Distance: 17.51 miles
Participants: Bruce Bodson, Bob Naeger
Water Bodies: Pickett’s Bayou, the Cutoff, Lost River, Little Caney Creek
Bob Naeger
With the Lost River 50 fast approaching (November 23), and my having yet to make a firm decision as to whether I’m in for the 10-mile version or the 50-mile version of the race, Bob Naeger and I went out into the Trinity Delta, west of the main channel, to see the more problematic sections of the proposed 50-mile route. This race is going to start at Cedar Hill Park, cross Lake Charlotte to Lake Pass, run down Lake Pass to the Trinity, go down river to I-10 and then turn around for a 12 miles slog up river to the cutoff at Marks Bend. If you are doing the 10-mile version of the race you turn off into the Sulfur Cut after four miles of upriver slogging, run down Mac Bayou, and cross Lake Charlotte back to Cedar Hill Park. The 50-milers meanwhile run the Cutoff to Pickett’s Bayou, up Pickett’s to Champion Lake, turn around and go back down Pickett’s to the Cutoff go right on the Cutoff through the logjam at the old bridge pilings, down Lost River to Hugo Point Park, back up Lost River to Lost River lake, across the Lake to Little Caney Creek, up that to the Cutoff, then back out the Cutoff to the Trinity, down river to I-10, back up through Lake Pass, across Lake Charlotte and back to Cedar Hill Park. It’s a lot easier navigating than it sounds.
Tubing Causality
Since most of the complicated locations, both in terms of navigating and in terms of potential obstructions are on Pickett’s and the Cutoff, we opted to look at that area for our recon. We put in at the Pickett’s Bayou Boat ramp (CP 2 in the race) and ran down to the Cutoff. We encountered one problematic logjam on that stretch, which we spent about an hour doctoring with loppers to improve navigation. It was still difficult to get through with long boats, but doable.
Once on the Cutoff, we went east toward the Trinity to check out portage paths at the water control structure. To our surprise, it was open and no portage was required. If this is the case for the race, it’s going to be a real time saver.
Banks of the River
From there we went west on the cutoff back to the intersection with a tributary of Lost River. There were two log jams that blocked the Cutoff from bank to bank. The first was a combination log and debris jam, which we forced the boats through, by running over the lighter debris. The second was the larger more persistent jam at the old pilings, right by the intersection with the Lost River tributary. We were able to force our way around that one on river right, with a certain amount of creative log hopping and multi-point turning, without getting out of the boats.
After that, the run down to Lost River and then the run down Little Caney Creek were relatively easy. There were log jams, but all could be either slammed over or maneuvered through. We then returned upstream to our put in ramp. Overall, it was a pleasant run and our speed was sufficient to have kept us on the clock if we were racing.
There was a lot to see in the Delta. Fall birds are there in numbers, which is good, since this is also one of our preferred CBC runs, butterflies were numerous if not overly diverse, and we saw several alligators, a cottonmouth, and lots of large alligator gar.
Now, I just have to decide how hard I want to punch it on the 23rd!