I decided to paddle to the Indian Mounds this weekend, both to see the mounds and see how accesible Jessamine Bayou was. I arrived at Rice Creek Landing about 10:30, alone and lightly loaded this time. The water levels at Rice Creek were much lower than the last time I was there, but still easy paddling out to Briar Lake. I saw two gator's, one in Briar's Lake and the other at the mouth of Jessamine Bayou, herons, and lot of turtles laying out in the sunshine. Jessamine Bayou itself is a mess, I was out of the boat a half a dozen times before I got to the split for Jug Lake. I was glad I went light, I hauled the kayak over several tree's and even had to swim alongside the boat at one point when it wouldn't float over the debris with me in it (the debris wouldn't support my weight, so in I went).

I figured that given the difficulty of passing through Jessamine, there wouldn't be any gator's around, but about a quarter mile past the Jug Lake split I rounded the corner to find a gator slightly larger than my kayak forcing it's way across the debris pile about fifty feet in front of me. Luckily it was heading away from me and after I shoved my heart back where it belongs and did a little risk-assesment I decided that I didn't give a fig about the Indian Mounds and wouldn't it be nice to see if I could paddle through to the Jug Lake platform and enjoy my cold pizza there?

Well folks, Jug Lake is easily accesible and contains at least two more alligators, one of which is of a decent size and has the disconcerting habit of surfacing in front of you, then swimming along for a few minutes before thrashing around like crazy and disappearing from sight. Cold pizza has never tasted so good. The trip back from Jug Lake was easier than the trip in, the water levels had risen, so several of the logs that I had to carry the kayak over were sufficently submerged for me to glide over them.

All in all, an exciting day. And whoever says "you're lucky if you see an alligator out here..." obviously hasn't paddled alone on through the bayou's.