Come celebrate the freezing and/or hibernation of Eastern North Carolina's mass mosquito mob! This week on ETC we're highlighting a few local hiking trails on the water. With the bugs away we head to Emerald Isle - a stretch of sandy beach along the NC Atlantic coast east of New Bern and Jacksonville. 

   Emerald Isle is our local beach. While it's mostly residential with large beach house rentals, there are a few public areas like this one to hike and launch a kayak. Emerald Isle Woods park is close to the bridge onto Emerald Isle and has plenty of parking near the entrance (and some further in). Several short trails crisscross the woods, many leading to a small fishing pier and kayak launch. 

   The kayak launch sits in view of the mainland bridge and offers great paddling in the Bogue Sound. It's a little bit of a walk from the parking lot to the kayak launch and you may want to pull closer to drop off your gear before you park. We are thankful to have our Innova kayaks when we launch from this site - they're easy to carry in a pack to and from the car.
   Emerald Isle Woods is a great place to launch paddling trips heading towards Bear Island and the end of Emerald Isle, along with trips to Swansboro. Currents and wind will have a huge impact on paddling from this spot, as the Bogue Inlet is right around the corner, bringing water from the ocean in and out of the Bogue Sound. Also, the amount of gear you have could be a challenge as the kayak launch isn't right next to the parking lot. That said, the floating kayak launch with rollers (pictured above) is the best and the park is very accessible when you arrive on the island and need a quick hike or paddle.

   ~Paul & Amber       ETC
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   In our continued effort to improve our mutt's sea legs, we regularly take Eleanor on paddles. This time, with Eleanor turning 1, we met up with a few friends and took to the water, launching kayaks from Hammocks Beach State Park, just outside of Swansboro NC.

   Hammocks Beach is a popular kayak/canoe launch in the area. We've paddled from here before, it's got a nice launch and plenty of parking. Rentals are available from the site in the high season. Trips to nearby Bear Island, Emerald Isle, the Swansboro waterfront (i.e. restaurants), & Jones Island are possible - just watch the current, wind, and weather. Conditions change pretty quick this close to the sea, especially in the summer.

    For us, it ended up being a quick paddle (with the puppies and all). Eleanor seems to be getting the hang of it...maybe I should try to get her out on our new little sailboat?

~Paul, Amber, Eleanor, & Friends     ETC

   Since we've been shipwrecked on the rural coastal plain of North Carolina, we've gotten a chance to paddle on waterways near and far. The sense of community is strong here - we love that - and it turns out we have quite a few adventures really close to us, actually in our community. 

   Welcome to Brock's Mill Pond {Brock Pond, Mill Pond, Brock Mill Pond}, located in our beloved Jones County. It's an easily accessible paddle with a historic mill on the property. In this post we'll share a few photos from the water, in our next post we'll take you inside the actual historic mill. Pack up your snake repellent and let's hit the water! 

   Full disclosure here, we saw no snakes on our paddle. Lots of birds, a few fish, and no sign of snakes or alligators (although it is very possible they are here, just keep your eyes open and you'll be fine!). Paddling up the creek (called Crooked Run) from Brock Pond takes you into the wilds just a touch - it can sometimes be tricky to navigate submerged trees, so best to paddle slow. We paddled our amazing Innova inflatable kayak with no worries.

   All & all, a great place to explore via kayak. Parking is limited but free, there isn't an actual dock to launch from but there are worn areas on the shore near the mill where it's easy to put in. There's a gas station and Subway just around the bend in Trenton if you need a bite. You could spend an hour or more on the water, we didn't make it too far upstream before the way became too thick to pass. Make sure to check out our next post where we really step back in time and venture into the actual Brock Mill on the property!

~Paul & Amber   ETC