Trinity Loop
April 20th, 2013
by Joe Coker
On Saturday, 4/20/13 Dave Kitson and I did another great, exploratory paddle. The plan was to do the Trinity Loop… up Lake Pass to Lake Charlotte, down into Mud Lake and Ghost Bayou, back across Lake Charlotte to Mac Bayou and return down the Trinity River… approx 12 miles.
It was unseasonably cold Saturday morning at 9:30 when we put in on the west side of the Trinity Bridge. But conditions were great… forecast high in the 70’s, blue skies, light winds and plenty of water (8.5 ft. at the Lake Charlotte gauge). Lake Pass was in its full spring glory. We took our time enjoying the beauty… that stretch arguably being one of the prettiest spots in the Trinity Basin. Half way up we were treated to the site of a big owl silently marking our progress from his perch high above on a cypress branch.
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| Lake Pass spring glory |
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Big owl |
The course was clear and smooth all the way up to the Miller Lake cut where the usual big gator showed his face briefly before sinking down as we passed by. Shortly thereafter, we encountered a fallen tree which had completely blocked our progress a few months ago when the water was lower (7ft.). This time we were able to get over it, but were met with a thick layer of salvinia backed up behind it. (Info here) Clearly no fishermen had been through there in months to clean things out. We slogged ahead almost to Lake Charlotte where
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Tree across channel |
yet another, larger tree had fallen across the channel. This one was too big to get over, but we bushwhacked our way through on the right and managed to barely squeeze under the slightly raised trunk. Consider this obstruction impassable for a normal group paddle at less than about 10 feet of water, unless armed with a good saw and willing to do some serious clearing. (Beware of the gators.) Again, there was a huge, backed-up, thick mat of salvinia to contend with all the rest of the way up to Charlotte. If only someone would totally cut through both those obstructions, all that garbage plant would wash out to Trinity Bay and die. (HCC project?)
It was a relief to finally break out onto the relatively clear water on Lake Charlotte. Although, salvinia traces were evident all the way up the east coast to the Mud Lake cut-through. At that point, there was a slight current flowing from Mud clearly transporting the “plague”. Once we reached Mud, we were surprised to discover that the huge patch of salvinia that had clogged the opening last time had moved away… presumably out into Lake Charlotte and down to Lake Pass. While the water was fairly clear across the north side, it was heavily blanketed with the weed on the southwest end. Ghost Bayou was completely obstructed and impassable.
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Clear water out on
Lake Charlotte
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Mud Lake salvinia
moved away |
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Ghost Bayou
obstructed |
From there we paddled the Mud Lake south shore over to the cut at the southeast end which was fairly clear but also showed signs of infestation. Rarely visited, it’s peaceful and beautiful back in there, so we stopped for a bite to eat in our boats before returning to Lake Charlotte.
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| Mud Lake beauty |
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| Spoonbills |
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Back on Lake Charlotte, we headed west across the lake past Bird Island… completely underwater… no birds except a few cormorants sunning themselves (Info here). In the distance we could see there was some activity at Buzzard Roost so we made our way over there. Nesting activity was light as it’s still early in the year for that rookery. But, beside the usual bunch of egrets, it was nice to see a good number of spoonbills.
The next waypoint was Mac Bayou. The fast-growing stand of willows on Sand Island made it look bigger than ever. Thick cover but interestingly, no birds. Maybe the branches are too vertical? Another Charlotte mystery. As we made our way around to the mouth of Mac Bayou, we expected to see the usual gator sentries. None to be seen. But we knew they were there. Gator Ally, the narrow channel separating Sand Island from the west bank, has become a notable gator breeding area… relatively safe to traverse in the cold of winter but definitely to be avoided at this time of year.
From there we proceeded down the bayou to the Sulfur Cut and out to the Trinity River. Sadly at almost every little strainer along the way, there was a patch of salvinia. At least when it finally reaches the River, it will float to the bay and its demise. The wind was still light out of the northeast so it was pretty easy going… about an hour down to Lake Pass and another 15 minutes to the Bridge. On the way a number of gators gave us the eye but kept their distance. We also were treated to an anhinga (Info here) catching an 8-inch fish, tossing it around at length and finally flipping it up in the air and down the hatch… pretty cool. Was too enthralled to think of pulling out my camera and recording it. Oh well.
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| Down the bayou |
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Trinity River |
We reached the take-out on schedule at around 3:30 and were much relieved to haul our very stiff bodies out of our boats. It had been another epic paddle in the Trinity Basin.
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| The author, Joe Coker |