04/01/2010 - Bayou Tallapoosa / Bayou Jessamine Loop

Launch: Rice Creek Landing near Stockton, AL

To see or download the Track of this trip, Click Here.

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1) Rice Creek Landing - water levels are finally down - 6 to 7 feet down. Check out the high water line.

2) Waldo? Forget Waldo - see if you can find the dangerous limb hook in this photo that is at face level. Yes, limb hooks sometimes blend in with the environment and are HARD to see. Click here to see the hook highlighted.

3) I hadn't expected to see such a wide variety of color in the trees today.

 4) The foliage was magnificent.

5) Receded waters left the forest floor coated with mud making it easy to spot where critters have been. 

6) Can you figure out what animals left these tracks?

7) Today's route was a loop through Bayou Tallapoosa with stops at Dead Lake Island and Jug Lake platforms. The carpenter bees were horrendous around the platforms so I stayed in the kayak. I also checked to see if the waterways were open to the Chippewa Lakes and Dominic Creek but water levels have to be higher to gain entrance to them.

8) There were about a half dozen snakes that dropped from tree limbs into the water today and in narrow waterways, one needs to pay attention when going near limbs. This harmless water snake, a mere foot away from the kayak, was soaking up some sun on the mud bank.

9) Alligators are not always easy to spot. Today I had to hug the bank to get around quite a few fallen trees. One alligator, high up on the bank and out of view, came crashing down the bank about 5 feet away while I was trying to get around a tree. That woke up me.

10) This is the Two Rivers Point WMA campground. Unfortunately, the metal stairway has shifted out into the water (top railing visible to the left of the kayak) and anyone wanting to camp here now must negotiate the mud bank and the climb could be 4-8 feet high. The root of the tree visible in this photo, is a helpful climbing aid.

11) These little ducks tried to keep up with the Hobie kayak but were no match as it passed them by. They were peeping loudly while mama watched from a distance.

12) An interesting camp site along one of the waterways. Probably a meth lab.