Dave & Sandy in the Hyacinth
Our informal "Out-and-Back" paddle (no close-proximity shuttles) commenced at the Stubblefield Recreation Area campground at 10:00 AM. It was a beautiful sunny day. David Risch led this trip and oriented us with several maps of the area, delineating the course we would be taking. We hauled our boats to the water at the edge of the campground, and launched, heading “upstream” into the meager West Fork of the San Jacinto River. Four fishermen were fishing quite successfully under the damaged bridge (crappie and catfish). We continued on, sighting Great Blue Heron, Great Egret and Kingfishers.
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| Great Egret |
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Great Blue Heron
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We stopped after a short plow through the shore-to-shore hyacinth revealed an endless expanse of more of the same ahead. Turning around we saw the same birds, plus a cormorant and a few turtles.
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Paddling back
through the hyacinth
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The reason for paddling
back through the hyacinth
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Another
Great Blue Heron
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Crossing back under the bridge, we went around the far side of the island across from our launch site. We noted the muted colors of our Texas autumn in several sections of forest. A little more paddling brought us to a point where, taking a peek east, we could look down the multi-colored channel leading to the great waters of Lake Conroe proper.
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| Fall Color |
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Channel to Lake Conroe
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Continuing along the shore of our island, we rounded the southern tip and made our way back north to our take-out.
This was a very nice paddle – one we’ll have to do in March or April next year when the hyacinth has died back and the new spring greens are back.
Here’s where we went:
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| GPS Stats |
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Our Route - more
spread out |
Photo album link: HERE