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New River Field Guide

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Tubing season has begun again, and here's the early report: Surf's down, snake's up.

It's one thing to climb into a river when you know there are probably snakes around.

It's another thing to do it when you've just seen a snake nearby.

But it takes bravery, madness or maybe just high temperatures to make you get in the river while a snake is sitting there with its head sticking above the surface, presumably watching you. Watching you leave land to become a graceless wader. Watching you enter its territory, where it can swim like a streak of lightning and bite like one, too.

Ah, but none of that happened. The snake let me share its river. And so did the fish, who seem to be quite unconcerned about me this year, letting me drift among them on my inner tube.

Drifting seems to be about all I'll be doing this year. The water is low, low, low. Those wild rides may be a thing of the past, at least on this stretch of the North Fork of the Roanoke River, which has several public access points along North Fork Road in eastern Montgomery County. In fact, most rides have followed this pattern: drift, paddle back upstream, repeat. But there's nothing wrong with that, folks. As long as your rear end is getting cooled down, there's no wrong way to do it. And for kids, a short trip in a shallow river may be just right.

For some reason, the water seems to be amazingly clear this year. I'm not above tubing in muddy murk, but I much prefer being able to glide along and see the river bed, the piles of pebbles and the fish -- but I hope not the snake.

Bottom line: A bit of river or creek, a cheap plastic tube and some old shoes are all you need to commune with nature and cool off at the same time.