With
deep water below and buzzards circling above,
we went for a ride after the hurricanes.
In
1999 we had two hurricanes go
through within a few weeks of each other, dumping
huge amounts of rain. Judy and I took the boat
out to see how the marsh had weathered the storms.
Except for a couple of small Maples toppled and
some deadwood down, the only noticeable change
in the marsh was that the water level was up very,
very high.
Normally
we stay off the airboat trails - for a couple of
very good reasons. First of all, they are usually
only a couple of inches deep - some spots with
no water at all. This works very well for airboats,
but motorboats and even canoes require a bit more
water.
Splashing
through murky water infested with snakes and alligators
while dragging a fully loaded boat over shallow trails
is not my idea of fun.
Another
good reason to stay off airboat trails is, well,
airboats. A
lot of trails are pretty much just tunnels through
vegetation taller than the airboat. They are just
barely wide enough for an airboat to squeeze through,
with no room at all to turn around or even to pull
off the trail. An oncoming airboat cannot see or
hear a small boat in the trail, and, lacking brakes,
can't stop when the driver does see it. Having
a fast-moving airboat run me down is another thing
I do not consider fun.
We
found a deep airboat trail leading off from
the river. This
trail led across a wide open grassy plain (where
we could be easily seen by airboats) and the
water was at least a foot deep (plenty deep
enough for my little boat) so we got adventurous
and decided to go explore.
Motoring
slowly along to avoid tangling the prop in submerged
grasses or hitting an unseen sandbar, we followed
the trail across the plain. (I can change out
a broken shear pin, but this did not seem like
the very best place to have to do it.)
The
line of trees on the far horizon is on the
old Union
Cypress Railway embankment. If you follow
the embankment to the west you can walk as
far as Mosquito
Island at the river crossing.
