All I could hear was the gentle splash of paddles and oars coming and going into the water. The river itself was quiet, and there were occasional groans as I cheated on the rocks and rapped my kayak. The waterfowl slid close to us, and the watersnake slipped off. Bald Eagle – Lots! – Surged to the tree and swooped.
Just hours from my home in Brooklyn, it was hard to believe this was the Delaware River.
I live relatively close, but in addition to George Washington crossing it in 1776, I didn't know much about Delaware.
The weekly paddling expedition each year covers approximately 80 miles of the river main stem, with different sections each year. Participants were on a trip in 2025, which marked the 30th anniversary of the event, and I did three days, all the way to Worthington State Forest, Pennsylvania). (Registration has started.)
Stays can inflate to over 100 paddlers per day, ranging from experienced kayakers to first timers. Approximately 16 members of the National Canoe Safety Patrol (volunteers trained in emergency and rapid water rescue) ensure that everyone tracks the protocols through Class I or II rapids from time to time and pilots the paddler.
Faced with a camp challenge
I paddled with my mother with a young boy in a tandem kayak and a group of rough teenagers lobed each other's form football. I chatted with Lois Burmeister, a 76-year-old Sojourn Steering Committee member and 12-year-old grandson, a 76-year-old retired school administrator, Ed McLaughlin, who was obsessed with several trips after a Schuylkill River Sojourn.
“On the third day, I thought I was going to die,” said McLaughlin, who became serious about his retired kayak. “But there's something about being on the water and paddling. I can't explain that.”
The joy of being in the most friendly Armada was certainly contagious. “A lot of people don't have people paddle, so this is an opportunity for them to do it — and they can do it safely,” said Jackie Wagner, who oversees water safety for their stay. “And that's a good place to learn.”
I've been paddles before and looked forward to traveling 10-13 miles a day in Delaware. What surprised me was the camp: Sojourn's website lists accommodations within 30 minutes of the launch, but the community formed by the camp is a big part of the trip. And I never did it.
To avoid being embarrassed on my first night, I practiced standing up my brand new $60 Coleman tent in my little living room and folded it back into that bag. I was ready when I arrived at my first site on the grounds of the Zeengray Museum in Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania.
The Sojourn includes two to three meals a day, serving cafeteria style at a communal table. The registration fee is a rather affordable $100, as it is probably operated by a nonprofit organization, and includes boat rentals along with campsites, transportation between campsites and launches, and paddles and personal buoyancy devices.
“We were able to do this ourselves,” said Victoria Hennessy, 59, the first timer for the stay. “But we have to do all the food. In addition to registering and gas, I'm not spending a penny.”
Participants will stay at each site for several days to avoid packaging and unpacking each night. The 2025 edition divides time into two campsites, Equinanc and Pennsylvania on Mount Bethel. The organization also has years of connection with experience in the northeastern wilderness handling boat rentals, but residents are ferried to the river and returned to camp by bus.
It's all about the river
But in the end, it all revolves around the free-flowing Delaware, the longest unam river east of Mississippi, passing through the corridors adjacent to New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. When we weren't involved in it, we talked about it, lunch and sometimes dinner, in relation to the history of the river and the surrounding communities.
The joint efforts have helped wipe out Delaware for decades. For example, the dead fish I discovered a floating belly was actually a good sign. They were American shads. This species is produced when it returns to the river that was born from the sea. For decades leading up to the 20th century, the forks in Philadelphia were so polluted that the fish were unable to travel upstream.
However, thanks to state and federal efforts, water quality has been greatly improved for the benefit of everyone, including Shad. “If they're there and you see them dead, it means they're back, they're doing their job and being part of a natural cycle,” said Kate Schmidt, a communications specialist for the Delaware River Basin Committee, which was established in 1961 to coordinate better coordination, development and regulation issues between the four states and the federal government.
A longtime supporter of the stay, DRBC is particularly excited as Delaware was chosen as the Pennsylvania River in 2025.
For the time of stay
When Snaphus delayed his morning departure for a few hours, I had plenty of time to relax and bask in Delaware's glory. Everyone waited patiently and chatted in the sun. When we finally started, the headwind picked up, turning the expected easy 10-mile paddle into lunch and an unexpected workout. But we all got there and jumped at the food waiting for us.
“There's an expression in which we all use “Sojourn Time.” Explain how we all just enter a ditch and go with the flow. “Nothing exactly happens on the schedule. There are a lot of attractive variables. So everyone just goes back and lives in that moment.”
