Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 4, 1993 TAG: 9307040268
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SU CLAUSON-WICKER SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Those who make the long, straight trek up the Delmarva peninsula to Worchester County, Md., are rewarded with mile after mile of "jungle" canoeing on the murky, mysterious Pocomoke River. And for those who seek the ocean, the sandy beaches of upper Assateague Island undulate into the horizon, their tranquility broken only by the calls of seabirds, the whinny of an occasional wild pony and the murmur of small intermittent clots of camping visitors.
Rowing the among the cypress knees of the coffee-colored channels of the Pocomoke River or Corker's Creek, its swampy tributary at the Shad Landing area of Pocomoke River State Park, makes you feel like the ultimate jungle explorer. As you push your way through water lilies and arrowroot, a multitude of frogs drone and pileated woodpeckers shriek overhead. If you're lucky, you glimpse an eagle swooping over the river. A nonpoisonous water snake may coil in the overhanging branches. On a more pleasant note, ornithologists have described the Pocomoke swamp as one of the best environments for bird life on the Atlantic Coast.
The Pocomoke, which flows 55 miles through Maryland before emptying into the Chesapeake Bay, is said to be the nation's deepest river for its width. Its blackish color comes from the tannic acid in cypress roots and the decaying leaves of plants along its banks.
Its history is as deep as the waters. The park has considered offering a ghost storytelling on the lives of the escaped slaves, deserting Union and Confederate soldiers, bootleggers and smugglers who found refuge beneath the vine-covered cypresses along the river.
Camping is permitted along the Pocomoke in the Milburn Landing and Shad Landing areas of the state parks for about $10 a night. Canoes can be rented at Shad Landing and at outfitters in Pocomoke City and Snow Hill. Recreation possibilities at this park include hiking, fishing, horseback riding and hunting, with special trails for handicapped hunting access.
Pocomoke River State Park is located about 10 minutes north of Pocomoke City on Maryland 113. In addition to regular camp nature programs, dances and canoe trips, there are two river festivals during the summer. The Cypress Festival is held the first weekend of summer and includes a canoe race through the park to Pocomoke City. A canoe jousting tournament is held in mid-August in Snow Hill, just north of the park.
For some, bliss is not struggling against water with a pair of paddles, but lying beside a booming surf. On the Atlantic side of Assateague Island National Seashore and State Park, just 35 miles to the north, the crashing waves often expend the energy of about 1,000 pounds of dynamite daily against each linear foot of beach.
Two sections of the Maryland part of Assateague are lifeguard-supervised bathing areas. Mostly, though, Assateague's beauty is in its miles of empty, natural beach dunes where the rustle of shifting sand grains, each a bit of eroded ancient Appalachian Mountains, indicates nature is still rearranging the landscape.
The Chincoteague Bay off Assateague does offer good canoeing. Four canoe-in campsites are located in pine groves along the water. You also may hike into these areas and to three spots of the ocean side of the island (minimum hike four miles). There is no fee for back-country camping, but an entrance fee, good for a week, applies to each vehicle. Drive-in camping is also available.
Surf fishing, surf boarding, shellfishing and shell collecting also are popular activities at Assateague. No saltwater license is required for surf fishing along the coast, and naturalists give surf fishing demonstrations at the Barrier Island Visitors Center all summer. Summer flounder, croaker, striped bass and black and red drums are commonly caught here.
If you're willing to hike a little, you may be rewarded with a glimpse of small Sitka deer, herons, egrets, terns, warblers or other birds. The piping plover, a threatened species, nests at Assateague, but the nesting areas are likely to be protected from visitors.
Most visitors don't consider their visit complete without an encounter with one of the island's famous "wild ponies," actually small horses descended from 17th-century plantation stock. Although the horses have learned to beg and will approach visitors with the finesse of professional panhandlers, they are wild and have been known to deliver a vicious kick, so keep your distance.
The island is home to two separate herds of about 150 horses each, separated by a fence on the Virginia-Maryland border. The Virginia herd is managed by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department and the Maryland herd by the National Park Service.
The Fire Department thins out the population each July in a pony auction; in Maryland, selected mares are injected by dart gun with a serum that temporarily suppresses their fertility. The horses live on beach grasses and, because of their salty diet, drink twice as much fresh water as do domestic horses, giving them a tubby appearance. They have no natural predators or competition on the island. In fact, the only animal you'll see them interacting with is the cattle egret, which sits on the horses' backs picking off flies and ticks.
You can obtain more information about Assateague Island by calling 410-641-2120. Pocomoke River State Park information can be obtained at 410-632-2566.
by CNB