“All good things are wild and free.”
Henry David Thoreau
American alligator close up through scope
Truth be told, I’d be lying a little bit if I said I was overly ecstatic to share this trip. Cahooque Creek is one of my favorite spots. It is a little frequented area of the Croatan National Forest well off the beaten path yet right across the water fro Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. Not many people know about it, and I would like to keep it that way… so let’s keep this between just you and me.
Hancock Creek heading towards Cahooque Creek on the right
Technically, the boat ramp is actually on Hancock Creek, the larger river that borders MCAS Cherry Point and flows to the Nuese River not too far away. Cahooque Creek meets with Hancock Creek a couple hundred yards to the right of the boat ramp. Greeting us upon our arrival was a curious but cautious alligator. Alligator slides are a common sight on the shores of Hancock and Cahooque Creeks.
Heading up Cahooque Creek as it begins to narrow
Our mission for this trip was bird watching. Well, sort of. This paddle was truly a scouting trip looking for potential spots to jump shoot ducks this coming winter. Duck season was a few months away, but we wanted to get a lay of the land, and the water, and see what sort of wildlife was moving about. Although we didn’t expect to see any ducks, Cahooque Creek rarely disappoints when it comes to birds.
Further up the creek, surrounded by National Forest on both sides
We slipped our craft, an Old Town Discovery 13 ironically colored in a sort of alligator green, into the tannin stained waters of Hancock Creek while keeping a mindful eye for alligators or snakes. The boat ramp is an excellent paved structure with a small gravel parking lot and available pit toilets. In my comings and goings from Cahooque Creek I have always found this area to be very lightly used. On this particular day there was only one other truck in the parking lot with a trailer attached, indicating a motor boat was somewhere about but we did not see another single soul our entire trip. Any time I have nature to myself, I am thankful.
A perfect (but hot) day for a paddle
My last trip on the creek was in the spring time. It must have been gar fish spawning season. I was paddling a kayak at the time and in the clear spring time water I spotted gar upon gar aggressive defending spawning beds. They even went so far as to leap from the water from time to time. One leaped clear over the bow of the kayak. On this trip the water had near zero visibility. I didn’t see any clear indication of fish except for the occasional jumping mullet in Hancock Creek.
American alligator in Hancock Creek
We did see our fair share of birds. We saw Harriers. Well, the Marine Corp jet, not the bird (Marine Core Air Station Cherry Point is located just on the other side of Hancock Creek, which sometimes makes for a noisy unnatural environment, but a necessity none the less). But as far as actual avian species, ospreys (the actual bird, NOT the Marine Corp. plane) abound in this area. They are truly majestic as they put on a fish catching clinic on the surrounding waters. We did manage to flush one duck, a hen mallard, as we came around a bend in the creek. The birding highlight of the day for me was an absolute gorgeous specimen of Green Heron, by far the most colorful of the herons.
In all the paddle took us a few hours at a fairly leisurely pace. It could be drawn out into a daylong adventure if one was so inclined, but we had other spots to check out this particular day. Cahooque Creek is a place that is wild, and where I feel free. I will be back, Cahooque Creek.
For more information of the Cahooque Creek site, visit Croatan National Forest.
This entry is dedicated to Brian Matsumoto.
Heading back out – Cahooque Creek meeting back up with Hancock Creek
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