Re: [Paddlewise] Spring Highwater Trip Report (long)

Fellow PaddleWisers...
What a good year 2001 has been so far.  Here in bayou-land we had an
early winter's end with lots of needed highwater making some nice
backwater areas and normally land-locked lakes fairly accessible by boat.
 Paddling and camping weather has been ab-so-lute-ly perfect for all of
February and March.  With the entire Ouachita watershed now on a
sl-o-o-ow fall, we should be good-to-go for another 2-3 months at least.

One of the areas I have enjoyed lately is what is called the Mollicy
Tract.  Back in the early 70's a large mega-insurance company bought this
land, posted the land off-limits, and began decimating a beautiful,
prime, natural, hardwood bottomland with a clear-cut.  Their plan was to
raise soybeans ...LOTS and LOTS of them on their "newly acquired" 26,000
acre farm !  No problem with the annual high-water ...just build a big
levee.  Wetlands area ? ...what's that ?  A fleet of laser guided earth
moving equipment worked around the clock for a "few years", and finally
there wasn't 8 feet of difference in elevation over the entire area
except for this monster-sized levee trying to surround everything.  Hmmm,
the levee, although quite imposing, somehow doesn't look "up to the job"
if Mother Nature rolls up her sleeves, and decides to do some
re-arranging in these riverbasins.  I don't think they ever harvested the
first soybean ...not a single one !  Heavy rainfall, regular rising
waters, and major levee failures constantly plagued their efforts. 
Finally, they gave up, sold out ...and now, the Upper Ouachita NWR has a
major addition to its holdings.

My first visit is a scouting trip in mid-February after the water has
begun rising, but is still a long way from cresting.  From the N-E corner
(...after 7 miles of gravel road ) 10x binoculars don't reach far enough
west to clearly discern details.  The long side of Mollicy bounds the
Ouachita on its east bank.  The land follows the river south taking in
more than a few big bends as the main channel meanders along a crow's
flight of apprx 16 miles.  From where I stand to the river is about 4
miles due west.  What I am looking at, looking across, is a huge, really
h-u-g-e, wide open clearing that looks sadly out of place with not a tree
to be seen.  Thick, heavy woods of tall, mature mixed hardwoods and pine
with scattered patches of dense brush come right up against the base of
the out-board side of this large levee.  In-board of the levee the view
is a wide open horizon panorama of nothingness and low scrub; about half
of what I see appears to be inundated by water.  The rising water line
marks a diagonal running SW to NE.  I walk the levee for about 3 miles to
the point where the water touches and am surprised to find more water
inside the levee than outside.  That will change drastically over the
next 4 or 5 weeks as rain and rising riverwater batter this place once
again.  Deer jump and startle from thickets in above average numbers. 
The rising water has pushed them into concentrated pockets.  I hear those
splashing, prancing tiptoes as they make a hasty retreat into their
flooded forest with white flag a'flying.   Later, a spectacular sunset
catches my attention.  A freshening evening breeze at long-shadows time
brings a damp chill and causes me to hunt a windbreaker from my pack. 
Looks like I will be late getting back to town tonight.  The night sky
with a completely open unobstructed view to the heavens hypnotizes me.  I
sit atop this useless, grass-covered earthen levee surrounded by water,
and silently watch in awe as one major constellation after another
materialize from a deep, dark purple pallete onto the black velvet
backdrop of infinity.  My plan is to come back, with a boat, and follow
the levee as I check this place out further.
* * *
On my next visit, in mid-March, the water outside the levee has risen
quite a bit in 3 weeks.  Water now wraps completely around the NE corner,
along the East side, and comes almost all the way to the single lane
gravel road in to this place.  I launch outside the levee from a flat low
shore with water and all surrounding ground seemingly on the same level. 
It is a perfect put-in complete with a smooth sandy bottom.  The water is
dark and clear, and is the color of weak tea.  The flooded brush to my
left, the direction I want to go, quickly becomes almost impenetrable. 
The more open water leads off to my right-front.  This doesn't match the
map and is probably due to rising water following a low area as it fills
in.  Hmmm, this contour interval is no help at all.  Wood ducks spring
sharply, and rise from the water amidst tall timber standing in the
flooded woods ahead.  Their shrill squeals and sharp whistles grow louder
and more numerous.  Sorry 'bout the early morning wakeup call, boys and
girls...

After about 2 hours it becomes apparent that I will not be able to follow
the levee since I can't even find the levee.  I should already be headed
due west for this plan to work, but that direction remains blocked
entirely by flooded scrub, brush, and thicket.  In fact, I cannot even
keep the levee top within sight as intended.  I definitely do not want to
get "turned around" out in here.  The water to my right is relatively
open, like a series of small lakes chained together with tight channels. 
Ahh well, another direction, another day...

I backtrack to find the levee and then dragover to the inside.  No brush
problems here.  I feel like I am on a sea.  Wind in my face and a wide
open view of nothing but water.  For a while I paddle through a blue-ish
spot on the map marked as "Widgeon Ponds".  It is an interesting area of
numerous small and large deepwater borrow pits which are part of the old
drainage-irrigation efforts here.  Some pools are connected by short,
narrow chutes of flowing water.  Others are separated by low dikes and
small concrete weirs causing a dragover of about 15 feet.  Another 2 foot
rise and most of this area will washout and be nothing but water.  New
growth pine saplings grow thick around these potholes, separating and
shielding them from each other.  It is fun paddling through here.  Each
pond seems to have a variety of rafted, resting, feeding ducks who
startle, fly to another pond, only to be rousted again as I slowly
meander through.

Finally, I make open water and after a short paddle, take-out for a
looksee from atop the levee.  There is definitely more water outside than
inside now.  The water level is about 15 feet higher outside and is about
half-way up the levee.  That is a lot of water to be holding back,
friends.  I find out later talking with a Ranger that they are doing
nothing in the way of water control.  Rain fills up the inside, highwater
fills up everything else.  He also tells me I should not have been in
there due to the potential for another levee blowout.  Hmmm, hadn't
thought of that.  They have begun to re-plant hardwoods and intend to
continue.  If I ever have grand-kids I hope they get to see those trees
some day !  The Ranger says another 3 feet and the rising water will
enter an old breach in the levee on the SW edge.  This puppy will fill up
like a bathtub then.

At last, I am on heading for the river.  The large grassy steep sloping
levee, about 200 yards off to my right, seems to shrink and disappear
toward the horizon line far ahead of me.  There is open water as far as I
can see to my left.  A steady paddling cadence into a perfectly
air-conditioned breeze, and about one-thousand poorly sung verses of
"Drunken Sailor", soon enough allows me to climb the levee yet again. 
>From this vantage point I can now see the main river channel about 300
yards away ...very full ...wide ...swollen ...puffed up and rollin' ! 
...Geez, this is some big time highwater.  I watch several large pieces
of floatsam go by.  Whole trees ride high in the water as they sweep
along, roll slightly, then disappear beneath the rough, swirling water. 
The river is still about 5 feet from cresting.  The difference in water
levels seems more pronounced here with the narrow levee top being the
only dry land for a long ways in any direction.  Rabbits  are everywhere
!  After a short hike I sit down crosslegged to use the binocs for a
while.  It is nice; it is wonderful; I can see absolutely nothing.

By mid afternoon clouds begin to bank puffy and white, and low, far off
in the distance.  While I would like to watch a squall line sweep across
this place, I would not want to watch from where I am now.  With the wind
at my back it should be a fun return trip.  I orient myself to where I
think I left the bus parked.  After I again catch sight of the far-side
levee I am pretty sure I can pick out where I need to take out.  As I
shove off I think to myself, "This should be fun." ...and sure enough, it
was.  A really nice crossing, on some new water, with a gentle wind
steadily rising and helping push all the way  back.

...adieu  ...Peyton (Louisiana)    

      
***************************************************************************
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/
***************************************************************************