Table of Contents

Meeting Announcement

A Note from Jo Anne

In the HCC Inbox

Tigards Awarded Lifetime Membership

Lake Houston State Park

Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

Annual Clear Creek Cleanup

Trip Reports

Mark Andrus: Brazos River

Christy Long: 2006 New Year Guad/San Marcos

Ken Anderson: 2006 New Year Clear Creek

Christy Long: Jan 07, 2006 Surfside

Natalie Wiest: Clear Lake

Natalie Wiest: San Antonio River

Natalie Wiest: North Shore of Galveston Bay

Natalie Wiest: Remember Goliad!

John Bartos: Buffalo Bayou 01/15/06

Mark Ittleman: Anahuac Harborfest

Mark Ittleman: Nov 2005 Sierra Club Paddle

Mark Ittleman: Fall 2005 Colorado River

Classifieds

Upcoming Trips

Trip Report: Galveston Bay North Shore
Natalie Wiest

For my Thanksgiving trip of 2005, I chose another route I’d never paddled but have been curious about for some time: an overnight camping trip along the north shore of Galveston Bay. Under most circumstances, I’d suggest this as a sea kayak trip, but necessity and the sparcity of boarding kennel space at this holiday season, dictated my two dogs would come along. Luckily I was able to talk my paddling buddy Marilyn into bringing her 18’ Sundowner canoe, and dogs, camping gear, and paddlers were easily accommodated.

We put in at Louis’ bait camp where highway 6 crosses Highland Bayou. Running our shuttle Thanksgiving morning was a superb-omen experience: we HAD to stop our cars along highway 2004 to watch hundreds and hundreds of sandhill cranes and snow geese flying overhead. V after V left the swamps and was headed inland for daylight grazing. It was an astonishing sight to take in. Out takeout spot was the boat ramp where 2004’s high bridge crosses Chocolate Bayou; the steam plant of the nearby refinery and the general mists rising in the morning gave that an other-worldy glow. A commercial pushboat was at the dock as we dropped my car there, and many motorboats. Our route followed the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), so we weren’t much surprised to see boat traffic here and along the way.

We were underway from Louis’ by 11 p.m., what with birdwatching, shuttle driving, and boat loading, it was a little later than we’d hoped but turned out to not be a problem. We paddled south along Highland Bayou until we met the ICW, and thence west. Image the blonde consternation at our first snack break to discover the cooler with all the refrigerated food, and Thanksgiving dinner, was NOT in the canoe. Bummer. However, being that neither of us either a) pack lightly or b) was in danger of disappearing from lack of food consumed in past days, we decided to push on. Not that it was a hard decision, it was just beautiful out there on the water. There was a fair amount of barge traffic, and even some sailboats under power, but plenty of room for all. We were surprised to see at least two instances of substantial (for “fish camp” style) homes under construction on the islands between the ICW and Galveston Bay. I had my doubts these were legal building sites, but in retrospect, perhaps these are on property that was in private hands before the ICW was cut through. I’d assumed barrier islands resulting from dredge spoil might be in the public domain, but not sure that’s the case.

There is a frenzy of building going on at what used to be called Flamingo Isles, a John Mecom project from the 70s that was never completed. It’s now called Harborwalk. A 2003 Houston Business Journal article says it was half sold out then, but if you’ve got $100,000s you want to plunk down for a home on the water that could be swept away by the next major hurricane, well, but all means… That thankfully is the last major home area you will see along this stretch and to the west at least to Chocolate Bayou.

The saltwater shorebirds were out along this stretch. Our camp site was on an island near Karankawa Lake, and our treat of the morning was sipping our coffee and watching the sandpipers and a host of their relatives working the flats less than 50’ away. I was very glad we’d chosen this higher site from another we’d considered; the tide came up more than I’d have thought during the night. However, the one downside of the trip was the meals we provided to hundreds of blood-thirsty mosquitoes. I was horrified as I crawled into my tent that night, and switched on my flashlight lantern, to see hundreds of the devils inside my tent with me. And, I am sorry to say, no hope of eradicating them by hand, as Marilyn was doing in her tent, as the dogs were sharing the tent with me. Imagine trying to find them in a long-coated black poodle’s coat using a flashlight. Bummer! For at least a week after I looked like I’d had the measles, I was so covered with red welts. At least I had a head net so I didn’t have to breathe them too.

I was perhaps more nervous than Marilyn as we paddled across the open water of Chocolate Bay on our way up the bayou to our takeout. We were trying to stay out of the shipping lane, but surprised also to discover the multiple oyster beds were so un-detectable until we ground to a halt on them. Ouch for the thin-skinned Kevlar canoe! We were off the water by 3 p.m.. This was a very enjoyable overnight paddle – just watch out for the ‘skeeters after sundown!

Marilyn’s photos are at the Webshots site: http://community.webshots.com/album/512016487WZqNeT

Natalie Wiest
HCC Paddler