By Tom Douglas 

 This outing was originally planned for the Cypress Wonderland, but when the lowest water level of the year was recorded at the Lake Charlotte gauge on December 2, our advance river scouts reported their findings, and adverse winds persisted, I made the decision to relocate it to Whites Bayou and Turtle Bayou.  These waterways are protected against low levels during such conditions because they are separated from Trinity Bay by the Lake Anahuac levee.  

Our group of 19 paddlers met up at Whites Park, which is located at the confluence of Whites Bayou and Turtle Bayou, just south of Interstate 10 about 45 miles east of Houston.  There was a light fog in the morning, but it quickly cleared, after which the weather was beautiful.  Although there was a light breeze from the northeast all day long, we were only rarely aware of it due to the protection offered by the forest and the bayous’ high banks.  

During the morning, we headed south along the narrow and winding Whites Bayou, where we soon encountered a low overhead log that required some minor gymnastics to negotiate.  Everyone having made it through that spot, we continued along Whites Bayou for about a mile and a half until we reached a shallow log that would have been time-consuming for the group to traverse.  Knowing from past experience that a huge logjam lay only a very short distance beyond that point, we decided to make that our morning turn-around.  After a brief stop, we headed back to Whites Park for a leisurely lunch, which turned out to be a great group-building experience.  This also presented an opportunity for several people who had other afternoon commitments to load up their boats and head back home after the lunch break.  

Following lunch, we paddled north up Turtle Bayou.  Beyond the Interstate 10 bridge, Turtle Bayou slowly narrowed and became more like Whites Bayou.  Checking our watches, we decided to make our afternoon turn-around about three miles up Turtle Bayou.  During the return to Whites Park, we were delighted by reflections from the water’s surface striking the trees along the east bank.  We completed our adventure at 3:45, a few minutes ahead of schedule.  Total paddling distance (including a few small detours) was 9.2 miles.  

Many thanks to our advance river scouts (Andy Hiester, Wendy Hiester, Rea Inglis) and also to David Portz, who shared information about the conditions that his group had encountered here on November 29.