By Tom Douglas

For a trip on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend with only few days’ advance notice, we weren’t initially expecting a very large turnout. But to our surprise, registration for our outing quickly rose to 14 paddlers. Starting out from Cedar Hill Park and heading down the east side of Lake Charlotte, we had to contend with a persistent west wind at 5-10 miles per hour.

Taking advantage of the relatively high water level (3.3 feet in the recently-revised system = 9.9 feet in the older system), we ducked into the forest at Sand Point for a wind-free 1.1 mile paddle to the south, through the trees, toward our secluded lunch spot.

Combining memories from previous paddling outings with a knowledge of how water depths in the swamp have been shaped over time, we knew that a small channel connects Lake Miller to our lunch spot, and that there is a band of brushy undergrowth along the northern side of it. Rather than muscling our way through the brushy wall, we slipped over into Lake Miller for a short ways, then headed east along the channel to a place where we could spread out our picnic on dry land.

After lunch, our next objective was Mud Lake. The original plan was to paddle farther to the east along that same small channel, and then to turn straight north up “Ghost Bayou” for about a half-mile through the forest to the lake. Joe Coker gallantly offered to make a quick scouting run, during which he discovered that dense floating vegetation would probably require more time and energy than we wanted to spend. So, “Plan B” it was – a short run up the east side of Lake Miller followed by a 1.3 mile paddle along beautiful, duckweed-covered Mud Lake Bayou.

Crossing Mud Lake, we followed the short passage up into Lake Charlotte, where we gathered up the group before crossing Lake Charlotte back up to Cedar Hill Park. The wind was a little gentler than it had been in the morning, but still it was nothing to be ignored.

Once everyone was safely back at the take-out, we reflected on the day’s diverse experiences: paddling across open water, dealing with wind, picking our way through the flooded forest, and then along a meandering bayou. No wonder we all love this place. 

Thanks to Joe Coker, Linda Shead, and Tom Douglas for the images that appear in this report. To see even more, you can check out Joe’s photo album HERE.