Turtle Bayou/Albritton Ditch/White’s Bayou
Aug. 30th, 2015
by Natalie Wiest
Next in my lineup of places to paddle when it’s really hot outside, is Turtle Bayou/Albritton Ditch/White’s Bayou again on the east side of Houston and in the Trinity River basin. It is shaded almost its entire length, another leisurely paddle with little or no current and at least four directions you can go from the single putin at White’s Park.
Here’s is Dave’s map of our routes for that day. Note the fourth prong trip would have been downstream on Turtle Bayou to Lake Anahuac.
Dave Kitson, Ann Andrisek, and my daughter Ellen Shipman made this paddle on Sunday, August 30. The putin is on White’s Bayou just as it meets Turtle Bayou.
We paddled from here upstream on Turtle Bayou, making an easterly turn onto Albritton’s Ditch. Not a very euphonious name for a lovely little side tributary. We weren’t the only ones enjoying the lovely morning, these fishermen under the bridge there were having an excellent day even if they weren’t catching more fish than we were. OK, so we weren’t fishing either but any excuse works to get out on the water.
Here is Ann heading up the ditch and into the shade of the big cypress.
We did find a challenge to navigation not too far upstream, slipped under this one but didn’t make it much farther until we were stopped by a much smaller log but in an area that would have made sneaking around it a lot more challenging.
Once we turned around there, we decided to follow Turtle Bayou farther upstream. At our turnaround point there we met a local landowner and crawfish farmer who swapped tales of Indian Trails with Ann, a longtime Anahuac inhabitant.
We returned to White’s Park to refuel. There is a nice picnic table there just up the hill from the boat ramp area. Then the intrepid explorers set off upstream on White’s Bayou. Green herons put in frequent appearances
The marsh mallow (hibiscus) was in bloom
It was a beautiful day to be out on the bayou and back in the woods. Wish you could have been with us too.
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| The author, Natalie Wiest |