Well, I finally got around to making a trip out to the Canal Island platform. After doing all the neccesary shopping, I packed up the boat and supplies and headed for Upper Bryant Landing. Thursday was a classic spring day in the south...hot, but with blue skies and a light breeze, and the water in the river was pleasantly cool. This was my first trip heading up the river from Bryant's Landing, and my first interesting discovery was that the river had broken through one of it's bends sometime after my map was made...I still made the whole loop instead of taking the river's natural course, but I suspect that a few years from now the old path will have silted up completely. Currently, only canoes and kayaks can make it through the old way. It was a great trip for watching wildlife. On the way out, I saw Great Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets, and a couple Swallow-tailed Kites. The gator count came out to four, two on the way in, and two on the way out (although I suspect one of the ones I saw on the way out was one I'd seen the previous day. As always, it's funny to watch the turtles making heroic leaps off the high logs where they sun themselves when I approach. Unfortunatly, I found one that looked as if it had been hit by a boat propeller while coming to the surface.

The current was with me through Tensaw Lake and Big Beaver Creek, and althoug it slowed down near Bear Creek, the approach to Canal Island platform was pretty easy and I passed under some neat arches on the way through Canal Lake. I arrived at the platform a little after 5 and made camp while I still had some daylight. This is where I discovered that I had forgotten to bring a pot for boiling water! This meant no tasty freeze-dried dinner, nor coffee in the morning. Luckily, I had bought an enamel camping mug at Wal-Mart on a whim that day. I was able to hold it over the stove to boil water and enjoyed a good meal from Oregon Freeze-dried Foods...losing only the skin on my fingertips to minor burns. Worth it though. I also discovered that my hammock, which worked flawlessly at the Dead Lake Island Platform, failed me at Canal Island. I hopped in after dark, only to find it sliding down the posts to the floor of the platform. Not the end of the world, it functions like a tent at that point, but not as comfortable as it is when suspended. It was a very loud night out in the woods...two owls were hooting at each other, something else was making loud grunting calls, and the fish were jumping like crazy (probably a result of the full moon). I was splashed several times by fish leaping next to the platform. I saw a lot of fireflys too, which I haven't seen in years.

If the water was high enough when I woke up, I had planned to paddle in a large circle, going back by way of Stiggins Lake, through Lake Slough back to the Tensaw river, then taking the shortcut through Tallapoosa Bayou back towards Upper Bryant Landing. However, I woke up to extremely low water and had to return the way I came in. The water was so low, I actually had trouble paddling back out from the Platform to the main waterways. I heard thunder regularly from the time I made my cup of coffee until I hit the water. A series of ominous clouds rolled through as I approached Tensaw Lake, and I was hit by a couple small showers. I elected to make a run straight for Upper Bryant as the forecast I had heard before I left called for thunderstorms and rain in the afternoon, and it looked as if it was going to be early. That turned out to be the right decision. I got back a little after 11, having paddled a little over 16 miles (~8 out, ~8 back), and packed up the car. Shortly after I hit the road, the rain hit pretty hard...the typical deluge that reduces visibility to zero and leaves the roads steaming.

All in all, it was a great trip, thanks especially to that enamel cup that saved me from having to survive on a squished banana and a couple granola bars!

More Canal Island Pictures

Magnolia River Miasma

I had some new kit from NorthWater that I wanted to try out today, so I headed off to the Magnolia River as part 2 of my exploration of the Weeks Bay estuarine area. Looking at the topo's, I figured I'd be able to make it about six miles up the river before it shrunk down to creek size. I arrived at the boat ramp at the mouth of the bay accompanied by perfect paddling weather... a lot like Hawaii actually, warm and a little breezy. On the water, it turned out to be a lot breezy with 20+ just off the boat ramp where it seems to funnel in from somewhere. Setting off, I had the paddle gripped almost to the blade on the left side so I could sweep stroke the right and try to stop the boat whipping into wind. Luckily, the shelter of the river is only about a 1/2 mile from the ramp, and from there it was a relatively easy paddle with only occasional strong head winds where there were breaks in the trees. The houses down by the river didn't seem especially affected by last year's hurricanes, particularly as I moved deeper into the river. I shot by the first four or five miles pretty quickly. There was a lot of bird life sheltering in the river from the stronger winds on the bay, and a lot of fish jumping. I met Danny Smith, who attended the club meeting last week, as I passed by the bridge...we chatted for a while about kayaking and good put-ins before I continued up the river. Upriver of the bridge is where the Magnolia River really shines. Once you are past the houses, the river twists and turns, and becomes very sandy and clear (gin clear is the operative expression, I think). There looks to be some construction going on, I had to paddle through a little smoke from some sort of slash and burn operation, so I recommend hitting the river before it becomes further subdivided. However, for now it is pretty peaceful in the uppermost mile or so and it is a really nice little paddle. You could probably launch from the bridge and paddle that upper mile or so if you were pressed for time. After about 6.27 miles total miles from the boat ramp, I could go no further and turned around to enjoy lunch on my own private sun-speckled island in the river. On the way, I nearly ran over a fearless little turtle who kindly stood by while I snapped a few pictures. I saw nearly a dozen turtles, but most shot into the water before I could get a good look. This little guy sat quite patiently however. After lunch, with the current and wind behind me, I made good time for home. Coming around the final bend, where you leave the river and head for the boat ramp, I hit the strong headwinds and watched my speed drop by nearly a knot while I crabbed along at almost 20deg to my desired heading to the boat ramp. Always a fun way to finish a paddle!

As far as gear, I can highly recommend North Water's moduluar deck bag (it's not dry, but it's very flexible) and their foam paddle float...although I need some more practice in determining the best deck set up for it.

Pelicans in the Mist...a sunrise paddle on the Fish River

With a day off on Monday, I set the alarm for 5pm and fortunately woke up at 5:15am to do a sunrise paddle on the Fish River. I loaded up the car with kayak and warm clothes (it was about 32F when I set off) and drove up Hwy 98 to the boat ramp on the Fish River. The stars were clear and bright, and a little dark blue was showing on the Eastern horizon. I got to the boat ramp and assembled the boat in the freezing cold before setting off in a nice mist with cold hands and a brightening sky. At that point, I was bundled up in windbloc fleece, spray jacket, hat, and neoprene paddling gloves. There is a vast amount of wildlife at that time in the morning, and you can see a changing of the guard between nighttime predators and their daytime counterparts. I caught a racoon ambling away from the shoreline, leaving behind a nice pile of clamshells. Occasionally, herons and pelicans would appear out of the mist, flying low over the water. I also had a couple loons (?) surface next to the boat, scaring both of us as they suddenly saw me when the surfaced and took off screeching right next to my ear. Near the end of the paddle, as the mist started to clear, I saw a falcon or hawk...looked like a Peregrine Falcon, which stands out in my mind from an old Hardy Boy's book. Anyway, it was a great paddle, started out bundled up in the cold and dark and finished in the sunshine with all the warm gear stuffed into the cockpit.