THE GREAT PIROGUE EXPEDITION | Page 2 | SouthernPaddler.com

THE GREAT PIROGUE EXPEDITION

bearridge

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2005
3,092
4
way down yonder
I heard they aim ta let folks sell gas credits.....kinda like a coal plant. If a fella, jest fer example....Truthful Jack, farts a lot, well he gotta pay a fella who dont fart more'n a few times a day. It wuz in the fine print on that twenty pound law they jest passed without readin' it. Folks who dont fart much stand ta come inta some serius walkin' round money. Folks that belch gotta pay too......cuz it melts the ice bergs.

Wait......women will be gittin' all the dough! I bet some women wrote that twenty pound law? It wuz a low down, dirty trick. Women likely got some kinda methane filter. Somebody better read that dang law quick. Next thing ya know there will be bogger credits, toe nail credits, toilet seat credits, not listenin' credits, fergot the anniversary credits, etc.

I miss Tammy Wynette. [;-(
 

jdupre'

Well-Known Member
Sep 9, 2007
2,327
40
South Louisiana
I'm really back now. I now have a good go-to computer guy. Handy to have.

It was, indeed the real Kayak Jack that spent several great days in the swamp with us. He did indeed paddle a flat-bottomed boat , he camped within 10' of a genuine La. swamp, and if memory serves, ate potatoes au gratin with cut up WEINERS.

It was one of, if not the most, enjoyable camping trips I've had. Great food and even better company. No need to worry about the state of the country and the world. We solved all those problems around the campfire. A transcript of those conversations will be sent to Congress. :)

We were kind of laid back. Piper set out a few bush lines and supplied us with catfish for a couple of great meals. The man can do wonders with a dutch oven-- Cornish game hen with cornbread stuffing, pan fried catfish filets, french toast and thick slab bacon. No Viennas there. We shot up a whole can of pellets from his neat little pellet gun.

Jack was the consumate gentleman. I learned some handy little camping tips from him. He also provided a little scotch taste test for my rather uneducated pallet. He graciously treated me and my wife to a seafood supper when we got back. Very interesting camping companion.

Didn't do much paddling. We just kind of hung around camp , talked and snacked.

We had a nice visit from keith and seedtick. Keith took us for a little log- hunting trip using his new toy - side scanning sonar. Amazing technology.

I'll have a few pictures later.

Joey
 

jdupre'

Well-Known Member
Sep 9, 2007
2,327
40
South Louisiana
The 3 Amigos ready to do batlle with the bayous.

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Jack and I put our rain flys together to give a large covered area. The small tree behind the white bag on the left of the picture is at swamp level. We were close as you can get.

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"The Gang" shootin the breeze. Great company.

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I did a little exploring on the edge of the lake and found this huge cypress log.

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Jack loaded down with just a little freeboard.

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My better half patiently watching the boats while we brought the vehicles back to the landing. She was set up - a good magazine and a box of Chateau de Cardboard furnished by Jack. Couldn't have done it without her.

joyboat.jpg
 

islandpiper

Well-Known Member
Great pics, Joey. I agree, a good shuttle manager is a valuable team member!!

Good thing Jack didn't see the freeboard out there, he was riding pretty low.

One thing i learned on this trip is that you can float a good goose down bag in a stuff sack right on that bayou water and it hardly even soaks in. Yes, there's a story here. No I won't type it all out right now. Joey is the hero, threw me a spare paddle and nearly got it to me, too.

Great fun being a ten-year old again.

piper
 

jdupre'

Well-Known Member
Sep 9, 2007
2,327
40
South Louisiana
I have to brag on that little 12' pirogue. I took it back in the swamp after those gars and it went over, around and through anything I threw at it. Plenty stable paddling standing up even with a 24" bottom. I was able to lean over and let a little water come over the gunnels without feeling unsteady. Jules, that flair in the sides really does make a difference. It has good manners on open water until it gets to about 3mph and you can feel it start to push more water. But, it was made for manueverability in tight places which it does well.

Joey
 

islandpiper

Well-Known Member
At the end of the water we were on there were submerged logs and some stumps, shallow water. Looking deep into the swamp was intoxicating. I'll bet there's places in there no man has ever been. I paddled my UJ in several boat lengths, about to the last spot I could turn around, and found that there was still water to explore, but due to the length of my UJ I wasn't going to risk getting hung up and wading out armpit deep.

Seedtick's 12 footer went in 50 yards. Standing up, bow in one hand and paddling with a yak paddle in the other, watching for fish, Joey was poetry in motion.
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Any boat ever built was a mixture of ideas, needs and materials available. Though we both had pirogues, they were different, indeed. Each one with a list of good, bad and best attributes.

I'm betting Joey can dance, too!! :D :D

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BEARS BUDDY

Well-Known Member
Aug 27, 2003
1,492
6
76
BAY CITY MI
islandpiper said:
Dear Mr. Bears Buddy........CO2 always escapes, in the end, often accompanied by methane and other invisible killers. You've camped with Jack, right?
:D :D

Piper

I hoped Jack would have behaved in a more civilized manner whilst among the Southern gentry.
 

islandpiper

Well-Known Member
Jack was very civilized. He said that methane kept the snakes away, And, in all honesty, i never saw any right in the campsite area. The nearest was right around 70-feet from the hammock. So, it might work. The Armadillos came in a lot closer, so it may not work for them. In fact, it might attract them. Heck, what's a camping trip without a little swamp gas.

piper
 

crkdltr

Well-Known Member
Mar 3, 2009
114
0
Wow, it looks like you gents had a blast. I'm currently working on building a pirouge from JEM Watercraft.com, the 14-29, and look forward to experiencing trips such as this that you gentlemen have had. :D
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Yep...

Some folks have to be lead to the water , thrown in a boat with a good crew going along to remember everything from there past and have the ability to ... RELAX.

There is 7 times more water then dry ground on this planet so why stay on the dry ground , working and doing the daily grind when a day or two on the water , paddling , enjoying what Mother Nature is offering us , Camping and enjoying the easy life ..... It is so much better. :D

Chuck.
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Dragging some thoughts from my last post......... :lol:

The day to day things we do have to be done and if anything it becomes boring , if not a real pain but we do them just like when our folks did and when they told us to do things when we were kids.

Back then there is a light at the end of the troubles ... Christmas , when we were kids and the night before we went to bed and tried to sleep with one eye open ( Which never worked) looking forward to the morning.

Now as adults , the kid that we were is still in us but with different standards and rules but that does not say that when we hit the sack we don't think about the upcoming trips , paddling , camping , eating or even the get together's with everyone. Nothing has changed the anticipation is there but for different reasons that offer a lot of relaxation and good times , the best gift anyone can get. Be it one day on the water or several months , with friends or by yourself , anyway you want it and are willing to do it.

When we finally make it and if on the water it is simple , paddle , set up camp , have a meal and then relax and start over the next day or say .... NUT'S ... I will spend another day here. Just pure relaxation , fun , the easy life and some good company does not hurt anything.

YES .. I enjoy being out there by myself , been doing it for over 50 years .... Now I have had the pleasure of being with others just like me and it is just as much fun , if not more ... which it is all the time but the BS is a lot deeper. :lol:
Any trip is really anticipated and totally enjoyed by myself and I think of them as Christmas presents when it isn't Christmas.

Try it ... You will like it. :D

Chuck
 

jdupre'

Well-Known Member
Sep 9, 2007
2,327
40
South Louisiana
He's been on a long paddling trip on the Suwanee River. He planned on being back on the 25th , rest up a couple of days and head down to the Rendezvous. Kinda quiet around hear.
 

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
171
86
Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
Well, now that the dust has settled, and two other trips are under my belt, I'll blow the smoke off the playing field here. Here's the truths of this trip:

1. Joey did an excellent job of planning, scouting, and setting it up. THANKS, Joey.
2. Piper San, though a bit tetched in his head, is a damned good camp cook.
3. Keith and Jules loaned me the flat bottomed swamp pirogue to use in the cypress swamps. THANKS. Field notes: The boat, as loaded, had 3" of freeboard, an inch and a half on the port side plus another inch and a half on its starboard side. I breathed pretty carefully, and took on water only once. Whitecaps danced around on our way out, but we stuck to the shore on the return trip, as I'd lost my snorkel.
4. Time spent in practice naps does not count off your lifetime. 'Nuff said.
5. Fellowship in camp constitutes some of the most precious time and events in our lives.
6. Friend Wingo, that was the 14th cousin of our Appalachian wine box. And these guys sipped it with all the same couth and swave that we did. BTW, Jimmy, thanks again for that great trip into your mountains.
7. I did not partake of any gree-itz, Viennie snausages, or other trash food, but did actually eat a couple of 5T hot dogs.
8. The R&R on this trip was very much needed, appreciated, and utilized. I even sang a few songs in camp for the others. You could tell they enjoyed it a lot, from the appreciative expression on their scrunched-up, care-worn faces.
9 Joey's wife, Ms Joy, is a gracious lady whilst sipping wine, eating shrimp, and enduring us clods. Thanks, Joy.
10. Piper San's wife deserves a medal, and is always kind to me. Thanks, Diane.
11. Keith's neighbor is an interesting guy who I'd like to camp with.
12. Keith and Seedtick took us for a m-i-l-e-s long trip on a pontoon boat. I saw a lot more cypress swamp; it all looked alike to this North Woods boy - way too soggy for a taboggan.
13. My First Needs water purifier turned that bayou gunk into sweet water.
14. It is enjoyable, paddling distant waters and camping on far away shores.
 

jdupre'

Well-Known Member
Sep 9, 2007
2,327
40
South Louisiana
There's my boy. Jack is back. :) Mighty quiet around here without you. As a matter of fact, a bunch of members have been absent, going to and from trips. That's the point of this forum - get out and paddle and camp with good friends.

Joey