So, my scathingly brilliant idea! Up at the crack of dawn, I had to prepare...
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Tada! The best size 12 rubber boots that wal-mart had to offer! a size too big, but I wasn't going to be deterred by lack of inventory.
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I don't know why I didn't think of this before! Not only was I unconcerned with the mud on the ground, but I had rendered myself fairly immune to snake bites. I tromped along at a brisk pace, confident that nothing could stop me now!
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And sloshed right into the overflow from the observation pond.
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And it got deeper and deeper, and then I realized the flaw in my cunning plan. You see, I am fairly sure that there are gators in black bayou. And sloshing through the grass, I became keenly aware of that fact. Now, I am not the type to panic, but I have to admit that I did draw my knife.
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Most of the trail was really not that bad.
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And the saltbushes were everywhere in full bloom.
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Don't worry Kim, it was an EMPTY spider web.
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A dear must have been virtually 10 minutes ahead of me.
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Normally if you looked out in this direction, you would see nothing but leaves. I guess the flooding in combination with fall made a drastic alteration to the landscape.
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They haven't been clearing the trees from the trail, they are becoming a pain in the butt, especially in size 12s.
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I never noticed these barrels before. You would think someone would get rid of those. They are kind of cool though.
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After 3 miles I was still ready for a little more, so on to the really fun part.
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I decided to try to slog out to the peer.
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However, 2 things I didn't count on. Firstly, the water got deeper than I thought it would, to the point I couldn't slog through it without getting my feet wet.
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And, if the first slogging place was unnearving, this place was downright terrifying. I kept looking down and seeing logs floating next to my feet that, I didn't see from 5 feet away. It was pretty easy to imagine them as gators. There was a lot of glare because of the rising sun, and I guess it was a side effect of the flooding and wildlife hadn't settled in yet, but it was DEAD silent. Just me footsloggin and the occasional bunch of minnows skittering away. I did like the way that the echos carried off the water. It was just the right amount of chilly, but there were mosquitoes everywhere.
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But, let's face it, fear is gay, so I pushed on. I had to backtrack twice, but I made it to the amphitheater.
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So I took the main route to the pier.
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And it was really cool, though a little slippery.
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Ok, I totally chickened out here. I have seen gators here before, and if you zoom all the way in, I am pretty sure you can see one in this pic, strait ahead. At least it looked that way to me. Looking back on it, I could have always just jumped on the rail if it had been one, ah well, blame it on my prudent nature. I think I am gonna go back next weekend, when hopefully the water has dropped enough for me to slog the entire route.
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thankyou for that. and i can't believe even the pier was under water. and i'm pretty sure if you had encountered a gator intent on eating you, your knife probably wouldn't have helped much.
Sprilly20 · 2009-11-13: 18:48
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