Re: [Paddlewise] Saturation Point

> Most beaches are public here to, but just to the high tide line. Those
> looking for a little privacy to void themselves end up tresspassing. Maybe
> the solution is for kayakers  to get over their inhibitions and and just
> do it on the beach (or in their kayaks as you suggest). Somehow I don't
> think the upland landowners will be happy watching us on the beach being
> careful not to tresspass on their uplands either. If all beaches are
> public in Texas can you camp on any of them you wish? Will you be run down
> by 4WD vehicles? You could camp just about anywhere someone else wasn't
> actively using in southern Baja until just recently. It WAS great. >
> >Also, why would you bother a property owner by asking him to make his
> >homes restroom a public facility?   Just bring a bag or bottle to relieve
> >yourself, or for the more flexibly inclined, put some distance between
> you >and others and pee over the side.

I've never heard of a camp being run over by a 4x4.   Most folks prefer to 
get on the beach by driving their 4x4.   I like doing it in a small car, but I'm 
just wierd.   I guess its just that people camp on the beaches all the time, 
tents, RVs, people sleeping in the bed of a pickup, all very common sights, 
especially in summer.  This is not a new situation, its the way its always 
been.    As to the upland landowners, given our coastal configuration and 
propensity for hurricanes, there are few high-dollar locations along the 
coast.  There are more mobile homes on 15ft stilts than there are million 
dollar homes, and most of the high dollar homes are restricted to relatively 
small chunks of Galveston island.    Even then, folks camp, park, fish in 
front of those houses, and really, always have.   The concept of exclusive 
access to a beach is entirely foreign here.

> I was pointing out that most don't ask and would probably not get
> permission if they did. The landowners just don't want us on what they
> have long considered there property even though it legally isn't. There
> have been incidents of paddlers being threateded by an irate landowner
> with a shotgun while standing legally on public property. 

Dial 911.   I've never heard of this happening on a Texas beach.  On a hill 
country river, yes, but a public ocean facing beach?  Never.

> >While this might be true of a small mountain lake, it can hardly be true
> >of the ocean.
> 
> If kayaking gets as popular in Texas as it is around Seattle, or if your
> glowing description (below) entices a lot of us to retire to Texas you may
> see things differently soon. One problem with my advice is that people
> don't recognize the danger until it is too late. If you turn only two
> people on to kayaking and each of them only gets two more started the
> population of kayakers increases exponentially. And it is not
> self-limiting like backpacking, I call it the old backpackers sport
> precisely because it is so easy. The water floats all your weight and
> there are no hills to carry it up. What a panacea for aching knees and
> shoulders. We are not likely to give it up (unless our liscence is
> revoked).

I think this is a difference in culture, Texas/Louisiana vs PacificNW, in 
Texas, half the coastal planes folks in poverty own boats and use them on 
the saltwater, camp on the beaches, hunt in the coastal marshes.  In the 
PacificNW, I have a feeling that seeing a power boat worth $800 on the big 
salty is a rare sight.  There are thousands upon thousands of cheap boats 
operating along the Texas coast, a few thousands kayaks won't make even 
a tiny dent in the boating density.

> >Maybe yall should shift your focus away from the Pacific Northwest.
> >Maybe Texas?   Unlimited access, year round paddling, excellent fishing,
> >more birds than you could possibly imagine......
> 
> Sounds great, here we all come. Can we use your bathroom?

No.  P*** in the water like everyone else.

A couple caveats I should mention...   We have no surf.  Our water is 
brown, or green on a good day.    Hurricanes suck eggs.   Summer is 
spectacularly brutal.   And refineries are as common as houses along the 
inside bays; I like refineries especially at night, but I'm wierd.






Richard Walker
Houston, TX
http://www.neosoft.com/~rww/kayak_log.html
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