Girls’ Day Out on the Bayou
May, 2020
by Natalie Wiest
Linda Day and Ann Andrisek wanted to go for a leisurely paddle and I was easily conscripted to join them. More invitations went out, and Alice Nissen and Jacqueline Webster joined us. Daughter Ellen was my captive on the canoe’s front seat.
Our original plan was to paddle Old River, but the ladies balked at the muddy nasty put-in, so Plan B was in place. That would be Champion Lake which is not far from there, but on second (or third) thought, heck, why not Pickett’s Bayou, right next door to Champion, and off we went.
(Click photos to enlarge)
Although the put-in spots for Pickett’s and Champion are hardly 100 yards apart, they are very different in character. Champion is the cypress swamp, and Pickett’s is in the hardwood forest. It is a long slender lake-like bayou for its first mile or more, then goes into a narrower passage through the woods and toward the Cutoff that connects the Trinity and Old Rivers, several miles apart.
Overnight a cool front had come through so we were very happy to have temperatures in the mid 60s as we were putting boats in the water, only reaching a high of 72 by the time we took off. Wind speeds as recorded in Houston averaged 13 mph during the day, not very noticeable from the water surrounded by woodland. The Trinity River gauge in Liberty (08067000) recorded 13,000 cfs and we found these ideal conditions.
Here we are setting off down the bayou.
This is Jacqueline in her sit-on-top.
Alice also went for the sit-on-top style.
Below is Ann, minus the head-net that she carries with her all the time after our previous Champion Lake expedition bedeviled by face gnats. Ann actually donned her netting for part of this trip but thankfully they weren’t too awfully bad.
Linda paddled her beautiful Ice Kap kayak.
And here is Linda with her namesake passage, Linda’s Narrows, at the far end of the lake-like part of the bayou as it squeezes down to a much narrower passage through the woods.
As we approached our turnaround spot near the Cutoff, about 3.25 miles from the put-in, this dire warning sign appeared.
I guess this boater didn’t read the sign, or perhaps he WAS the obstruction.
Our return trip featured a floating lunch-stop and lots of nice side passages to explore.
Ann masked herself for exploration.
I started noticing lots of ripening berries, of unknown variety. I was hopeful they might be mayhaws but alas that is not likely. Next guess, some kind of a privet. So, are they the native swamp privet, or the invasive Chinese privet? Or maybe not a privet at all. Anyone know?
Below is a map of our route which I drew on a Google earth photo to approximate the 6.5 mile paddling distance. This is a nice relaxed day paddle with plenty of shade and shelter from the wind. From previous trips I know water level is important too – the area from Linda’s Narrows toward the Cutoff can get a lot of current in it. It’s easy going in one direction, but not so much in the other. It was perfect this day.
The only sour note of the day was the insistence of the ranger at the takeout as we were loading our boats and preparing to leave. He said “no one is complaining, I’m just letting you know” that we could not stay there. I was standing on my ladder fastening the canoe to the roof of my van so surely it was obvious we were not parking there, and there are plenty of signs reminding folks to not do that. As we were totally ready to pull out, two trucks pulling motorboats on trailers arrived, starting to back down to the ramp. The ranger was directly behind them and I suspect his message would have been unfriendly had we not leapt in our cars to depart. Oh well, it was only a blip on the radar on a very nice day on the water. It’s a lovely place to paddle, just don’t even think about leaving cars near the boat ramp.
And here is my captive canoe partner, not a care in the world and just happy to be on the water. Thanks to Linda Day for the photo:
Natalie Wiest
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The author, Natalie Wiest |