04/22/2012 - Bayou Tallapoosa

Header Image is a photo of a water snake sticking out its forked tongue.

The amazing hugging tree in Rice Creek.

Rice Creek has some impressive Cypress Trees.

Bayou Tallapoosa was difficult to paddle today due to a half a dozen obstacles blocking the waterway. It is tricky to get out on a log, balance, lift the kayak, swing it over onto the other side, and get back in.

This species of turtle (Black-Knobbed Sawback Turtle) has unique markings on the top of its head so it appears it is looking at you even though it is looking in the opposite direction. For another view of this species, CLICK HERE.

A coot standing guard at the entrance to Bayou Tallapoosa.

Sometimes loud noises along the creek bank turn out to be squirrels. It is very quiet up in Bayou Tallapoosa as it is far from civilization.

The tracks here indicate a big alligator had recently climbed the bank.

Where there are alligator tracks, there are alligators.

When you're gliding along the shoreline going under limbs, be aware that snakes like to climb in those shoreline limbs.

Most snakes are harmless though, like this water snake. Look closely at its eye and you can see the reflection of my kayak. Yes, I was close. Snakes with round eyes are not poisonous though.

I ran into Capt. Mike who leads kayaking trips for 5-Rivers Delta Safaris. He was coming back from the Indian Mounds which was inaccessible due to the trail being too wet. Water was actually draining out of Dominic Creek into the Tensaw River.

The group of kayakers Capt. Mike was leading was having too much fun. It was a birthday party. What a great way to celebrate a birthday!

The Bartram Trail Canoe and Kayak platforms are still like new. That goes to show you how respectful boaters and other people are in this area.

 A fishing spider was the welcoming committee at the platform.

I paddled to the Two Rivers campground to see what its condition was like. It is a steep climb and expect to get a little muddy. There is a rope to help you get up the bank.

A houseboat on the backwaters in the Delta. People don't usually mess with anyone's fishing and hunting camps in the Delta and if they do and get caught, they are likely to get shot.

A yellow warbler near a vine of Poison Ivy.

I also saw Bob who runs Sunshine Canoes today. He was suppose to be leading a Bartram Trail paddle for Alabama Scenic River Trail in this area today but it was canceled due to a large tree that fell blocking Bayou Jessamine. Water levels were low today - it was easy to go under that tree. Bayou Jessamine and Bayou Tallapoosa both need some chain saw work done on them to make them navigable at all water levels.

Seeds were coating the surface of the water in some areas making it look white like snow.

Happy Birthday Earth!

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.

Header Image

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.

04/18/2009 - Bayou Jessamine

Launch: Rice Creek
Route: Over to Bayou Jessamine and Jug Lake Platform and back.
Pace: Leisurely.
Weather: Partly Cloudy 65-70 degrees, occasional wind, incoming tide, and minor flooding.

1) Started out in a light sprinkle and thunder. Twenty minutes later the sun was out.

2) Water level was still high enough that padding through the woods was possible in some areas.

3) Because of the high water, there were a lot of snakes on limbs and logs today.

4) Here is another snake.

5) Saw a couple of swallow-tail kites. They were skimming and hitting the water.

6) I searched for the big bald cypress off Bayou Jessamine and didn't find it. Ran into Daniel on my way to the Jug Lake platform. He had searched for the big cypress and didn't find it either. We pooled our knowledge and together, we found it. Here is Daniel looking at a big spider on the big state champion Bald Cypress tree.

7) An unusual looking beetle.

8) One of the shells on the big cypress tree was moving.

9) The texture of decay.

10) The rootball of a tree that had fallen over took on the appearance of a bison or something mean looking.

11) Another look at the Alabama State Champion Bald Cypress Tree

06/18/2006 – Bayou Tallapoosa

Launch: Rice Creek which is about 4 miles north of I-65 and northwest of Stockton. Launch Cost: Free. Route: Rice Creek to the Dead Lake platforms, then west on Bayou Tallapoosa to Tensaw River. Then south on Tensaw to Two Rivers WMA campground, then east a short distance to Bottle Creek, then south to Bayou Jessamine, then to the Jug Lake platform, then back to the Rice Creek launch site. Distance: 19 miles round trip. Average Speed: 3.0 mph. Time: Approx 6.5 hrs. Pace: Slow. Weather: A little bit steamy in the morning again, sunny until about 10:00 am when it started clouding up keeping the temps more tolerable. Tide was low and the rivers were lower than normal, very little in way of current. Deer Flies (Yellow Flies) persistantly buzzed me but rarely tried to bite.

(1) Above left. The sun starts lighting the day on Briar Lake. (2) Above right. Later in the afternoon, after exiting Bayou Jassamine, the clouds start taking on more serious characteristics. I drove through a little rain storm ten minutes after leaving Rice Creek. Good timing!

(3) Above left. Having not seen these Dead Lake platforms since before last year’s hurricanes, it was a surprise to see them still standing. It was even more surprising to see the platforms still looking almost new. (4) Above right. This is the typical scene for Bayou Tallapoosa and Bayou Jessamine. Both are relatively narrow with mud banks and have plenty of fallen trees to navigate around. I had to do one portage on Bayou Jessamine.

(5) Above left. To be in a narrow bayou with banks high enough that you can’t see what may be standing 10 feet into the woods leaves me on edge, expecially in Bayou Tallapoosa and Bayou Jessamine. Things seem more alive in these areas. The signs of life are all over the mud banks so you will never know what you might see. These look like racoon tracks. (6) Above right. I didn’t see any big ones today, but because of tracks like these, I know there are some gators around.

(7) Above left. Also surprising was Two Rivers campground was still intact and accessible. It is a great place to get out and stretch the legs. (8) Above right. Swamp Mallow flowers were abundant.

(9) Above left. I also checked out Jug Lake platform and took a break there. (10) Above right. One of the things I like about kayaking in Rice Creek and Jug Lake are the cypress trees. A photomerge isn’t even able to capture the immensity of this cypress tree base.

(11) Above left. This is the Rice Creek landing. Launching here when it is dark in the morning is an experience. (12) Above right. Some butterflies laying eggs next to the launch site. If you have never been through Bayou Tallapoosa, I highly recommend it. There is a sandy beach and solid land to get out on where Bayou Tallapoosa (west side) meets the Tensaw River.