Bay Grass
Saturday, July 16, 2005 brint.adams@us.army.mil
This morning provided very good conditions for the eleven paddlers who pushed off at 8:00 AM in ten kayaks. Under partly cloudy skies with a 5 mph southerly breeze and 80 degrees, we put in at the boat launch along the Causeway near the I-10 crossover. High tide was also at 8:00 and with plenty of water flowing down the rivers following Hurricane Dennis, the water level was almost up into the parking lot. While putting in, there was a six foot gator hanging around, appearing to be waiting for handout. We didn't oblige him, as he began to follow us away from the launch area. We started out north to the I-10 bridges, turned west between them and then northwest and diagonally crossed the Tensaw River and Delvan Bay. We paddled north along bank of Delvan to where it turns into the Spanish River.
Along the shore, we passed several cypress trees with large osprey nests. Each was occupied as we arrived and angrily vacated when we got too close. A couple of adult osprey were carrying fish as they squawked, flew off and circled around until we passed by. The entrance to Bay Grass is along the east bank, almost directly across from the last osprey nest. I led our group diagonally over to the east side, but overshot the entrance, so we continued north for about one mile, before deciding to return.
The morning, water and scenery were all beautiful, so no one objected to the little extra paddling. We turned into Bay Grass Creek, connecting to the bottom end of the bay. We continued north along the east side until we reached a small tributary at the upper end of the bay. The water was clear and cooler as we meandered into the woods. Around every corner we saw something different, such as a group of five snowy egrets, an 18" gator sunning next to us, flowering pickerelweed and some extra-large black grasshoppers.
After paddling back out into Spanish River, we crossed over to the east side and took a narrow cut through to Polecat Bay. The tide was following us as we headed towards the Interstate bridges, making it a little easier to finish up. Then to make the trip more interesting, we crossed the Tensaw River current as it flowed under the bridges. The water was a little confused making it difficult to make a straight line crossing.
Three of us decided to add a little extra with a trip around Goat Island and were not dissapointed, as we came across a herd of about eight hanging out along the south end. Finally we turned back in towards the boat launch after paddling for 11.7 miles in just under four hours. The morning was beautiful and we were all happy to have found a new very nice paddle destination, which we will certainly revisit again in the near future.
This morning provided very good conditions for the eleven paddlers who pushed off at 8:00 AM in ten kayaks. Under partly cloudy skies with a 5 mph southerly breeze and 80 degrees, we put in at the boat launch along the Causeway near the I-10 crossover. High tide was also at 8:00 and with plenty of water flowing down the rivers following Hurricane Dennis, the water level was almost up into the parking lot. While putting in, there was a six foot gator hanging around, appearing to be waiting for handout. We didn't oblige him, as he began to follow us away from the launch area. We started out north to the I-10 bridges, turned west between them and then northwest and diagonally crossed the Tensaw River and Delvan Bay. We paddled north along bank of Delvan to where it turns into the Spanish River.
Along the shore, we passed several cypress trees with large osprey nests. Each was occupied as we arrived and angrily vacated when we got too close. A couple of adult osprey were carrying fish as they squawked, flew off and circled around until we passed by. The entrance to Bay Grass is along the east bank, almost directly across from the last osprey nest. I led our group diagonally over to the east side, but overshot the entrance, so we continued north for about one mile, before deciding to return.
The morning, water and scenery were all beautiful, so no one objected to the little extra paddling. We turned into Bay Grass Creek, connecting to the bottom end of the bay. We continued north along the east side until we reached a small tributary at the upper end of the bay. The water was clear and cooler as we meandered into the woods. Around every corner we saw something different, such as a group of five snowy egrets, an 18" gator sunning next to us, flowering pickerelweed and some extra-large black grasshoppers.
After paddling back out into Spanish River, we crossed over to the east side and took a narrow cut through to Polecat Bay. The tide was following us as we headed towards the Interstate bridges, making it a little easier to finish up. Then to make the trip more interesting, we crossed the Tensaw River current as it flowed under the bridges. The water was a little confused making it difficult to make a straight line crossing.
Three of us decided to add a little extra with a trip around Goat Island and were not dissapointed, as we came across a herd of about eight hanging out along the south end. Finally we turned back in towards the boat launch after paddling for 11.7 miles in just under four hours. The morning was beautiful and we were all happy to have found a new very nice paddle destination, which we will certainly revisit again in the near future.
posted by brint @ 3:25 PM
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