BARTRAM CANOE TRAIL

THE BARTRAM CANOE TRAIL is an excellent resource for paddlers and outdoor enthusiasts. The trail consists of well-marked water routes through the Mobile-Tensaw Delta with camping facilities. Use of the trail is free, but use of the camping areas requires reservations which are available on-line for a nominal fee.

The Bartram Canoe Trail was planned and executed by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR). I believe the State Lands Division was the main proponent and facilitator of the project.

Maps of the trails, suggested one-day and multi-day trips, and reservation information are available on the ADCNR website at http://www.outdooralabama.com/. This is a great website for all kinds of outdoor recreation opportunities in Alabama, so check it out.

A Few Things To Keep In Mind

I am a fairly recent emigrant to Baldwin County, having moved here in 1995 after graduating from law school. After graduation I decided I wanted to work near the mountains or the sea. When I was offered a job with the DA's Office in Bay Minette, I chose the sea. I had spent summers at the beaches of Gulf Shores and Perdido Key and, while I knew about the Delta, I had no idea it was such a great place to explore and enjoy.

I think most people are ignorant of the true nature of the Delta. Many people believe the Delta is too forbidding and dangerous. While it is wilderness, as long as you keep that in mind and follow the proper precautions you should be okay. The Bartram Canoe Trail provides much needed guidance and opens up the area to people who normally would not be able to enjoy it.

The wildlife is probably the foremost concern on most people's minds when they think of the Delta. There are some animals in the Delta that could hurt you. There are alligators, snakes, wild pigs, bear (mostly confined to a small area around Saraland I am told), and millions, probably billions of mosquitoes. Honestly, unless you do something stupid, you have little to fear from most of these animals. The ones you will encounter are the mosquitoes.

I have read the mosquito is responsible for the deaths of many more people every year than any other living creature on earth (including humans). One trip to the Delta without bug spray or other protection will make the reason clear in your mind. I do not think there have been any cases of malaria lately, but West Nile Virus and Encephalitis have shown up around here. Even if they are not carrying these terrible diseases their bite is bad enough. Mosquitoes are relentless and hungry and there are millions of them. More on this later.

The other concern is getting lost. In many areas modern conveniences like GPS and cell phones make this less of a concern. But cell phone and even GPS satellite coverage is not guaranteed in the Delta. It is easy to get turned around in the generally flat terrain and winding creeks where everything can begin to look the same. Be sure to take good maps and a compass (and the knowledge of how to use them) and pay attention to where you are and where you are going.

Every few years someone ends up spending the night in the Delta when they were not prepared to do so. The accounts of nights in the Delta with no tent, no sleeping bag, and no food are never pleasant. The people who stay put, build a fire, conserve energy and keep their wits always do better than the ones who try to hike out of the swamp in the dark.

Delta Discovery

My first foray into the Delta was short fishing trips on Bay Minette Basin, a tributary of the Tensaw River just north of Spanish Fort, Alabama. Bay Minette Basin has in recent years become part of the development boom in Baldwin County, but in 1997 there were only a few houses built. I think I fished the Basin twice and never caught a single fish. I later learned it is a good place to go after striped bass, but I was targeting largemouth and redfish along the banks and was not doing it well apparently.

I did get a taste of the Delta's beauty that day. I took this photograph of the sunset from the mouth of Bay Minette Basin into the Tensaw River. The sun appears to be setting just north of Mobile. The airplane producing the contrail at the top of the photo was probably landing at the Mobile Aiport. When you are in the Delta, except for the occasional airplane flying overhead, you will at times feel there couldn't be anyone around for miles and miles.

It wasn't until May of 2003 that I really got a look at the interior of the Delta. I took a boat trip with some ADCNR Lands Division employees to take a look at some of the environmental challenges we were planning to address. The Lands Division had acquired several large tracts of land in the Delta and was in the planning stages of the Bartram Canoe Trail and other uses of the land. What I saw opened my eyes to the vastness, the unbelievable beauty and the opportunity to get away.

Soon thereafter, my wife, Paige and I decided we would take a canoe trip on Rice Creek. We loaded up the canoe and drove to Stockton in North Baldwin County where the put-in is just outside of town. We had a great time on the creek and wanted to do more exploring. When some friends from New Orleans came in town a few weeks later we thought it would be an excellent diversion for them.

We had four paddlers on this trip so we took our canoe and two kayaks. Paige's cousin, Kelley and her friend Thang made up the party. Thang paddled the Ocean Kayak Scrambler sit-on-top; the two ladies took the canoe; and I paddled my old Perception Sea Lion sea kayak.

We set our goal as the Indian Mound on Bottle Creek with the option of diversions and complete abandonment of the plan according to our whim. This turned out to be a good policy since the tide was flowing by the time we got to Bayou Jessamine and we just did not want to work that hard to get to Bottle Creek.

I have to say here I prefer the canoe to the kayak in the Delta. There are times it is necessary to get out of the boat and pull the boat over obstructions in the creeks. Getting in and out of an enclosed kayak is just too much trouble. That is just my opinion. Lots of people kayak up there and are perfectly happy doing it.

I'll never forget paddling up Bayou Jessamine that day and hearing a yelp from Thang. He was paddling the sit-on-top, which leaves the paddler rather exposed, when he brushed up against a branch sticking out of the water. A big spider jumped on his leg from the branch and Thang was in the water a split second later. I was very concerned because of the possibility of alligators, snakes, current, etc, but he did not consider those things. He just swam directly to the right bank, climbed out and deliberately checked his cigarettes to be sure they were not wet. Some people have different priorities.

Meanwhile I turned my 17' long kayak and went after his now free floating kayak. Paige and Kelley in the canoe had the same idea and we collided in the rush to get the boat before it was wept away. The canoe then allided with the left bank and I heard a couple of screams as the ladies noticed the huge water mocassin which fled into the water next to their boat. We were able to get the kayak back to Thang, but I could not help think how lucky Thang was to have chosen the right bank rather than the left!

Well, this story is getting rather long, so I am going to post this part as a first installment. Maybe you will be interested enough to check back for Part II of the story in a few days?



Coming next:

Solo Adventure, and more!

Slippin' Off

Slippin' Off was a 1978 Mako 19A. She was a great boat, solid as a rock despite her age. I bought her from a boat dealer in Birmingham, Alabama in 1998.

I was told she had been used as a flats boat in the Florida Keys. There were stickers on the hull for the Florida Keys Professional Guide Association and the Ismoralda Island Professional Guide Association. I was told the guide service that used the boat sold her when the newer shallow draft flats boats came out. The Mako 19A is a deep V hull and poling Slippin' Off through flats, especially with some wind, must have been difficult.

Apparently she spent several years tied to a dock at a lake in Georgia before being sold to the Birmingham dealer. She was in pretty bad shape cosmeticaly when I bought her. Someone had stolen the original teak compartment covers so I fashioned replacements from plywood. They didn't hold up well and I eventually had to replace them with Starboard covers. I re-wired the entire boat in '98 and added electronics and other equipment over the years.

My mother insisted I take the loop off the S in the painted on name Slippin' Off, because the loop made the S look like an F, and Flippin' Off just wouldn't be an appropriate name.

I traded in Slippin' Off last summer to help pay for a re-power on our nicer, bigger and newer Boston Whaler Outrage 22 (yipee!). I don't really regret trading her in because a local guy bought her and is giving her the attention she deserves.

My wife, Paige and I had some real adventures in Slippin' Off. In fact, I bought Slippin' Off right after I met her and we fell in love during the same time I was just getting to know the boat. The picture above was taken during a trip to Petite Bois Island off the coast of Mississippi in early January of 2000.

Paige had a job writing an article about the Gulf Islands National Seashore for Southern Breeze Magazine. We packed up our camping gear, food, water and warm clothes and set off across Mobile Bay to Dauphin Island. We found our planning was lacking when we arrived at Dauphin Island expecting to be able to top off the gas tank only to find all the marinas closed for the season. We decided to risk it (crazy, yes, we would never do such a thing now that we have a child) and continued on our journey to Petite Bois.

Paige wasn't too comfortable crossing the current-churned pass between Dauphin Island and Petite Bois, but Slippin' Off did just fine. It's a good thing becasue we probably would not have survived a swim in the cold Mississippi Sound waters.

We found a nice protected cove where we were able to pull the boat out of the surf and set up camp nearby. It was pretty cold that night and, although there was plenty of driftwood to burn, the wind kept us from enjoying a hot fire. We turned in early and woke up early to enjoy a cup of coffee with the sunrise. We had planned to get an early start back to home but the tide had gone out considerably and we had to wait a few hours for Slippin' Off to float again. Nature has a way of slowing things down for you like that.

We did enjoy the morning and eventually pushed off for Dauphin Island with hopes of finding some gas. The pass was not as trecherous as it had been the day before and we were able to buy some gas at a marina at Dauphin Island. I remember Mobile Bay was smooth as glass that morning and we could not have asked for a more beautiful boat ride.

Unfortunately the 1979 Johnson 140 didn't survive the trip. We made it halfway up Weeks Bay almost to the mouth of the Magnolia River when the motor started sputtering badly. I think the water pump must have gotten clogged with sand and the motor just burned up. We were able to limp home on one cylinder but that was the end of that motor.

Luckily I was able to find a trade-in 1982 Johnson 115 to replace the burned out motor without breaking the bank. I imagine the new owner of Slippin' Off will have to do a re-power before too long, but the 115 did just fine while I had it.

While my little story is mostly about the boat, Paige wrote a delightful and informative story on the Gulf Islands National Seashore which you may be able to find on-line.

I would definitely recommend a visit to any of the islands in the Gulf Islands National Seashore. I understand they have taken a beating in the last few hurricaines, but they are still there and they belong to all of us. There are some great resources on-line for information about the islands and the recreational opportunities they provide. They are visited by sailors, motorboaters and even a few sea kayakers.

WILDFLOWER AT MISSISSIPPI SANDHILL CRANE RESERVE

I took this photo at the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge near Gauthier, Mississippi. Does anyone know the name of this flower?

Check out the Refuge at:

http://www.fws.gov/mississippisandhillcrane/index.html

LOWER PEACH TREE COYOTE

I got this shot of a coyote with a trail camera in Lower Peach Tree, Alabama.

LOCK FOUR

Lock Four was built in 1891-1892 on the Coosa River near Lincoln, Alabama. It was built to facilitate riverboat traffic. The house was built to serve the needs of the riverboat workers and passengers. My parents bought the house and property after the lock and dam were demolished in 1963.

Welcome to Tievelaney West

Thanks for visiting my new blog!

In case you are wondering: Tievelaney is the name of the old Monaghan family farm in Ireland. Our cousins still own and operate it as a working farm.

My father tells a story about his brother, my Uncle Barney, visiting Ireland in the nineteen-fifties and finding the old farm using an old family rhyme: "My name is Monaghan, I come from Tievelaney, eight miles from Castleblayney and six miles from Carrickmacross."

As I remember the story, Uncle Barney used a map and divider to derive the two spots on the map eight miles from Castleblayney and six miles from Carrickmacross. One point was in a field and the other was on a lake. Uncle Barney decided to try the lake first and told his driver to take him to the location. There was an old farmhouse near the lake.

Uncle Barney got out of the car and approached the farmhouse. Now, Uncle Barney, being an Oxford man, was a dapper fellow, always dressed well, three piece suit and such. When he knocked on the door no one answered.

Uncle barney looked into the fields and saw several men working, also in suits. He went down to the fields and introduced himself as Barney Monaghan from Alabama. The man introduced himself as Ted Monaghan. Ted and the rest went back to the farmhouse with Barney and had some tea. It turned out there were several women in the house but, with the troubles in Ireland strangers in suits showing up unannounced were understandably met with caution, so they did not answer the door.

Uncle Barney explained his purpose and recited the rhyme and was recognized as a member of the family long lost and was welcomed as if coming home.

I visited my cousins at Tievelaney in 1989. They were very friendly and seemed like old friends. I would like to visit again. I live in Alabama, a long distance west of the old farm, so it may be some time before I see it again.

So, Tievelaney West will be the name of my blog, in recognition of the old family and the new world we have before us. I hope you, the reader, will enjoy my posts. If you are from the old country, or the new, I would love to hear from you.

More to come...