05/10/2012 - Demopolis Vacation (1 of 3)

Vacation Paddle Trip - 3 days/2 nights in Demopolis, AL
Camp and Launch: Foscue Creek Park (US Army Corps of Engineers)
Destination Day 1: Foscue Creek and the lakes on the other side of Tombigbee River across from Foscue Creek Park.
Distance: 10.5 Miles
Weather: Sunny, no wind, 80s during the day, 50s at night. Perfect!
Caution Note: Currents are negligible. Wind can be a factor on the open waters of the Tombigbee River. The real concern is the Submerged Dam downstream and the 40+ foot drop. Avoid it!
GPS Trip Track: To see or download the track of this trip, Click Here.

I found out about Foscue Creek Park through Alabama Scenic River Trail which is using this park as base camp for their upcoming Demopolis-Black Warrior Nature Paddle on May 19-20. Perfect weather prompted me to explore the waters in the Demopolis area, which is about a 3 hour drive from Mobile. Why did I wait so long to kayak in this area?

Header Image is a field of beautiful wildflowers at Foscue Creek Park. The US Army Corps of Engineers deserve two thumbs up for this Park.

Foscue Creek Park is circled in Magenta. I had no idea there were so many backwater areas in the Demopolis area to kayak.

Foscue Creek Park is one beautiful US Army Corps of Engineers Park. I'll be going back! On many of the camp sites you can drag your kayak down a few feet to the water and launch. Nice!

I did not have one of those creek side campsites so I launched at the Foscue Creek Park boat ramp on the grassy shoreline. I understand that paddlers in the ASRT event will get to kayak through the Demopolis Lock and Dam which will lower the kayakers about 44 feet. If you haven't yet gone through a lock and dam in a kayak, sign up soon!

When turtles wave hello it is usually a good sign of friendly wildlife.

I saw more wildlife in this area in one day than I saw in the upper Mobile-Tensaw River Delta all last year. A nutria swims along the water while four great egrets forage for insects on the shoreline vegetation.

A baby nutria runs circles around Mom.

This reminded me a bit of Bayou Jessamine in Baldwin County, except on the banks of this waterway, wildlife foot prints are everywhere.

One cypress tree with an amazing root system.

Demopolis Lakes are teeming with wildlife.

The wildlife is noisy when bolts off across the water.

Pipevine Swallowtail Butterflies were all over the plentiful Water-willow flowers (Justicia americana) that lined many of the shorelines.

Pipevine Swallowtail Butterflies were all over the plentiful Water-willow flowers (Justicia americana) that lined many of the shorelines.

Water-willow close-up.

Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias perennis).

Take time to observe and you will see who is watching you as you paddle along the waterways. Deer have very flexible necks and this one keenly watches my every move even though its body is facing the other way.

A baby duck surfaced next to the kayak and then froze when it saw me. The funny placement of the large duckweed makes it look like a girl duck.

Big movement about a kayak length away on the bank of the narrow creek caught my eye. We surprised the hell out of each other. This large Bobcat was staring me down and crouched like it was ready to leap my way. It was a tense situation which I diffused by splashing water on the Bobcat with the paddle causing it to leap twice to get up the 15 foot high bank and disappear. Whew!

02/05/2012 - St Andrews

Dog River's mosquito traps.

Lovely Dog River

Two inch web strapping caused the death of this tree.

Hunters bait deer using corn making kills easy. Managers say deer need to be shot to keep the numbers down. If there are too many deer, stop feeding them!

Then again, maybe the pelican and the deer had a collision and the pelican cut the deer's head off and broke it's neck at the same time?

The pleasure pursuits of golfing and fishing results in much plastic and styrofoam pollution in the water. It seems leaders don't care if the water gets polluted. This is what I pulled out of the water and off the shoreline today.

10/08/2011 - Phatwater #10 Challenge

Event: Kayak Mississippi's 42 Mile Phatwater Challenge
Launch: Claiborne County Port Facility, northwest of Port Gibson, MS
Destination: Downtown Natchez, MS Boat Ramp
Race Distance: 42 miles (downstream).
Pedal time: 5 hrs, 7 minutes. (average speed of about 8.2 mph)
Weather: Sunny. Waves less than 1 foot. Winds minimal at start and then picking up to about 15 mph with occasional stronger gusts out of the southeast and then south. Downstream current varying 1-5 mph. Temp about 65-75 degrees. Great weather but breezy headwinds slowed down race speeds.
GPS Track: To view or download the GPS track of this trip, Click Here.

Phatwater Race results: Click Here.

Header Image is a photo of participants gathering near the start of the race.

The day before the race involved registration and shuttling the kayak to the launch site. 

There was enough time to get in a nature walk.

Day of the race involved an early morning bus ride to the launch site. I parked along the river in Natchez, MS and watched the moon set under the US 84 bridge that crosses the Mississippi River.

Phatwater participants chat and prepare their canoes and kayaks for the race. There were about 140 racers.

Maggie and Rich pose for a photo before the race. The launch site which can be seen in the background was busy with activity.

A tandem surf ski duo warms up. The same duo that won.

There were 3 SUPs in the race. (Stand Up Paddlers). I had no idea stand up boards could go so fast.

Fifteen seconds into the race, my pedal drive cable broke. Jeeze...talk about bad timing. (Cuss, Cuss, Cuss). It took 1-2 minutes to swap out drive units (I have to carry a spare pedal drive unit because Hobie pedal drive units are prone to breaking). While doing that, everyone passed me so there I starting near last place. (Cuss, Cuss, Cuss). That started me off in a bad mood.

The only photo I took during the race is near the finish line in Natchez. The Natchez boat ramp is barely visible to the right of the boat which is hard to see. For the first 4 hours of the race, I was on track to finish under 5 hours which is something that no pedal boat has ever done. Winds kicked up the last hour and current slowed down. I could not maintain a fast enough speed to finish under 5 hours. Drat! Well, I tried.

Phatwater Challenges sometimes involve a little pain. This is the hands of one of the tandem paddlers who took first place. Note the blisters. Yeow!

After the race, food and partying took place at the Under-The-Hill Saloon in Natchez, MS. Racers can be seen still heading toward the finish line. The kayaks lining the grass are of those who already finished.

Representing the Mobile Bay Canoe and Kayak Club were Rich (left), Maggie (middle) and Rob (right). We were all pleasantly exhausted and feeling a little pain. This was the first time I've done the Phatwater Challenge. It was a well organized event. Thanks Keith!

Yeaaa! Maggie takes home a win and holds her trophy in the left hand.

I also won and took home a nice handcrafted trophy. This is the first time I ever received money for winning a kayak race division. The wooden "X" on the trophy represents the number 10 as this was the 10th annual Phatwater Challenge.

08/16/2011 - Jose Creb Bayou and Bayou Matche

Launch: Cedar Creek Landing east of Movico, AL
Launch Cost: $5
Destination: Exploratory paddle of Jose Creb Bayou and Bayou Matche. I also paddled into Grady Hall Creek and Conrad Creek but was not able to get very far into either one. I found both Bayous to be quite boring in terms of scenery.
Distance: 27 miles (round trip). It is a long trip because there are no launch sites any closer.
Paddle time: 7-1/4 hours
Weather: Slightly foggy at sunrise on a cool morning with temps in the 60s which is unusual for August. However, temps quickly rose 25-30 degrees and it became another hot day in Alabama. Sunny. Neap tides. Minimal (<0.5 mph) current. No waves. 5 mph winds.
GPS Track: To view or download the GPS track of this trip, Click Here.

Header Image is a photo of some small flies on the underside of a mushroom growing from a decaying tree.

Nice cool sunrise on Cedar Creek.

Conditions were about perfect for kayaking today as the nearly full moon sets.

In 2007 the Barry Electric Plant ranked 25th of the top 30 mercury emitting power plants in the United States. This plant seems to be responsible for many of the fish consumption warnings, such as Cold Creek where the public is advised to consume NO fish caught in it because of high levels of mercury found in the fish. The increased risk of Autism is supposedly linked to how close one lives to a power plant. Enjoy your mercury laden Alabama Seafood caught downstream of this plant, and that includes Mobile Bay.

Sensitive Briar (Schrankia microphylla) is an odd plant because if you touch the leaves, they quickly fold up.

Speaking of oddities, check out this slime the size of a softball that was attached to a limb hanging into the water.

Speaking of slimy, in the upper end of Jose Creb Bayou, the water was coated with slime so thick that it trapped bubbles. You can imagine what the sides of the kayak looked like when I got back to the launch site.

There were a lot of blue herons in the bayous.

There were also many turtles out sunning and most were very small.

Tugboat Charlotte Roush was pushing 9 barges down the Mobile River. 

This Coast Guard Cutter, Cimarron (WLR-65502) is classified with River Buoy Tenders (WLR). WLRs push barges equipped with cranes which work Aids To Navigation (ATON). Some are equipped with "jetting" devices which are used to set and anchor buoys in rivers with sandy/muddy bottoms. The remarkable thing about this Coast Guard Cutter is it was commissioned in about 1960 making it 50 years old. Wow! The Coast Guard takes care of its assets and certainly makes the most of them. The captain of this vessel was courteous and slowed down for me. Big kudos to the Coast Guard!

Peek-a-boo, I see you.

I'm seeing less and less big alligators in the Delta and when I do see them now, many are like this alligator on Cedar Creek - dead. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources sanctions the senseless slaughter of big Alligators under the guise of population control because it considers big Alligators as a nuisance to the public. Of course, the byproduct of allowable hunts and the ensuing media sensationalism is the public perception that it is okay to kill the shy reptiles. Scenes like this are sure going to attract eco-tourism (NOT!). Forever Wild = Forever Hunted. There is no safe refuge for animals in the vast Mobile-Tensaw River Delta.