Bay Minette Creek
Sunday, March 13, 2005 brint.adams@us.army.mil
Larry, Gary, Roland and I met at Buzbee’s Landing at 12:30 PM on a warm, breezy, partly cloudy afternoon. The temperature was 78 degrees with wind at 15 mph out of the Southwest.
The trip upriver started out quickly as we rode the rising tide with the wind to our backs. We turned into the second branch where there is a small island out in the main channel. With the water level high, we were able to paddle further in than usual, over the beaver dam and into a field of golden club. On the way out, we turned right into a pond full of golden club and water lilies and were able to exit from there directly out into the creek.
With this group, we maintained a brisk pace, next stopping at the dock of a houseboat at about 3.5 miles in. Gary turned around, while the rest of us headed further upstream to the bridge. On one of the many sharp turns, we cut through a narrow hole into a hidden pond for a quick look. There is large patch of mountain laurel in there and along the shoreline for the next half-mile. It was budding, but not quite ready to bloom just yet.
Upon arrival at the bridge, Larry suggested we stop for a swim and then proceeded to roll over and out. Roland and I thought it was planned, but realized he was reaching for his glasses, which he just knocked off his head. The water was very clear and we attempted to look for the glasses in the 3’-6’ deep water, but to no avail.
Roland is quite the competitor, and with only Larry and I remaining, we started out at a fast pace on the return and kept it up. At about 20 minutes on the return, we crossed paths with friends of Larry’s in a motorboat. He stopped to talk with them briefly, but not briefly enough for Roland and I. We really took off from there and basically raced the rest of the way back. The last mile was right into the wind, making it pretty tough. We hunkered down, dug in and gutted it out, finishing the five-mile return in 52:00.
Gary had arrived just ahead of us, after exploring some other side branches. He said he found pitcher plants, which I will definitely go back to find sometime this spring. Gary came in about 10 minutes later, so as the group leader and sweep this time, kept his record perfect, bringing everyone back safely.
Larry, Gary, Roland and I met at Buzbee’s Landing at 12:30 PM on a warm, breezy, partly cloudy afternoon. The temperature was 78 degrees with wind at 15 mph out of the Southwest.
The trip upriver started out quickly as we rode the rising tide with the wind to our backs. We turned into the second branch where there is a small island out in the main channel. With the water level high, we were able to paddle further in than usual, over the beaver dam and into a field of golden club. On the way out, we turned right into a pond full of golden club and water lilies and were able to exit from there directly out into the creek.
With this group, we maintained a brisk pace, next stopping at the dock of a houseboat at about 3.5 miles in. Gary turned around, while the rest of us headed further upstream to the bridge. On one of the many sharp turns, we cut through a narrow hole into a hidden pond for a quick look. There is large patch of mountain laurel in there and along the shoreline for the next half-mile. It was budding, but not quite ready to bloom just yet.
Upon arrival at the bridge, Larry suggested we stop for a swim and then proceeded to roll over and out. Roland and I thought it was planned, but realized he was reaching for his glasses, which he just knocked off his head. The water was very clear and we attempted to look for the glasses in the 3’-6’ deep water, but to no avail.
Roland is quite the competitor, and with only Larry and I remaining, we started out at a fast pace on the return and kept it up. At about 20 minutes on the return, we crossed paths with friends of Larry’s in a motorboat. He stopped to talk with them briefly, but not briefly enough for Roland and I. We really took off from there and basically raced the rest of the way back. The last mile was right into the wind, making it pretty tough. We hunkered down, dug in and gutted it out, finishing the five-mile return in 52:00.
Gary had arrived just ahead of us, after exploring some other side branches. He said he found pitcher plants, which I will definitely go back to find sometime this spring. Gary came in about 10 minutes later, so as the group leader and sweep this time, kept his record perfect, bringing everyone back safely.
posted by brint @ 9:03 PM
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