the water's like (rapids, depth, etc)

7/14/2014 10:23:29 AM

do it all the time.

put in at Milburnie Dam https://goo.gl/maps/pnVFT (enter river on the East Side... there is a small parking area you can access from Old Milburnie Road

get out at either Anderson Point (short trip) https://goo.gl/maps/Ak5Vz (exit on West side of river)

or Poole Road (long trip) https://goo.gl/maps/0DOdZ (exit on West side of river... this one can get pretty muddy!)

7/14/2014 2:43:53 PM

^ thanks! do you have a guess as to how long each trip is (in terms of time)? is the river usually shallow enough that you can stand up, or does it get deep in spots (or is it deep all the time)?

i've gone a couple of times on the dan river...i'm not too concerned about the coal ash stuff because i think that really hasn't affected the area we usually tube, but it's the distance...i'd rather do something similar to the dan, but closer

the haw seems like it could be fun, too, but it also seems very dependent on flow, so most of the time it's too low

7/14/2014 2:54:53 PM

we have done a Milburnie to Anderson Point in like 3 hours when the river was flowing super fast, but we have also done Milburnie to Poole that took 6 hours. We also stop and some big rocks and hang out sometimes.

some parts of the river are ankle deep, and some are over my head.


Here's one of our "white trash floats" (maybe last summer?) at the rocks we stop at for lunch.

[Edited on July 14, 2014 at 3:13 PM. Reason : ]

7/14/2014 3:13:17 PM

that guy in the bottom left needs a four frame zoom

7/14/2014 3:42:26 PM

ha... the originator of the "Four Frame Zoom" thread was on that trip.

7/14/2014 4:09:38 PM

you look like you should be on one of those commercials selling cranberry juice

7/14/2014 4:11:32 PM

you mention you went from Milburnie to Anderson Point in 3 hours and to Poole in 6 when the river was moving fast. What's a typical transit time?

Does anyone know of options further down the Neuse towards Clayton?

7/14/2014 4:46:26 PM

on average around 4 to anderson and then another 2 to poole (but usually my time judgement gets worse and worse as the trip progresses)

7/14/2014 5:07:38 PM

7/14/2014 7:47:48 PM

how would one go about getting a tube or in with a group?

7/14/2014 8:31:56 PM

^ we use the intex river run tubes: http://www.amazon.com/Intex-58825E-River-Run-I/dp/B000PEOMC8/

you can also get them at walmart and dick's, i think...amazon usually has them cheaper (right now, they're $16.49)

what i'm struggling to find is an inner tube that we can put around the cooler so it can float down with us...the inflatable coolers don't keep things cold nearly as long, and so we just throw one of the black tubes around a hard cooler and tie it to someone

the one i have (325/350-16) is too thin, though (it does technically work, but the cooler wobbles and i wouldn't trust it in any kind of rapids): http://www.amazon.com/Kenda-64405228-Motorcycle-Tube-350-16/dp/B0022ZLOJC/

a 17" one would probably be better, but i can't find one that's thicker (so there's more air and stability)...anyone have a suggestion? i don't know how to read the numbers on the tube, either, apparently...i thought 325/350 would be plenty big, but it's a pretty thin tube

[Edited on July 15, 2014 at 8:03 AM. Reason : links]

7/15/2014 7:51:35 AM

i've used a truck tire innertube and rope for coolers

7/15/2014 8:58:33 AM

^ where did you get it?

7/15/2014 9:38:39 AM

we usually have a mix of tubers and rafters (i have a raft) and just carry a cooler at my feet with plenty of room to spare. makes it easy getting more beer. (and keeping your trash collected)

[Edited on July 15, 2014 at 12:57 PM. Reason : ]

7/15/2014 12:57:36 PM