B-FEE ’13 Results
Bayou Fountain Exploratory Expedition 2013
Google Earth: Bayou Fountain Exploratory Expedition 2013
- 4.3 miles from Highland Road Park to Bayou Manchac.
- 24 blockages, most requiring small to moderate effort.
- 3 *MAJOR* blockages (10 yards or more of logjam).
- 1 major litter raft (at blockage #7 from Highland Road Park).
Here we go again
B-FEE ’13
The Bayou Fountain Exploratory Expedition of 2013 launches tomorrow on a mission to collect data (GPS coordinates, photos, maybe video, laser measurements, etc.) on the current state of the bayou.
While we’ve been doing lots of usually last-minute or completely unplanned cleanups (did we mention Canoemaran Mk. II and its trimaran option?), the season of silent cleanups is about to give way to the next big project. B-FEE ’13 is the recon stage, and it launches tomorrow.
Maiden Voyage of the Canoemaran
Since the beginning of Paddle Baton Rouge, we have had but one canoe on our many cleanups. That all changed in time to tie together a paddle train to haul the loo from Bayou Fountain last trip, but the time had come to go even better. It was time to create the Canoemaran.
A Hatchet Job On Bayou Fountain
When we last left Bayou Fountain, this was the scene. One old decrepit portapotty, hereafter referred to as “the loo”, yet remained in Bayou Fountain. The location was mapped, and the condition was noted. The mission was a go.
Welcome to Paddle Baton Rouge!
Sometime soon someone somewhere in Baton Rouge will be asking, “Where can I paddle around Baton Rouge?” The answers they get will vary. Perhaps they will find out about City Park and Greenwood Park, our two BREC parks with paddlecraft rentals. Perhaps they’ll have a friend on Bayou Manchac that would love to have them along. But what if they want something more than a relaxing trip around a small lake, and what if they don’t happen to know anyone with waterfront property? What then?
We believe that any paddler should be able to Paddle Baton Rouge, and more than that, we believe they should enjoy it! In order to further those goals, we have been working on several fronts, primarily Recon, Trailblazing, and Cleanup.
Read more…
Bayou Fountain Recon
It seemed high time to check in on Bayou Fountain, considering we haven’t been there in quite a while. Also, there’s a portapotty somewhere out on the bayou, and it seems it’s about time to mount a recovery operation. For this run, Mike was out of town, but David decided to tag along. We brought the canoe and gear plus his kayak. We put in at the usual launch from the west side of Highland Road Community Park. (The gap in the trees is straight out through left field.) There was newish fill reinforcing the bank, which made it rather steeper than last we were there, but the log in the bayou still makes it the best launch available.
Ward Creek — Cleanup Three
How could we let July go without another cleanup? Well, schedule conflicts, last-minute decisions, and the continued recovery from dental surgery (but only for one of us, thankfully), seemed likely to scuttle the plan. Then Saturday morning, everything fell in to place, and we managed to slip one in just under the wire.
Bayou Manchac A to A — Recon
We had heard various reports about the state of Bayou Manchac with respect to litter, so we decided it was time for a nice recon run up and down the entire navigable length of Bayou Manchac. Basically, a “Bayou Manchac A to Z”, except the two ends are the Amite River and Alligator Bayou, so make that “Bayou Manchac A to A”.
Day At The Park (City Park)
To do cleanups requires plenty of carrying capacity, which my canoe has, but it would have more if I didn’t have to ride in it. I could likely fit somewhere between eight and ten 55-gallon contractor bags in it without me there, but I still have to be somewhere. I *could* tow it with my sit-on-top kayak that I have for scuba diving, but that’s long and large and not very convenient when you’re trying to get to litter piled up against a strainer tree.
What I really needed was a cheap little kayak… so I got my hands on one. I had to try it out, of course, so I headed over to City Park and its environs and gave it a 5.5-mile test run. It certainly feels sluggish compared to a nice, long kayak, and it certainly feels tiny compared to my canoe. Still, I can get right in to the bank, close enough to reach anything I can see, so it’ll certainly prove its worth. The thing’s light as a feather, too… at least compared to my canoe, which weighs twice as much.
Ward Creek — Expedition Two
After Ward Creek Cleanup One, we had a good idea of just what was needed (and where) to open the two blockaded bridges for paddle-through access. With the derelict bridge had been cleared of the vast majority of its litter flotsam, it was high time to open the route. Yet again, I was joined by my good friend Mike, who has now participated in half a dozen Expeditions. We set off from East Harbor yet once again, and off we went toward the first blockaded bridge, Pecue Lane.
PaddleBR 