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.