Washington Grist Mill to Ferry Point

This post is catching up from an earlier paddle.

The Washington Grist Mill and Distillery along Mt Vernon Memorial Highway used to have street parking and a put-in on either side of the road.  Since the bridge was rebuilt, this has all changed.  I parked at the Grist Mill itself and walked the canoe down a short ways down the path to the bridge. This worked fine.  The put-in is a nice grassy area and stepping over the edge of a short embankment that is popular with fishermen.

The creek starts as dirty water, but starts directly in forested area and a low bridge.  The paddle develops along a wider marsh area and winds past the Ft Belvoir Marina ($10 for a car-top put-in).  Paddling father east enters Dogue Creek that widens quickly into the Potomac River.  It was very windy this day, so pushing out toward the open Potomac was a gamble, before turning around at roughly Ferry Point.  

 
 
This was the first time taking the Snowshoe 12 into "open water" where capsizing would have been a real problem.  The canoe is not really meant for this much thrashing.  It was sporty.  A picture does not do this justice.  Back to the safety of flat water Dogue creek should show the contrast.
 

There are many MONSTER houses along Yacht Haven and toward Ferry Point.  Zillow lists several of those properties well into the $5M and up.  As a short rant, people spend a crazy amount of money to live on the water, and yet are probably rarely home to enjoy it.  My little canoe cost me maybe $250 to build, and another $500 for the roof rack and straps for transportation.  Comparing that cost to the literal millions for a house with waterfont, and multiple hundred-thousands for a dock and power-boat, I'll gladly retire early rather than spend my life paying an impossible mortgage ... I can still awe in how pretty their houses are though!

I paddled for about an hour on a 4.0mi round-trip for roughly a 2mph average speed.  It was May, so weather of low 70's and low humidity was quite excellent.

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