Paddle Bayou Heron

I decided to join up with the Pascagoula Paradise Paddlers club paddle in their Bayou Heron Paddle today. The mostly defunct Mobile Bay Canoe and Kayak Club rarely has paddles anymore.

Paddle trip track. Launch site shown as a red star on the map. Trip length was about 6-7 miles overall.

A recent fire burnt some shoreline areas along Bayou Heron. I wonder if fire killed these little shoreline clams.

The launch site is at the end of the Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge road that dead ends into Bayou Heron.

The brown pine trees on the left are the result of the recent fire.

Nice spring day. Some folks were wearing shorts and had bare feet.

We went about 1 mile north until the creek got too narrow to continue, then turned around.

Then we headed south past the launch site paddling for another 2 miles. The shoreline scenery was monopolized by salt marsh grasses.

Not much wildlife visible. When there are dozens of paddlers on the water wildlife tends to hide. The only animals I saw were in kayaks and a couple of them were not too happy. This doggie seemed to be happy though.

Turn around point was where Bayou Heron empties into the Gulf of Mexico or as some prefer to say the Mississippi Sound. Technically it is Grand Bay. It is where the waves start getting bigger.

This was an excellent paddle with a good paddle club. The No-See-Ums unfortunately made their presence known by sinking their little suction drills into the flesh. 

08/12/2012 - One Mile Creek and Maple Street Canal - Mobile Octo-Morons

Header Image - a photo of what it is like to kayak in one of Mayor Scum Jones' urban creeks located in Billy Boy Carroll's district. Yes, I am giving nicknames to city officials because - look at the photos - they deserve it! In reality, city officials should be facing jail terms for this pollution, not name jesting.

Today was the Octo-moron paddle. It has been EIGHT months since I complained to the City of Mobile about the litter in their Maple Street Canal. The MORONS have not done a single thing to remove this garbage. I'm serious - this garbage is sickening. John Scumbell should be fired.

Here is a view of City of Mobile Property (R022906151000001.) Apparently the wheeling and dealing City of Mobile officials do not care about their waterfront property. Scumball Jones is allowing Mobile waterways to become public landfills and ADEM has their head up someone's rectum because they are blind to this crappy mess.

One Mile Creek and all the adjacent properties are as polluted as Maple Street Canal.

The Mayor of Mobile, the Mobile City Council, City and County Public Works, Alabama Marine Police, United States Coast Guard, United States Fish and Wildlife, Alabama Department of Environmental Management, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Corps of Engineers, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Keep Mobile Beautiful, City of Mobile Urban Development Safety Unit, Mobile County Department of Environmental Enforcement, Mobile County Health Department, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and many local environmental groups - you all know about this pollution and you all should all hang your head in shame for allowing this garbage to continue to rot along the shoreline and in the water. 

Not a single person removes the public's garbage from these waterways? WTF is wrong with all of you?

A heron in One Mile Creek. The majority of garbage is behind the weeds and on the shorelines.

Maple Street Canal. If this is the public's trash and the public has no one removing it, then the public is retarded for polluting its own water. Anarchy can't be far behind when a society craps in its own water and chooses to leave it there to rot. Enjoy your Alabama Seafood seasoned with aroma de poop and coated with chemical da BPA.

It is funny to see the Apple Snail population increasing with thanks to a City of Mobile garbage can that has been laying in this creek for almost a year.

Maple Street Canal Apple Snail laid eggs on a twig. Apple Snails in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta should not be a concern because it is evident that officials don't give a rat's ass about the health of area waterways.

An alligator in Three Mile Creek where it looks like herbicide had been used to kill shoreline vegetation.

A turtle drying out its dirt caked shell next to a garbage bag look-a-like.

Lake Drive Tricentennial Park overflowing garbage can contributing to the litter in Three Mile Creek. The Mayor's strict litter enforcement should begin with the City Parks department. Unfortunately, much of the litter problem is the result declining levels of city services that your tax dollars pay for. Public Works does less and you pay more.

02/07/2009 – Bayou Heron – Bangs Lake

Launch: Bayou Heron, Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Cost: Free.
Route: Down Bayou Heron, southeast across Middle Bay and the North Rigolets, west across Point Aux Chenes Bay, through Bangs Bayou, into Bangs Lake and back. Then up Bayou Heron about 1.5 miles and back.
Distance: Approx 21 miles
Average Speed: 3.2 mph.Pace: Leisurely to Moderate.
Weather: Sunny, 50 degrees, low tide, and winds less than 5 mph at the start. By the afternoon, temperature was 62 degrees, but winds picked up to 15 mph out of the southeast.

Today’s destination was Bangs Lake, a lake that has suffered from toxic releases from nearby industries. Visit the following links to read more on the history on Bangs Lake. Spill. Phosphate. Photolib. Noaa. I wanted to see first hand the condition of the lake now. Anyone considering visiting this area should map their route out on a GPS before going.

1) Sunrise at Bayou Heron boat ramp.

2) Headed south down Bayou Heron.

3) Not sure what this raccoon was hunting for in the mud flats at low tide, but it looked miserable.

4) Fishing early in the morning.

5) Ducks, Pelicans, Osprey, and Herons were abundant in and all around Bang Lake.

6) The stacks in the background belong to the Chevron refinery.

7) White pelicans headed off shore. Pelicans eat about 3 pounds of fish per day and will fly up to about 100 miles for a meal.

8) The kayak got too close so this duck trotted off.

9) Water in Bang Lake was pretty clear.

10) This is what upper Bayou Heron looks like – pineland forest. Two otters scared the crap of me as they came crashing through grasses and popped out beside the kayak, then slid into the water and disappeared leaving a trail of bubbles.