Apalachee River to Tensaw River 2006 XXXII

Monday, May 29, 2006 brint.adams@us.army.mil

We had a great, albeit short, vacation hiking up in the Smokies over the weekend following a day of officiating the NCAA Mideast Regional Track and Field meet in Knoxville. Then it was back to Spanish Fort and another rare chance to get out on the water.

This morning was another very nice day for paddling. I got out a little late at 8:00 AM, so the sun was already rapidly rising and heating up. There was just a slight breeze which barely rippled the water, while the skies were clear with a temperature of 78 degrees. The water level was fairly low and rising.

I greeted a gator who was protecting the little cove where I put in at Riverdocs. He yawned and ducked underwater as I passed him on my way down Pass Picada. The leg down to the Apalachee was 8:42, slower since the tide was rising faster than last week. On the return, I rode the tide back, with mile splits of 8:17, 8:51 and 11:40 after crossing under the Interstate bridges where the tide reverses.

With the sun heating up, I passed three fishing boats who were hanging out in the shade under the bridges. They just shook their heads as I passed them by out in the sun. On the return, I hit 8:33, 11:15 and a total of 59:50. Alas, it will be another two weeks before I get the opportunity to enjoy paddling the bay and delta once again.

Apalachee River to Tensaw River 2006 XXXI

Thursday, May 25, 2006 brint.adams@us.army.mil

After two and a half weeks off of the water, it was great to get back to the bay and stretch out a little on the water. Conditions were close to perfect at 7:15 AM under partly cloudy skies, 72 degrees, no wind, high tide and still rising.

I was not sure how I would respond after the layoff, so it was best to just go for it as hard as I could. A couple of lazy gators were out to greet me as I started paddling down Pass Picada. There were no changes to speak of, as I paddled past the restaurants, reaching the Apalachee in 8:04.

The return was better with mile splits of 9:09, 9:35 with the rising tide and 10:37 against it. On the return, with hardly a ripple out in the open bay, the splits were 9:25, 10:13 and a total time of 59:18. Ahhh... I miss the water and really look forward to moving the boats to Auburndale, so I can get back to a normal routine.

Bay Minette Creek 6 mi.

Sunday, May 7, 2006 brint.adams@us.army.mil

I wanted to see how Bay Minette looked after being away for awhile, so I headed for Bromley Creek in the morning. At 8:30 AM, the water level was high and not moving, while the temperature stayed up at 78 degrees, with no wind and clear skies. The mountain laurel ran its course and was no longer in bloom. But, the spatterdock and water lilies were up along the upper end of the creek.

I started out a little slow, but the creek was rising a little, which slowed me a little. My splits on the way downstream were 9:53, 9:44 and 9:52. A few fishing boats were out, which were the only objects to slow me down as they tried to slowly pass me from behind. On the return, I hit 9:30, 9:42 and 10:08. I really like this course and will miss regularly paddling it.

Robinson Bayou - Dog River

Saturday, May 6, 2006 brint.adams@us.army.mil

This afternoon was club party time at Gary and Avan's beautiful spot on Dog River. Linda and I took the canoe out joining a large group of old friends and new acquaintenances for an easy paddle up into Robinsons Bayou. We paddled up about 1.5 mi., as far as we could go, as the bayou narrowed leading to the DIP bridge. The flowers were bursting out in abundance, as we saw large patches of pickerelweed, as well as acacia, spatterdock and waterlilies.

There were a few pelicans out fishing as we returned, looking for the Organic School's new sailboat out on its maiden voyage. There was very little wind, but George, Gary, Bob and others made valiant efforts to coach the beautiful 16' craft along in the main channel of Dog River. The other new boat of interest was Harriet's pedal boat, as several tried to best her fast 7 mph bursts.

Once everyone had enough fun on the water, we dug into a vast array of potluck to go along with Gary's delicious smoked chicken. All had a great, relaxing time. Hopefully, it will translate into more participation in upcoming group paddles.

Apalachee River to Tensaw River 2006 XXX

Saturday, May 6, 2006 brint.adams@us.army.mil

It was great to get back and out on the water after two weeks in Orlando with no boats nor access to any water. I arrived at Riverdocs lot at 7:45 AM under partly cloudy skies, 72 degrees, no wind, low water level with the tide rising.

Everything looked to be in place with the same fishermen taking their usual places, the houseboats in the same places and even the shorebirds and gators taking their familiar places.

My times were even similar after the layoff with a 8:17 to the Apalachee turn and mile splits heading west of 8:39, 9:02 and 10:40. On the return, I managed 9:16, 11:17 and a total of 59:39. It was a great morning return to the delta.