Lake Charlotte Spring Fest
June 11, 2011
by Joe Coker
Trip Leader: Joe Coker
Participants:
Sophie Lopez, Deborah Duty, Paul Woodcock, Mary Zaborowski, Sharon
Anderson, Henny Haliburton, Becky Brubaker, Tim Garber, David Garber, Jeff
Pyron, John Berlinghoff, Shane Everett, Shanna Everett, Belinda Bracht, Rea
Ingles, Forrest Dunn, Cassidy Johnson, Milton Robertson, Natalie & Ellen Wiest, Michele Zacks, David Risch and Sandy Rushworth
Count: 24 people in 19 boats. 20 members and 4 guests. 13 kayaks and 6 canoes.
Float Plan: 10 Miles. 5 hours. Cedar Hill--- Put-in 9:00am---
Mac Bayou--- Sulfur Cut--- Mac Lake--- Trinity River sand bar lunch--- Mac
Bayou--- Cedar Hill--- Take-out 2:00pm
It was a little after 9:00. Already warming up. The weatherman said a high of 94. Mostly sunny.
Light winds out of the south. The gauge had been pegged at 7 feet for days; it was probably a little lower than
that, but there would be plenty of water where we were going. Charlotte was her normal, sultry self.
We were finally under way…..Me in the lead, Sophie in the middle and Rea bringing up the rear. It
was a great group… record-sized! Our heading was due west to the mouth of Mac Bayou. A lone snow white pelican
marked the spot. Sand Island seemed ever bigger. No perceptible current in the
Bayou. The two sentinel gators who guard the entrance were nowhere to be seen. Probably watching from below!
It was a pretty paddle up the Bayou’s green corridor. All clear except for an old storm remnant
stretching all the way across just barely above the water line. Fortunately there was just enough room on one
side to sneak through.
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Not paddling
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Serene beauty
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Before long, we reached the entrance to the Sulfur Cut and
paddled on in. That is, most of us were paddling! We lingered quite a
while exploring and enjoying the serene beauty.
Then, it was onward to Mac Lake. I feared there might not be enough water to
make it all the way up, but indeed there was plenty. This is one of the most
remote spots in the area, rarely visited because of the shallow water. Thus,
it’s very biologically active and diverse. Hundreds of baby gar skittered
across the surface as our boats disturbed their sunbathing. We paddled to the
very top end and relaxed for a while, taking in nature. A baby gator shared the tranquility.
With tummies starting to grumble, we finally set off for lunch on the Trinity,
enjoying the view down the lake. On the way we ventured into “Secret
Cut”… another rarely visited spot. Unfortunately, due to the low water, it
wasn’t as lush and pretty as usual. Still, Sophie staked out a claim on some
valuable island property!
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Baby gator
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View down the lake
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Sophie's claim
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The Trinity looked big and quiet…no noticeable current. We headed up stream about half
a mile to our picnic spot on the big sand bar. A couple other folks were there
too, but we found a good spot with some shade and settled in. A long
dip in the cool water felt really good! Would have been easy to hang out longer, but the sun was beating
down. Sticking to the planned 2:00 pm take-out seemed right. So homeward bound
it was.
The last leg on the lake was a little choppy, but no
problem. We were off the water on schedule and gobbled some serious watermelon
to celebrate another great paddle on Charlotte!
Paul, Mary, Sharon, Sophie and Milton planned to camp out. We relaxed in the shade of the old
pecan tree… some welcome cold drinks in hand… resting and reminiscing as the
afternoon waned.
Thank you to all who attended…lots of old friends and a bunch of new ones too. You made it a
great day!
Complete photo album: Here
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The author, Joe Coker
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