Bayou Fountain — February 28, 2015

It was a beautiful morning to be out on Bayou Fountain.  There wasn’t much work we needed to do, and we knocked a bit more off the to do list, too.

We arrived at the park as usual and took our time gearing up.  It was a bit chilly but not too bad (if your hands aren’t wet), and we shortly had everything ready to go at the bank.  I was just about to slide my canoe down to the water when I saw someone park and start walking towards us.  Well, we’re always happy to entertain visitors, so I flipped my PFD back in the boat and walked back out of the trees.

Meeting someone who had been following along on the web site was fun.  He didn’t have a kayak with him (this time), but we showed off the launch facilities (such as they are) and shared some early info on things upcoming (including the now-released PaddleBR Map).  We gave out another magnet and my card, and then we were underway.

It was an easy run down to Bayou Manchac.  There was plenty enough water in the Shallows that we didn’t hit anything, even when Mike paddled right over the shallowest of the shallow spots.  There were no trees down, and while we broke up a few snags, none of them were across the bayou or big enough to present any problems later.  The only “trouble” on the way down was that my fingertips were a bit cold, but even that went away by the time we hit Manchac.

We hit Ascension and turned around just an hour and a half after we left Highland Road Park, which would’ve made for a very short day.  Too short, really, so on the way back upstream, I took advantage of a slight lead on Mike to make a quick stop to saw a log that made a nice arch from the bank into the water.  It had caught too many things, and I figured a quick saw would take care of it.

Well, it was more than that.  Once the arch was cut, we found that the end sticking up out of the water didn’t really care to budge much.  I started rocking it, and after a few moments, we noticed that a log under some overhanging branches all the way on the other side of the bayou was rolling in time.  It was an entire tree trunk, and not a short one at that.  In the end, it took us over an hour (and one bent handle) to winch it around and wedge it along the bank where it can do no more harm.

With the very long log out of the way, we continued upstream back toward the park.  It had turned into a rather pleasant day, and my fingers weren’t a bit cold anymore.  Wet, certainly, from working the pull, but not cold in the least.  We noted that the buds and a few early leaves are starting to show, so we should be springing soon.  The turtles are out in force already (including one who actually stayed on his log long enough to get a photo), but we’re still waiting for more of the warm weather animals to start showing up.

There’s a good chance with all the rain and high water that there will be a good bit of work to do next time, but it was nice to have another easy day before the rain.  We also picked up a milk crate and another bucket for the gear stand.  The buckets come in quite handy as ballast buckets when you’re paddling a tandem boat solo, and carrying a bucket or milk crate to collect a bit of litter while you’re out is always very appreciated (and completely voluntary, of course).  Mostly, the gear stand is just… well… how about a fun interactive sculpture showing off a few still-useful tidbits found on the bayou?

With spring finally springing, we look forward to seeing more people around on the water.  Also, on the March schedule is  a Sunset Paddle with BREC and a paddle trip (details to come) with PaddleBR.  Should be fun.