Ida’s 52 Pickup

Hurricane Ida left a mark, and Bayou Fountain did not escape unscathed.  Over the weekend, with the water back down enough to easily pass under Rackley Bridge, I went for an “adventure paddle” to check out the conditions (and start working to deal with them).  I successfully made it all the way to the litter boom on the upstream side and Bayou Manchac downstream, but there were some issues.

The first fallen tree downstream of the launch was just a few hundred feet down, and it was a fairly large one as seen in the photo.  The second tree was just behind it.  And so it continued all the way down.  How bad was it?  Well, were you ever asked to play the card game “52 Pickup”?

By my count (your results may vary), there were 52 trees down along the 4.5 miles of Bayou Fountain paddle trail.  I’ve started working them from the upstream end so there can be good paddling while I continue, but I only spent four or five hours on cutting so far.  It’ll take a bit more than that to polish everything off… and then there’s the matter of almost another 50 fallen trees or parts thereof that are down in the bayou but not actually obstructing.  I won’t be bored for a while.

While I’ve managed all this time with loppers and an 18″ hand saw, I’m thinking it may be time to add a battery electric chainsaw I can use for the large above-water cuts.  I’ve had single cuts take over half an hour on large-diameter trunks, and there are… more than a few… trees down.  A battery electric chainsaw could be quite helpful for occasional use such as Ida’s leftovers, and it wouldn’t have the drawbacks of a gas-powered saw.  On the other hand, it would cost just a smidge more than a $25 handsaw.  Would anyone, perhaps, be interested if I whipped up some cedar plank paddle maps on my CNC laser and put them up for a “Help Nathaniel pay for a chainsaw” sale?

Well, anyway.  I’ll be heading back out to continue playing Ida’s 52 Pickup on Saturday morning (departing the Highland launch at 8am).  If you happen to be really adventurous and want to join in the fun, there’s plenty of fun to be had.  Otherwise, Bayou Fountain is open for paddling, and I’ll keep working my way through the trees until it’s once again an easy paddle all the way.