Rice Creek to Jug Lake
Tuesday, March 28, 2006 brint.adams@us.army.mil
My son, Bob, and I decided to paddle in the upper delta this afternoon wanting to stay off of the bay during breezy conditions. We took the easy drive up Hwy 225 to Stockton and on to nearby Rice Creek Landing. When we arrived, the parking lot was flooded, so we parked along the road as close as we could. This was the highest I have seen the water level on Rice Creek, although high watermarks on the trees indicated the level was still another 4-5 feet higher at some time.
The high water made for an easy entry and no problems with blockages as we just glided over the tops of all treefalls. We kept a medium pace of 4 mph, but not a workout pace, so we could enjoy the scenery. The trees are all greening and filling out nicely. We found the cutthrough from Briar Lake to Tensaw Lake was flowing rapidly from west to east, so we had to work a little harder to make any headway.
Once we reached Tensaw Lake, we turned right and then circled back to the left around Larry Island, to get the benefit of the Tensaw River current about half way down the island. We were able to easily get up to 8 mph once we found the current. Just below Larry Island, we turned right into Bayou Jessamine. Fortunately, it was equalized and not running much in either direction. With the water level up, we had an easy time traversing Fisher Island into Jug Lake and back to the floating platform.
We did not stay long, turning around and taking the same basic course back. When we exited Bayou Jessamine this time, we stayed to the right side of Larry Island where the current wasn't as fast. The total trip was 7.82 miles, which took us 1:51.
My son, Bob, and I decided to paddle in the upper delta this afternoon wanting to stay off of the bay during breezy conditions. We took the easy drive up Hwy 225 to Stockton and on to nearby Rice Creek Landing. When we arrived, the parking lot was flooded, so we parked along the road as close as we could. This was the highest I have seen the water level on Rice Creek, although high watermarks on the trees indicated the level was still another 4-5 feet higher at some time.
The high water made for an easy entry and no problems with blockages as we just glided over the tops of all treefalls. We kept a medium pace of 4 mph, but not a workout pace, so we could enjoy the scenery. The trees are all greening and filling out nicely. We found the cutthrough from Briar Lake to Tensaw Lake was flowing rapidly from west to east, so we had to work a little harder to make any headway.
Once we reached Tensaw Lake, we turned right and then circled back to the left around Larry Island, to get the benefit of the Tensaw River current about half way down the island. We were able to easily get up to 8 mph once we found the current. Just below Larry Island, we turned right into Bayou Jessamine. Fortunately, it was equalized and not running much in either direction. With the water level up, we had an easy time traversing Fisher Island into Jug Lake and back to the floating platform.
We did not stay long, turning around and taking the same basic course back. When we exited Bayou Jessamine this time, we stayed to the right side of Larry Island where the current wasn't as fast. The total trip was 7.82 miles, which took us 1:51.
posted by brint @ 11:42 PM
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