--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With a very positive weather forecast for the day, I posted a last-minute trip to Champion Lake on the Club calendar, and was quickly joined by six others who wanted to get out to enjoy the day. Alice Nissen, Joe Coker, John Ohrt, David Portz, and Charles and Georgette Falk joined me for a 10 a.m. departure.
The gage at the fishing pier showed 6.1’. The temperature ranged in the 60s to near 70, perfect paddling weather.
The first part of our trip was to check out the new dam. It’s impressive and looks like it will provide good walking access to the trail that follows Pickett’s Bayou and goes down to the Trinity river.
From there we headed up Caney Creek where the red aquatic weed (Azolla?) contrasted with the new spring green of the cypress trees just leafing out.
Par usual for the lake, there was no dry place to get out of our boats to take a break. We enjoyed a floating lunch stop in one of my favorite places, by the #12 site on the duck hunt map that I use for navigation.
Here is Alice relaxing and enjoying her lunch.
We were wondering if we’d see any nesting birds and for a long time it looked like they had abandoned the place. Toward the end of our paddle we saw off in the distance a great rookery of white egrets and herons.
As ever I enjoy the interplay of the shades of gray Spanish moss with the spring green of the cypress.
There are great thickets of young cypress throughout the swamp.
We had our own special Easter lilies.
Only David and I escaped the camera, but here are pictures of our fellow paddlers:
Joe Coker in a pensive moment.
John Ohrt.
Georgette and Charles Falk. I applaud Georgette’s style, nothing better than a kayak paddle to hasten a canoe on its way.
It was a lovely day to be out on the water, wish you could have been there too.
Happy Spring paddling.
Natalie Wiest
The gps plot of our path.
