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Distance
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26.19 miles
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River Conditions
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6.60 feet (new record low for the date, previous low was 7.52 feet) on the Bryan Gauge at SH 21. Discharge 260 cfs, a new record low flow for the date (previous low was 425 cfs).
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Attendees
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Bruce Bodson, Doug Crum, Doug Fairchild, Constantin Platon, Felicia and Senia Ziegler; a total of six people in five boats.
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| Photo Album |
Brazos River, US 79 to SH 21 |
The crew, at rest stop 2
The stretch of the Brazos between US 79/190 and SH 21 is another of the more scenic stretches on the lower river. It is notable for the high rock bluffs (limestone and sandstone), some up to 50 feet, and the almost unbroken riparian gallery on the high banks. This segment is minimally impacted by oil and gas development, but does have some open dumping from agriculture. Much of the debris we see is old irrigation containment liners. The river through this area also has numerous sweeping bends that channel the water into riffles, while depositing sand and gravel in extensive bars. It would make an excellent segment for more leisurely overnight trips.
High sandstone bluffs along the river
Despite the record low water, we had a relatively easy run this time, with few actual groundings. The configuration of the channel generally put what water there was into a nice navigable channel. Still, it was relatively slow going without the extra current push. We were actually paddling actively for roughly six hours and spent another three hours relaxing in the river. Temperatures in the area were around 97 F and we had only sporadic cloud cover. We also had a pleasant up-channel wind of around 10 mph for much of the day.
Felicia and Senia, on the sand
Other than the large rock bluffs, one of the more interesting geological features on this river segment is the series of large sills across the river, at about mile 22. These sills have a combined drop of about three feet in about 150 yards. The passage through is on extreme –as in rubbing your shoulder on the trees- river left, where there is a channel through. Anywhere else on the river and at these water levels, you ground out pretty abruptly. The channel is little more than a boat width and even those of us who have done this stretch before managed to scrape a rock or two on the right.
The sill, just above SH 21.Person in background has grounded on the rock.
We stopped at mile 6.0, 13.25 and 20. The bars were interesting, and the river felt nice to sit in. Once again, we found quite a number of live Tampico pearly mussels, and numerous old valves from yellow sandshell, threeridge, fragile papershell, Texas fawnsfoot, and bleufer.
Tampico pearly mussel.Lots of live ones in the shallows on this section.
Birds observed included , bald eagles, numerous black and turkey vultures, crested caracara, red-tailed hawk, red-shouldered hawk, great blue heron, little blue heron, green heron, great egret, snowy egret, cattle egret, juvenile yellow-crowned and black-crowned night herons, cliff, northern rough-winged, and barn swallows; purple martin, mourning dove, white-winged dove, barred owl (calling just before we reached the take out), white-eyed vireo, Carolina chickadee, tufted titmouse, bluegray gnatcatcher, belted kingfisher, killdeer, northern parula, northern cardinal, painted bunting, indigo bunting, northern mockingbird, American crow, blue jay, great-tailed grackle, and common grackle. The shorebird migration seems to be starting slowly. We had spotted sandpipers, and several greater yellowlegs. As usual, there were probably a few other things along the river. The crew also saw, several feral hogs, and a few deer.
The put in at US 79/190 is, by Brazos standards, pretty refined. There is a dirt road that goes almost to the river, though we walked the boats down. If you stepped off the bank for mounting up, it was deep mud, so best to employ a side mount from the bank. The take out at SH 21 is not quite so pleasant. The path up is quite steep and a bit slippery, but it was reasonably firm footing to step out on.
Doug Crum, at the take out.
All in all, it was a very pleasant, if a tad long, run on the Brazos. We all finished with enough left to climb up the bank and work the shuttle.
The final statistics!