Trip Betwixt the Holidays

[islandpiper]

Last time I checked it appeared that Jdupre' and I will be headed out for a few days and nights between Christmas and New Year. Man, I love louisiana. Short pirogue/yad paddle to the campsite. Then a fire, eat, shoot pellets, put wood on fire, eat again.......repeat till it is time to break camp and come back.

We'll keep you all informed. And we'll brag on it any way we can, of course. I suppose we should be developing our creative story telling skills now, in advance. It would save making up a bunch of lies in a hurry later.

Piper

 

[jdupre']

Looking forward to it myself, piper. Looks like we're going to have a mystery guest along. I'll let him chime in.

Joey

 

[rpecot]

Maybe when I get a little older I'll learn from yall and pack earlier.

Actually, I'm pretty much done. A couple odds and ends to attend to before I hit the sack. Of course, the pirogue is still in the garage. I'll take care of that in the morning. Had to do a "dry fit" this evening. I haven't taken my boat on an overnighter yet, and it's been so damn long since I've actually done an overnighter, I had to make sure I had enough room.

 

[rpecot]

So, the clubs didn't come in very handy, as the ground was frozen solid. :shock: Well, not exactly, but when you step out of the boat onto Spanish Moss and it crunches under foot, you know you're in for a cold time on the bayou.

I broke camp early (today). My wife caught a bug and was pretty much delirious. I figured for everyone's sake (mine, hers, the kids) it was best that I head to the house and take her to the doctor. The doctor says she'll make it.

I've got a bunch of pictures, but first let me share some things I learned on this trip.

1. When the water is low (VERY low) it is probably a good idea to bring along some mud boots. Piper would probably argue that snow shoes might also be acceptable, seeing as he sunk knee deep into the gumbo trying to exit his boat. Apparently mud boots hold the water in just as good as they hold it out.

2. Contrary to the beliefs of a certain forum member, logs can be burned in the middle.

3. A Dutch oven is a magical thing.

4. Packing squeeze butter and a large coffee pot will make up for the things you forgot to pack.

5. Wool socks kept my toes warmer than synthetic.

Ok,now for some pictures...

Tryingto catch up to Piper and Joey


My "slightly soiled" tent


Joey setting up his hammock. Piper was still drying out at this point.


Burning logs, inside out.


Fresh baked bread. A glorious thing on a cold day in camp.


Target practice.


Lots of mollusks above the low water mark, racoons have been feasting.


Our landing, a good foot and a half lower than normal.


Joey, protecting the perimeter.


While Joey shot and Piper napped, I paddled.


Yeah, we were roughing it.


Chili morning view.


Piper brought bacon. Whoda thunk it :roll:


Loaded up and ready to take care of my bride.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Looks good, Russ. By burning "inside out", do you mean the centered ends of the circular stack is burning? Your fire layout looked OK to me.

 

[a Bald Cypress]

Thanks for the report Russ. Hope the bride feels better fast. Mine has had some kind of bug going on two weeks now but, is on the mend.

Y''alls gonna have to take a peek at the weather channel prior to scheduling a trip. It should be near 70 deg THIS weekend.

A 40 deg warmer temp may just have been welcome.

 

[rpecot]

Looks good, Russ. By burning "inside out", do you mean the centered ends of the circular stack is burning? Your fire layout looked OK to me.

Another thing I learned, my photography skills aren't as good as I thought. That is indeed a log burning in the middle. I was "encouraged" to take a picture and post it here :|

 

[Kayak Jack]

OK, now I think I understand. Along with the circular array with ends burning in the center of the ring, was a log with its center reaches burning. Yes, that burns too, when you have enough other heat to support its combustion. Logs laid side by side, with a gap for air to circulate upwards, burn nicely too. They radiate heat each to the other and build more heat than a single log trying to burn all by itself.

 

[jdupre']

Another great trip! Russell is welcome in my campsite anytime. Sorry you had to leave, buddy, but family comes first.

This is the before pic of the chichen and rice dish .

Drum roll, please.

Lotta shootin' going on. Here's piper shooting at a plastic jug. Not sure it's a good idea for a pert' near blind guy to be shooting around my boat.

Weapons were present. Left to right - My new Mac 1 Crossman 1377 pellet pistol, Piper's estate sale Benjamin, and Piper's 1377 carbine.

More later.


Joey

 

[islandpiper]

Here's my first two cents worth, maybe more coming as it occurs to me.

Just a few pics.

Here is the Pineapple Upside Down cake after Jdupre' just neatened up one edge of it.....and got rid of some of the crumbs that sort of stuck out.

He's a sort of a neat-freak but that's OK. How was it Joey?

Here's a good dinner, and the leftovers ain't bad for breakfast, either. Just some good Cajun sausage chopped up with a couple of par-boiled potatoes and fried crispy in the dutch oven.

One of the saddest pictures ever. An empty dutch oven...

No one actually said this, but I can make even a wilderness swamp look like a cheap trailer park in about a day:

Nice pic of Jdupre' and his old standby pirogue

TRES AMIGOS, Joey, Russell and Keith

 

[jdupre']

This is Russell heading home.

This is one of the dishes Russ missed. Sausage and potatoes.

This is the cooks boat..... loaded down with goodies!

Strange thing happened. We were sitting in camp when several buzzards started circling overhead. I don't know if we smelled that bad or looked that bad, but they did seem interested.


Joey

 

[islandpiper]

for a long time i have wanted to bake real bread in camp. Biscuits are nice, muffins are ok, cornbread is real homey, but real, fresh BREAD in a loaf is special. I decided to try a dough that I mixed in advance at home It is so easy, it could be done in camp if you were spending a couple more days there. Just water, salt, yeast and flour.....and time in the fridge. Then, grab a gob out of the bucket and bake it. It's that simple. Bakes PERFECTLY in the D.O. in about 40 minutes. Rpecot's SQUEEZE MARGARINE was the finishing touch on the warm slices.

piper

 

[rpecot]

Strange thing happened. We were sitting in camp when several buzzards started circling overhead. I don't know if we smelled that bad or looked that bad, but they did seem interested.

Well, after only one day, I know I was smelling pretty ripe. I'd hate to think of what I would have smelled like after two nights. :shock:

I was shocked to hear how much the water came up over night. Did yall have any inkling that it would? I never would have guessed that.

 

[islandpiper]

I had a feeling that we were in a "wind influenced" area. My vote was balanced out by Joey who thought otherwise. We sat by the fire and discussed it. Then we left the boats where they were. Later, a power boat came by and Joey's boat bobbed up and down a little , so i pulled it a couple feet up the bank. Mine was moved, overland, to a better location to loat up today and was ten feet from the water. At about Six AM today i looked and Joey's boat was free floating, mine was half in the water.

Made moving out today A HELLUVA LOT EASIER. No boots, just step in and go.

That flat chunk of timber you walked in and out on was way out in the creek by noon.

piper

 

[Wannabe]

I'm glad ya'll had a good time. I am glad ya'' are home cause I sent a wall of water towards you. It's probally about to you by now. Rained here all day. Had quite the light show tomight as I was driveng east on I 10.
Bob

 

[islandpiper]

Wannabe, thanks for holding off till we got back home. piper

 

[jdupre']

That rising water was a surprise. Down my way, water doesn't come up that quick without a several inch rain. It was a lot easier to get in the boats when we left.

I plumb forgot about that great bread. Seems like a simple recipe and real handy that it keeps in the fridge that way.

As far as B.O., I think our aroma was more smokey than anything else. Seasoned campers can sympathize--- how can the wind blow smoke it your eyes no matter WHERE you sit around the campfire?! :?

Two trips encountering temperatures several degrees below freezing has given me great experience dressing for those types of conditions. Probably a no-brainer for you Northerners, but for someone that sees a handful of below freezing days a year, it's a big thing. Camping in below freezing temps will get you comments questioning your sanity from people around here. Some think you're a hero, most think you're a NUT.

Joey

 

[islandpiper]

Below freezing temps and nuts don't mix well.

(End of transmission)

piper

 

[Kayak Jack]

I noticed that water was covering the mudflats. MUCH nicer. Wind on the south coast of Lake Erie will make a big difference, but I don't think I've ever seen an inland lake affected that much.

I had buzzards swirling overhead on the Au Sable once. Come to think of it, I was talking with Piper San on my cell phone at the time. Now, they stalk him on Lake Veret. Coincidence? I think not! Joey, keep active - they avoid anything moving like it's alive. Piper San was maybe sending out telepathic messages to call them in??

Maybe that wasn't a chicken cooking in the dutch oven? Did it taste funny, Joey? A little, uhh, gamey? :wink:

 

[beekeeper]

Jack it is not an inland lake. It is a creek connected to the Amite river that is connected by three lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Tides, wind direction and speed, and rainfall all effect the water height. Little or no rainfall during their trip(this is changeing at this moment). Strong north winds blew the water out. Strong south and east winds blew the water in and caused the rise on their last night. This chart shows the changes:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/la/nwis/uv?cb ... o=07380120

This one should show the wind speed and direction:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/la/nwis/uv?cb ... o=07380215

The Lake Verett area Joey usually paddles is also effected by this, but not as drastic. The connecting passages are narrower. Makes for interesting paddling and fishing.

beekeeper