Bayou Fountain — May 9, 2015

Last week, we handled quite a bit that had washed down from the big storm.  This time around, all we had were leftovers.

After the sunset paddle with BREC Outdoor Adventure, Saturday morning came early this week.  With no major storm since last time, however, we were expecting a relatively straightforward day.  (And with Mike spending the day working on a Habitat for Humanity build, a relaxing trip was certainly welcome.)  If the actual on-the-water time was perhaps 8:15am instead of our customary 8am, I don’t believe I heard any complaints.

We considered it a given that there would be leftovers to work this week as everything settled down from the big storm, and Bayou Fountain did not disappoint.  In several locations along the bayou, we found trees that had been completely hidden by the still high water last week.  Fortunately, there weren’t too many treebergs to tame, but there were a few.

After the big storm, we had expected more fresh catches in the bottom two miles of the bayou.  There really weren’t many last time, but as things have settled, a few small catches had developed over the week.  None of them were too difficult to paddle through, and sawing up a few key logs (and parting submerged branches into twigs) took care of what was there.  While there wasn’t very much of any current at all, what little there was was just sufficient to carry the pieces along once they were taken care of.

The mosquitoes and gnats were once again out in spades.  All the standing water still present from the big storm and subsequent rains has provided what must be a nearly optimal environment for breeding clouds of the annoying insects.  While I did not count a single bite, the sheer numbers of flying insects at some points along the bayou made me wish I had a head net… or a nice mosquito-clearing shower.  Alas, while there was a refreshing little sprinkle (not even a full drizzle) for a few minutes on the way back upstream, it was not enough to knock down the cloud.  At least DEET works.

On the way back to the park, the one remaining narrow tree in the bayou quickly succumbed to loppers and saw, and with it out of the way, all that’s left is the remaining flotsam around Rackley Bridge.  It’s not blocking the way, but there are still logs and trunks that need to be cut up or otherwise dealt with.  A little trim and some quick cuts was enough for this week, and we’ll put in some more time later.  Everything is passable, and no obstructions remained on the paddle trail.

Getting off the bayou and to the relatively mosquito-free parking lot to load up was quite welcome by the time the day was done.  With the gear loaded up and the canoes on the trailer, it was about time to roll out when I spied movement in the parking lot under the canoe trailer.  Sure enough, there was this guy casually moseying along.  He must have stowed away in the canoe somewhere (which is completely plausible considering how dirty a working canoe gets when you’re hauling logs across to meter off).

I gave him (and a fingernail-sized buddy of his) a ride back to the bayou, and with that, it was time to go home and get ready for The Backpacker’s demo day Sunday, and that’s another post.