Hall's Bayou
Nov. 11th, 2013
by Dave Kitson
Natalie Wiest, Kenny Pape and I met at Halls Bayou and FM 2004 for a mid-week trip upstream on this beautiful bayou. Halls Bayou is a trip that the club had not done since I have been a member until Joe, Natalie and I checked it out a couple of months ago but it really should be on the list. It is fairly close to town, has an excellent boat ramp and parking, is well wooded, has several interesting side streams and quite a few birds. It makes an easy 6 to 10 mile out and back trip on calm water. An excellent description including driving directions and maps can be found in Natalie's book.
 |
|
 |
|
 |
| Dave Kitson |
|
Natalie Wiest |
|
Kenny Pape |
When Natalie and I arrived, Kenny was already there and shivering in the cold NNE wind and overcast sky. Pretty soon we were all shivering, even with multiple layers of clothing, and hurrying to get the boats into the water and the protection of the forest along the banks. Once on the river the trees sheltered us from the wind and by the end of the day paddling I was pretty warm. The leaves are turning in this part of the world so we had a little fall color the whole way.
As we paddled up the river we discovered several abandoned motor boats which have been there since Natalie, Joe and I scoped the river out a couple of months ago. I would guess that they washed up there during hurricane Ike and have never been claimed. Some are tied to the bank but others are floating free. Although the area is mostly ranch land, once you have paddled a few hundred yards upstream the forest along the bank becomes pretty dense and there is little evidence of civilization. The flora and fauna here is different to what is normally seen in other spots, more of a hardwood forest with a different group of birds although there are still a few favorites like hawks, great blue herons and even brown pelicans. It is very quiet and peaceful.
We took a left at a tributary about 3 miles from the put-in and went about a quarter-mile to a very nice lunch spot on the north side. There was fairly firm mud here and it was flat so it was easy getting in and out of the boats. After lunch it was time to head back because all three of us wanted to attend the HASK program on paddling Sakhalin Island being given that night back in Houston. The trip ended up at 6.6 miles and 3.5 hours and achieved one of its primary goals, to get Natalie her hundred miles for the year.\
Photos by Natalie Wiest, using Dave's camera. Except for the picture of Natalie, which was taken by Dave.
 |
| The author, Dave Kitson |