Paddling Lower Alabama
Sunday, August 06, 2006
8/6/2006: Cane Bayou
Destination: Cane Bayou
Launch: Highway 190; Fountainebleau State Park; Mandeville, LA
Distance: 6 miles
Pace: Leisurely
Time: 3 hours
Weather: Mostly sunny and humid with the average morning temperature in the mid-80s. The bayou had no significant current or wind factors.
I want to give a shout out and a thank you to Pat and the rest of the folks from the Bayou Haystackers that helped me research the area. A couple weeks ago, I began planning a visit to the New Orleans north shore to see my buddy from college. Matt had never been kayaking before and he asked me to bring my boats. At first, I really wanted to dig into the waters of a traditional Louisiana swamp (15 - 20 miles or so), but since it was Matt's first kayaking experience ever and my first paddling experience in Louisiana we decided to check out Cane Bayou at Fountainebleau State Park, not far from his house. It was a very easy paddle and we had alot of fun, expecially exploring some of the side channels into the surrounding marsh.
Top Left: We were on the water by 7:30am. The morning temperature was nice and pleasant as was the scenery.
Top Right: This is one of the Tammany Trace bridges. The Tammany Trace is an unused railroad corridor that stretches a scenic 31-miles from Slidell to Covington, Louisiana. The trail is used by pedestrians, bicyclists, rollerbladers, and joggers along the northshore of Lake Pontchartrain across from New Orleans in St. Tammany Parish.
Top Left: We only saw one powerboat the entire time. This is what's left of their wake. The only other traffic included another kayak, a john boat with a trolling motor and a man and his little girl in their homemade pirogue.
Top Right: Matt, a local firefighter and lady's man in his fire-engine-red Pungo 140, strikes the stud/GQ pose for the camera.
Top Left: There's some really nice scenery along the banks of Cane Bayou and no current to fight.
Top Right: The only thing that would have made this trip nicer is about 10 more miles of bayou.
Top Left: The cedar and cypress here created a nice Louisiana swamp theme as we paddled toward Lake Ponchartrain.
Top Right: A white heron waits for us to move along so he can get on with his fishing.
Above: This is my favorite shot of the bayou scenery that we took in on our way to the lake.
Top Left: The lake was calmer than I expected. We had a light southerly wind but nothing to create alot of chop. This is a shot of Matt trying to spot some tailing reds.
Top Right: Matt actually checked the depth here. It was perfect for a first-time kayaker, only about 3 feet. If you fall out you can stand up.
Top Left: I took this photo after we started exploring the smaller channels that fed into Cane Bayou. This osprey, wings spread wide open, is getting ready to take flight.
Top Right: We didn't see ospreys until we left the main bayou. In the middle of this picture, there are 2 more in the top of a dead tree.
Top Left: As we followed a small tributary into Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge we saw a change of scenery to the surrounding hardwoods of the upper bayou. Although it was more difficult to find shade, we found the morning sun was very tolerable and the scenery was great.
Top Right: Matt took this shot of me checking to see if anyone was home in this osprey nest.
Top Left: He tried to convince me to climb the tree to get a better look but I elected to steer clear of the barbed talons. I might have tried it if I were hopped up on magic mushrooms and Jagermeister but it just wasn't worth the $5.
Top Right: The channel started to tighen up on us as we pushed further into the marsh until we made it through to this shallow basin.
Top Left: After forcing our way through walls of grass and a channel that could fit only one kayak at a time, we thought this basin would be a rest from the trail blazing. Had the water here been more than 6-8 inches deep that might have been true.
Top Right: It's amazing what marsh gases are released by a kayak paddle in the mud. The odor was so pungent, Matt and I competed for lead so we could stay ahead of the smell. The guy in back (me in this photo) was simply screwed. Seriously, it smelled like foot and ass.
Top Left: This was the my last photo of the marsh as we made our way back to Cane Bayou.
Top Right: Back on the bayou.
Top Left: I took this photo as Matt rammed me from the side. He blamed it on his lack of experience but I know better, jackass.
Top Right: I thought this was a really cool shot with the tree completely wrapped in spanish moss.
Top Left: I won't pretend to understand why this turtle was sunning like this but he had his back legs fully extended as if he were airing out his taint or something.
Top Right: Matt somehow ended up with a small crab in his boat. We didn't have a clue how he got in there but he locked on to Matt's thumb and shedded his claw when Matt tried to turn him loose.
Top Left: We continued north of Highway 190, where I took this photo. This heron was not at all camera shy.
Top Right: The upper bayou scenery wasn't as pretty as toward the lake but we did see our first cajun waterfall.
Above: This was the end of the line thanks to Hurricane Katrina. Athough this was a shorter distance paddle than I usually prefer, I really enjoyed it. Matt also had a great time and now wants me to keep my eyes open for a good deal on a used kayak. ¶ 10:02 AM
Destination: Cane Bayou
Launch: Highway 190; Fountainebleau State Park; Mandeville, LA
Distance: 6 miles
Pace: Leisurely
Time: 3 hours
Weather: Mostly sunny and humid with the average morning temperature in the mid-80s. The bayou had no significant current or wind factors.
I want to give a shout out and a thank you to Pat and the rest of the folks from the Bayou Haystackers that helped me research the area. A couple weeks ago, I began planning a visit to the New Orleans north shore to see my buddy from college. Matt had never been kayaking before and he asked me to bring my boats. At first, I really wanted to dig into the waters of a traditional Louisiana swamp (15 - 20 miles or so), but since it was Matt's first kayaking experience ever and my first paddling experience in Louisiana we decided to check out Cane Bayou at Fountainebleau State Park, not far from his house. It was a very easy paddle and we had alot of fun, expecially exploring some of the side channels into the surrounding marsh.
Top Left: We were on the water by 7:30am. The morning temperature was nice and pleasant as was the scenery.
Top Right: This is one of the Tammany Trace bridges. The Tammany Trace is an unused railroad corridor that stretches a scenic 31-miles from Slidell to Covington, Louisiana. The trail is used by pedestrians, bicyclists, rollerbladers, and joggers along the northshore of Lake Pontchartrain across from New Orleans in St. Tammany Parish.
Top Left: We only saw one powerboat the entire time. This is what's left of their wake. The only other traffic included another kayak, a john boat with a trolling motor and a man and his little girl in their homemade pirogue.
Top Right: Matt, a local firefighter and lady's man in his fire-engine-red Pungo 140, strikes the stud/GQ pose for the camera.
Top Left: There's some really nice scenery along the banks of Cane Bayou and no current to fight.
Top Right: The only thing that would have made this trip nicer is about 10 more miles of bayou.
Top Left: The cedar and cypress here created a nice Louisiana swamp theme as we paddled toward Lake Ponchartrain.
Top Right: A white heron waits for us to move along so he can get on with his fishing.
Above: This is my favorite shot of the bayou scenery that we took in on our way to the lake.
Top Left: The lake was calmer than I expected. We had a light southerly wind but nothing to create alot of chop. This is a shot of Matt trying to spot some tailing reds.
Top Right: Matt actually checked the depth here. It was perfect for a first-time kayaker, only about 3 feet. If you fall out you can stand up.
Top Left: I took this photo after we started exploring the smaller channels that fed into Cane Bayou. This osprey, wings spread wide open, is getting ready to take flight.
Top Right: We didn't see ospreys until we left the main bayou. In the middle of this picture, there are 2 more in the top of a dead tree.
Top Left: As we followed a small tributary into Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge we saw a change of scenery to the surrounding hardwoods of the upper bayou. Although it was more difficult to find shade, we found the morning sun was very tolerable and the scenery was great.
Top Right: Matt took this shot of me checking to see if anyone was home in this osprey nest.
Top Left: He tried to convince me to climb the tree to get a better look but I elected to steer clear of the barbed talons. I might have tried it if I were hopped up on magic mushrooms and Jagermeister but it just wasn't worth the $5.
Top Right: The channel started to tighen up on us as we pushed further into the marsh until we made it through to this shallow basin.
Top Left: After forcing our way through walls of grass and a channel that could fit only one kayak at a time, we thought this basin would be a rest from the trail blazing. Had the water here been more than 6-8 inches deep that might have been true.
Top Right: It's amazing what marsh gases are released by a kayak paddle in the mud. The odor was so pungent, Matt and I competed for lead so we could stay ahead of the smell. The guy in back (me in this photo) was simply screwed. Seriously, it smelled like foot and ass.
Top Left: This was the my last photo of the marsh as we made our way back to Cane Bayou.
Top Right: Back on the bayou.
Top Left: I took this photo as Matt rammed me from the side. He blamed it on his lack of experience but I know better, jackass.
Top Right: I thought this was a really cool shot with the tree completely wrapped in spanish moss.
Top Left: I won't pretend to understand why this turtle was sunning like this but he had his back legs fully extended as if he were airing out his taint or something.
Top Right: Matt somehow ended up with a small crab in his boat. We didn't have a clue how he got in there but he locked on to Matt's thumb and shedded his claw when Matt tried to turn him loose.
Top Left: We continued north of Highway 190, where I took this photo. This heron was not at all camera shy.
Top Right: The upper bayou scenery wasn't as pretty as toward the lake but we did see our first cajun waterfall.
Above: This was the end of the line thanks to Hurricane Katrina. Athough this was a shorter distance paddle than I usually prefer, I really enjoyed it. Matt also had a great time and now wants me to keep my eyes open for a good deal on a used kayak. ¶ 10:02 AM
