On the Colorado Trail
Starting on the morning of July 1, we’ll be hiking along the Colorado Trail. Other than our almost daily SPOT updates, we’ll be out of touch until the end of the month. Feel free to leave comments, and we’ll get back to you when we return to civilization. Anyone interested in meeting up along the way can use the SPOT map to pinpoint our locations. Thanks to everyone who helped out, gave advice, and to John and Megan for putting us and our car up and for the ride to the trailhead. See you all in August!
Kayaking & Canoeing in Minnesota
If you’re looking for a challenging place to paddle your kayak or canoe, then you need to check out the Mississippi River Challenge in Minnesota. The Mississippi River Challenge is a 44-mile, 2-day paddling event on Saturday & Sunday, July 24th & 25th, 2010. According to their website: This event is run by the Friends of the Mississippi [...]Gulf Oil Rig Explosion: Coast Guard Releases BP Crew Testimony Audio and Transcripts
Christopher Pleasant, subsea supervisor with Transocean, testifies at the Deepwater Horizon joint investigation hearing. Coast Guard photo. Although its investigation is by far not complete, and is hampered by the presence of the lame-duck and widely-excoriated Minerals Management Service, the Coast Guard has begun to release the hours of testimony it took from Deepwater Horizon crew members
Bayou Kayaking at Caddo Lake in Texas
Caddo Lake in Uncertain Texas
If you have ever visited our Kayak Texas page then you know I have long wanted to visit Caddo Lake. Caddo is an old, natural lake that is more like an elaborate river system than a lake. It flows down from the Big Cypress Bayou in a series of interconnected fish laden, tree-lined canals, ditches, ponds and shallow lakes. This lake offers more shade than any other body of water I have ever seen. We just got back from a two night stay on Caddo Lake. We did a little bit of fishing, a whole lot of kayaking and we even shelled out the doe for a guided boat tour. If you enjoy the Cypress trees on the Lower Mountain Fork River in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, visit Caddo Lake soon. This shade-tree paddler was in flatwater heaven.
Guided Boat Tour
Normally, Dianne and I won't consider spending our outdoor time enduring the noise and odor of a motor boat. It is one thing to watch them pass by, but being out the water without hearing the birds holds little charm for me. However, Caddo Lake is vast and varied and our time was short. We decided to take the one-hour lake tour at the last minute. To my shock, Billy Carter's Go-Devil® Tours was the highlight of our trip to Caddo Lake. I wish we had taken it earlier in our trip and I will definitely take the tour again upon our return to Caddo Lake. The river guide was able to show us the oldest most scenic areas in this ancient flooded forest.
Caddo Lake is an ancient flooded forest of Bald Cypress trees. The huge water trees are 'curtained' with thick garlands of Spanish Moss that capture moisture from the early morning air. As the moisture evaporates, it has a cooling effect. The tea-colored waters are teaming with unusually large Catfish, Bass, Sunfish and Crappie. Lily pads abound on the Caddo. Lovely white water lilies and bright yellow Lotus border small tree lines in some places and fill lakes in other area. On Caddo Lake you can paddle your kayak into a 'field' of thousands of water lily blooms. Caddo Lake is paradise for fishermen and photographers.
Caddo Lake Lodge
We spent our two fabulous nights at Caddo Lake Lodge, in the small town of Uncertain Texas. The Wells family was nice enough to offer us a discounted 'press' rate to facilitate of first trip to this paddler's paradise. The lodge offered plenty of room for Dianne and I plus our son Dylan and Dianne's mother. The house has ceiling fans everywhere, cold A/C, a large, deep, soaking tub, spacious deck and other luxuries. The large dining room was great at mealtime. The Caddo Lake Lodge website has pictures of the rooms, but my favorite feature was the private canoe launch and fishing docks. The height of luxury in the perfect location. The dock is located on a narrow section of Caddo Lake called Clinton's Chute. We paddled our kayaks a short ways down to an even more narrow and shady branch called Clinton's Ditch. This part is too narrow and shallow to appeal to the speeding Bass boats.
Photopaddling on Caddo Lake
The mix of land and water on Caddo Lake is unusual. It allows you to slip silently through the forest in your kayak. Paddle quietly and you are sure to sneak right up on a wide assortment of interesting wildlife. Such a wealth of trees is of course ideal for Dianne because she loves to set and run limb lines for Catfish and Bass. For the photopaddler, Caddo Lake offers filtered light on the brightest of days, loads of reflections and a unique blend of light and shadow that is like nothing I have ever seen before. Taking the guided tour earlier in our trip would have improved my photopaddling success as the guide took us to see several more ditches through the bayou. On future trips I hope to launch from a few different boat ramps to see more sections of this amazing lake.
I expected the swampy bayous of Caddo Lake to be stinky and crawling with snakes. I surprised to find neither was the case. I only saw one snake the entire time I was in the area and it was being carried away by a hawk at the time! The smell of Caddo Lake was lovely during the hot, muggy season we visited. I have never spent so much time on the water and still avoided sunburn. Dianne and I both bought short-term fishing licenses, but as usual Dianne did all of the fishing, I was too busy exploring the boat lanes, duck blinds and 'bayou architecture'. It is like the Lower Mountain Fork River, but with much larger Cypress and much flatter water.
Kayak Fishing in the Bayou
Neither Dianne nor I have ever found a spot that was so ideal for limb lining. The large amount of cover on Caddo Lake allows the fish the time to grow enormous and there is always a handy limb to set a hook. The trees are often surrounded by very deep water, which is excellent for fishing or very shallow water which is excellent for catching bait. Catching limb line bait just takes a Minnow Trap, Seine or a few minutes with the casting net. You can also buy bait at a number of places like: Jonhson's Ranch, Crip's Camp and other fine local establishments. Dianne had no trouble catching a whopper Bass at Caddo Lake, but it takes a mighty big one to get the record...over 16lbs the last I heard!
Uncertain, Texas is a very economical travel destination for any Oklahoma paddler who is eager to explore water trails that have more in common with a rain forest than with the Great Plains. Check out Caddo Lake photoset on Flickr to see more of our pictures from this great road trip.
I can't wait to go back!
Colorado Trail Final Preparation
I’ve been more or less out of commission with respect to hiking for the last two or three weeks; first a bruised ankle from an unfortunate post-holing incident in the Comanche Peaks and more recently a head cold that has laid me low. But I’m recovering nicely and I think that I’ll be in good shape in another few days to start our CT hike!
We’re pretty much set at this point. We are planning resupply points in Breckenridge, Twin Lakes, Mt. Princeton, Lake City, and Little Molas Campground. Of those, we’re mailing ration boxes to Twin Lakes, Princeton, and Little Molas. The boxes are pretty much packed.
Still settling on a stove. The cat-food can stove is the likely winner, but we need to figure out what quantity of fuel to carry and how to carry it. Seven days worth of denatured alcohol works out to be quite a lot of fuel.
If you are interested in joining us for a day or more somewhere along the trail, use our SPOT map to keep an eye on our location. We’ll hit the OK button each night when we make camp. We won’t be carrying a cell phone on this hike., and planning a meeting point is logistically difficult anyhow given the vagaries of foot travel in the mountains, but you are welcome to try to meet us at the next trailhead. Bring some fresh fruit, please!
The Great Race Triathlon & 5th Annual Kids Dualthlon
These events are held along the American River Parkway between Rancho Cordova and Sacramento, California. Saturday, July 17, 2010 Triathlon The Great Race – Run, Bike, Paddle. 5.82 mile Run 12.5 mile Bike 6.35 mile Paddle (Kayak or Canoe) According to their website: The Great Race Triathlon was established in 1974. It is the World’s Oldest Triathlon and the Country’s Largest Paddling Event. [...]Gulf Oil Rig Explosion: Coast Guard Releases BP Crew Testimony Audio and Transcripts
KENNER, La. — Christopher Pleasant, subsea supervisor with Transocean, testifies at the Deepwater Horizon joint investigation hearing, May 28, 2010. U.S. Coast Guard photo/Senior Chief Petty Officer Mike O'Berry. Although its investigation is by far not yet complete, and is hampered by the presence of the lame-duck, widely-excoriated Minerals Management Service, the Coast Guard has begun to
