11/25-26 Goose Island State Park to Matagorda Island. (Same trip that Ken Johnson posted a couple of weeks ago.) Launched from Goose Island St Park Saturday around 8:30am. Went East across the mouth of St. Charles Bay and along Blackjack Peninsula. Crossed the Intracoastal Waterway, hung a left turn at Dunham Island and paddled through Carlos Bay. Wandered along the Northwest shore of Ballou Island. Lots of guys wade fishing along here. Turns out that the "reefs" shown on the fishing chart I was using were actually oyster islands. Wound up paddling a couple of extra miles to reach Cedar Point where I could enter Mesquite Bay. Nice cruise through Mesquite Bay to the mouth of Cedar Bayou. After working my way around the "reefs" it was wonderful to have water underneath my boat instead of oyster shells. As I was heading through Cedar Bayou I ran into a kayak dealer that I had met at a paddle show in Austin the year before. He and a friend had started paddling Monday trying to paddle around San Jose Island. The weather had turned rough on them in the Gulf and they were heading home with talk of showers and hamburgers. They said that today the Gulf was calm Paddled on through Cedar Bayou and all its fishermen, through the pass and up the Matagorda Island coast for approx 3/4 mile. Camped at the edge of the dunes. Went for a long walk up the beach looking at shells and washed up debris. I am always amazed how much junk washes up on the shore here. Startled a large buck who was standing on one of the taller dunes. There seem to be hungry coyotes on the island. During the night my stinky neoprene booties disappeared. Only evidence was coyote tracks. If you run into a coyote with neoprene breath, ask about my booties for me. Sunday got up early to paddle back. Surfed into the Cedar Bayou pass with a pod of five dolphins! Perfect weather both days. Paddled probably 16-17 miles on Saturday and 15 miles on Sunday. Good Weekend! Mark Austin, TX *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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