H-Lake Alternate - Paddler's Choice Sun 5-16

[DeBo]

With this most recent round of rain, it is 99% certain at this point that the roads to H-Lake will still be underwater on May 16, so we need to choose an alternate trip location.

The high water will likely open up some places that we normally couldn't paddle, like the trip from Clarendon down to the East Lake area, the Maddox Bay - Forked Lakes - Crab Lake loop, and others. Whether or not the Cache River and Bayou DeView will also still be high remains to be seen.

Some of the "regulars" have now done the Maddox Bay - Eagle Lake - Cut Bluff Slough loop a couple of times, so I'd like to open it up and see what folks would like to try next. Some possibilities include:

1) Clarendon to East Lake
2) Cache River, Rex Hancock Black Swamp area
3) East Lake Loop (several sub-possibilities)
4) East Lake to Maddox Bay
4) Preston Ferry to Sweatt's Landing (shuttle required)
5) Roc Roe Bayou to Aberdeen
6) Bayou DeView somewhere upstream of Hwy 17 (if water levels hold)

I'll come back later to edit this list, add some more options, and maybe mileages of each choice.

[msullivan57]

Debo, Can you give the location or the gps coordinates of the put in and take out locations. I'm not familiar with some of the areas you named. If you meant this to be suggestions from those already familiar with these areas then don't go to any trouble. I'll just wait and see what trip is chosen.

Thanks,
mIke

[Cowper]

I’ll have to answer for DeBo, since she is taking a 5 day, 4 night swamp tour in North Carolina while I stay home and work. But prepare for data overload!

Also, good feedback on the “where the heck is that???” After paddling with Mikki, we thought everybody knew some these places; she apparently not only knows where these places are, she can tell you the history of the local land ownership for the last 20 or so years…

Option 1) Clarendon to East Lake (from near N34.66100 W91.30623, to Prine Access at N34.60282 W91.26383)
Distance is a minimum of 9 miles, could reach 12 to 15 depending on side trips and routes we choose, which will in turn depend on how many options the water levels give us.

Option 2) Cache River, Rex Hancock Black Swamp area
Several potential access points, can be either put-ins or take outs. N35.22541 W91.25293 (Hwy 260), N35.17434 W91.29041, N35.15173 W91.28820, N35.13009 W91.31117, can all be used to create any one of several 8 to 12 mile trips

Option 3) East Lake Loop (several sub-possibilities)
Put in at Bones Boat ramp N34.58392 W91.25376, which is technically on Green Lake, then paddle Mill Bayou west into Green Lake; from there, can go south to Mule Lake, returning up Green Lake, or out to the White river to float with the logs and what-not down until we re-enter flooded timber somewhere near Round lake. Too many variations to name them all.

Option 4) East Lake to Maddox Bay
Put in on Green Lake at Bones Boat ramp N34.58392 W91.25376, then proceed out to East Lake, OR, go down Green Lake, either way you end up on Green River and then go South. Eventually make our way to Sweatt’s Landing at N34.52410 W91.19954. Distance could be 13 to 15 miles, bring a flashlight just in case. Multiple routes possible at the levels we will likely have.

Option 5) Preston Ferry to Sweatt's Landing (shuttle required) N34.53552 W91.30325 to N34.52410 W91.19954
Distance 10 miles minimum, but will seem much shorter with 2 to 3 mile per hour current for a good portion of the trip.

Option 6) Roc Roe Bayou to Aberdeen (from N34.67117 W91.35918 (Hwy 79) to N34.60361 W91.32790)
Distance is about 7 miles minimum.

Option 7) Bayou DeView somewhere upstream of Hwy 17 (if water levels hold)
Either N35.06146 W91.20291 (Old Hwy 60) to N35.00524 W91.20797 (old Hwy 38), or N35.00524 W91.20797 (old Hwy 38) to N34.93573 W91.24083 (Hwy 17). I’ll look up mileages later, both are full days but NOT “marathon paddles”, just steady easy paddling.

The trips that start or finish along the White (Preston Ferry, Aberdeen) or go out to the White (some of the East Lake loop options) tend to step up the adventure threshold a bit; we’d be paddling a flood stage White in relatively small boats. If you manage to “tump”, and are not capable of a deep water reentry with assistance from others, it could make for a very long day. But that is unlikely, and the warmer weather should make it a survivable mistake. This is not whitewater, but these are river trips, not a paddle on the ‘ole fishing pond. That said, don’t let a little bit of serious talk scare you off; I also frequently talk about how dangerous I think it is to drive to and from work every day.

I wish I could tell you which one I recommend, which is my “favorite” trip. But I really can’t; several of these we have only done once, or, if you count the route variations that are possible at higher water, maybe we’ve never done that exact trip before either. I like the “closed in trips” like Bayou DeView and the Cache / Rex Hancock area, but I also continue to be amazed by the endless variations you can find working your way through the woods in a canoe near the Crooked Lakes, East Lake, Green Lake, and Maddox Bay areas.

If the above has totally confused everyone, then just tell us what “parameters” you’d like to see in a trip – shorter distance with time for long lunches and bird watching, cover some territory, full day or get in well before dark, simple, short shuttles, proximity to Little Rock or Memphis – what makes an enjoyable trip for you?

[c8mb]

"closed in" or woods sounds good. I have more open water than I can handle 5 miles down the road at N34.48440 W089.64595 (Sardis Lake)

[msullivan57]

Debo shouldn't have left you at home alone, cowper, you obviously don't have anything to do.

I am going to check out those coordinates for my own curiosity about where these places are. But the "parameters" paragraph is probably the most important criteria. I like the full day trips and would like any location. On a full day trip it is nice to get out of the woods for awhile, and we usually do. Full "day" trip would mean it was sunlight when we finished. I did notice how happy every one was when we finished a short trip last fall around 3:00. But I felt like some animal was still out there pining for us to meet them. I know I am one that could tump, but I am stupid enough to still be ok with a trip on the white river. So there's my parameters.

"Deep water reentry" I would prefer reentering on the surface. But you're the expert, so I'll go with whatever you think.

My lovely sister and I plan to make this trip.

[msullivan57]

One more thing. That is an amazing amount of information and I know it is just a partial list of what you and debo have amassed over the years. A lot of hard work that we benefit from. I would love to see the google earth image with all those waypoints. Thanks again for putting these trips together.

[MikkiW]

Cowper,
Have been away a few days and just now read the posts about an alternate to H Lake. Would like to add a few observations and make a couple of suggestions.

On the Clarendon to East Lake(Prines), there is usually a pretty big log jam at the mouth of east lake bayou after the river has been running high due to the bend of the river below Dead Man point and the high flow into the bayou. This could be hazardous for inexperienced paddlers, myself included. There is a gravel road that used to run down to Clarendon beach at Dead man point that has been extended into a small unnamed lake west of Brushy. They extended this road down into the bottoms and put a steel bridge across a slough that drains the Brushy lake swamp area right next to ELB. If the water is not too high there is ample parking at the point that the road y's off to the bottoms. This would provide parking and a safer access to ELB. We used to use this parking area when we took our 4 wheelers down into the bottoms to coon hunt. This is not a highly maintained parking area but if it is not too overgrown or soft this would be a good place to put into ELB. A great side trip off ELB is Red Cat lake.

Rock Roe Bayou to Aberdeen. There used to be a nice little road that went straight down the hill to RR bayou from the parking area on Hwy 79 at Lakeside. The highway department removed that road this year when they started preparing for the new highway that is going through from Roe to Clarendon. The next access area with adequate parking is now at First Old River. You will than have to put into the bar ditch and paddle about a mile back to RR. The river might be up over the parking area so this might not be an option either. Another thought on this is if the parking lot is out of water and IF there is enough water in the bottoms you could paddle down the bar ditch, turn into Rock Roe and continue on down a couple of miles than cross the flooded timber east into Passmore Lake and slough and follow it back north to come back into First Old River and than back to the parking lot and boat landing at First Old River just underneath the Hwy 79 bridge.
Have not made this trip before but the topo map elevations show that it is possible. I would not want to try this unless you made the route with a small boat and motor to check it out first but this might make a nice trip for a future time when the water is high again. Rock Roe is really pretty where it widens out before flowing into the White River. Lots of big cypress trees.

Another suggestion for an alternate float is Cache River from Hwy 70 landing at Brassfield to Bayou DeView. There is a good gravel parking lot below the Hwy 70 bridge there. Game and Fish also has a landing and gravel lot back up Hwy 70 about a mile and a half east of the bridge. There is a big bend in the Cache that can be eliminated by cutting a short distance across a flooded field to shorten the trip if needed and some very pretty areas to be viewed along the way. When you reach the start of the channelization you could cut back up Bayou DeView to a good gravel landing at the end of the road that comes in by Choctaw farms. This landing has a name but I can't remember is now. This trip would involve a pretty long shuttle from Hwy 70 bridge to just outside Brinkley, Turn back on Hwy 241 towards Clarendon(old military road) and than the turn off on gravel onto the Choctaw Farm road. Wish I could remember the name of the access posted on the turnoff sign but just can't pull it out of my head now.
I would be happy to drive around and check the areas at First Old River, Aberdeen landing, Dead Man point, Bayou DeView and Cache River and let you all know what I find if this will be helpful in making a decision on where you might want to go.

Have not made the trip by boat from Bones landing through Green lake and Mud lake and Green Bayou than Cut Bluff to Maddox Bay but have been over a lot of it on 4 wheelers. Would be very interested in this trip by water. When we fished Cut Bluff Slough we used to run into log jams just below where Green river enters Cut Bluff at the old Fisher camp. I don't know GPS coordinates but it is right where a cut leaves Cut Bluff over into the Brushy lakes. I think the river levels were about 20 to 21 ft at Clarendon when these jams formed. There is a wide area that narrows into a neck in the bend where the logs seemed to pile up worse. At the level the river is now this should not be a problem.

I have not had a chance to practice reentry using my paddle float and leash loop but with the temps warming up would not be afraid to try if problems arose. Certainly will be wearing a life jacket any time we would be in the main river channel. I will have a look at the Preston Ferry landing also to see how much trash is running in the river. Looking forward to seeing all of you where ever we decide to go.

[MikkiW]

What a great day!!!
Started out from the house this morning heading to Aberdeen on Hwy 366. White River is right up to the edge of the landing but there is plenty of parking and the ground is firm and dry. Back to Roe and than on to Clarendon on Hwy 79. Next stop was to check on Roc Roe Bayou. There is access on the north side of the highway at a small turnoff and landing just west of Hart Lake. Put in can be made there with a 1/4 mile paddle west up the bar ditch than turn south into Roc Roe. Take out at Aberdeen landing on the White River.

Clarendon was next. Took the gravel road south of Clarendon down past Buzzard Roost to Dead Man Point and than into the ending at the small unnamed lake. Parking area I described in the earlier post is on high ground and the back water is right up to the parking area. Parking area is high and dry and gravel has been added since I was last there. Put in can be made here and the road to East Lake Bayou is flooded so this flooded road can be followed south to the steel bridge and the turn into East Lake Bayou made there. Spoke with some friends on East Lake who had been up the bayou catfishing to the steel bridge and they said the current was strong and there had been some trees that had fallen into the bayou but it was passable. Also found out that most of the area west of East Lake was deeply flooded and could be crossed most anywhere to enter Red Cat and Horseshoe lakes. Take out at Prines Landing.

On to Duncan at the head of East lake. Got permission from some old friends there to put in and park on their property if you want to paddle the length of East Lake to Prine's and do some exploring in Horseshoe. Take out would be at Prine's or if you want to go further on down and explore Forked Lake or take Mill Bayou to the head of Green Lake and take out at Bones landing. Water is up to the road at Bones landing but there is adequate parking if there are not more than 6 to 8 cars.

Headed back to Clarendon and took Hwy 302 north towards Brinkley. Turned off on Cane Cane Creek road heading into the Cache river refuge. Had to turn around as water running over the road prevented me from reaching the landing on Bayou DeView. Back on the road to highway 70 and turned west towards Brassfield and Biscoe.

Next stop was Bayou DeView trailhead. Part of the turn around was underwater and the current there was strong. On to Robe Bayou. Good water and slow to moderate current. A very pretty drive in. Drove in past Big Robe access and Strickland Point and up to where the 2 steel bridges go across the bayou(2.4 miles north of the Interstate which I assume is the take out as I have not made this trip before but have only seen pictures). Good water all the way.

Back on Hwy 70 to Brassfield. Landing under the bridge on Hwy 70 is partly underwater but a gravel landing about a mile east is dry and the water is right up to the edge of it. Cache river is high with strong current. Trip cannot be made as access road into Bayou DeView is underwater. Would like to try the Brassfield to Bayou Deview when the water goes down some.

Had great visits with old friends on East Lake while getting reports on water conditions. Saw my first indigo bunting in the wild. A cheeky little azure blue fellow who flew in and lit about 5 feet from me while I was sitting at Strickland Landing on Robe bayou. Performed my first feat of snake handling by relocating a rough green snake from under my truck before starting back out. I think I need some lessons from Debo as the before and after pictures I took show a relaxed and smiling and than a very riled up little green snake.(Hope I did it correctly and the pictures attach) Saw a flock of turkeys (probably Jakes while attempting to get down Cane Creek road(proof that the turkey restoration project in that area is gaining success). Met a very large and beautiful speckled king snake on the same road. Numerous deer, beautiful butterflies that just would not hold still for a picture. One large coon out for a swim in the back water and all kinds of wildflowers. Honeysuckle fragrance was everywhere. Had a tall glass of ice cold sweet tea on a deck with friends overlooking the Cache river and finished the day with a ribeye steak special cooked to perfection at the White River Drive in at DeValls Bluff followed by a coconut cream fried pied pie for dessert from the famous Ms Lena's fried pies on Hwy 33 on the way back to Roe. Wish you all had been there to share the day.

My personal choice for the float would be Roc Roe from Hwy 79 to Aberdeen landing. This is purely for selfish reasons as I have never been through the upper end, only the big wide area that empties into the White River. Also both areas are within 5 miles of my house and as there are no eateries in the immediate area I would be happy to host you all at my house at Roe for supper. Plenty of parking and a big pot of homemade venison vegetable stewop with jalapeno cornbread and all the sweet tea or lemonade you can drink. This is a blatant bribe to sway votes!!!

[MikkiW]

Attempting to add pictures which did not attach to previous post.

[msullivan57]

Hey Mikki, that's an awfully fine scouting report. Looks like there are plenty of good choices and I'm down for whichever one is picked. I think the blatant bribe is always a persuasive deciding factor.

Thanks for all the hard work. I am such a slug. Just sit back and let everyone do the ground work and then enjoy the benefits. Shame on me. I still wanna go though. Please!

Mike

[Cowper]

A lot of hard work that we benefit from. I would love to see the google earth image with all those waypoints.

Yes, it is hard, hard work. And as you can tell from Mikki's post, this is no fun at all. You should load and unload our boats for us, and buy us supper. You should also come over and mow our lawn; we never have time because we're out doing all this hard work, just for you.

Now that we've got all of that out of the way; on some of Mikki's thoughts:
Yes, the place we put in for Clarendon to East Lake was down past Dead Man's point, on one of the backwaters. I think a lot of our trip was through backwaters, not out on East River until about the 1/2 way mark. We went over a number of flooded roads. That put in avoided the log jam at the entrance from the White, but I also remember at least one major log jam that would be been unpassable via motorboat, but in canoes we were able to work around the edges through flooded timber without too much difficultly. Our back-woods route also took us through one or two areas with some pretty fast current; one has to be mindful of overhanging trees. I forget the level, but I'm guessing it was a hair lower than we have right now. We did paddle through the woods to Red Cat lake, but found it pretty brushy for at least part of the trip. With more water, that may be less of an issue.

On Roc Roe, we put in along the highway and paddled the bar ditch for the first portion of a mile; I think even at high water we would be able to park on the approach road there and carry the boats down to the water. Once we got down to the wide portion of Roc Roe, it was getting late, so we cut through the woods and got out on the main White so that we would be pushed along by the current to get to Aberdeen faster. The trickiest part of the trip was getting down the bank into the boats when we dropped them into the White – it was about a 4 foot vertical drop, clay bank. I basically jumped from above and landed in my boat. (Debo and Lupe found less dramatic ways of getting in their boats.)

Right now the “vote” tally seems to be running Roc Roe 1, all others not yet spoken for. I got a fairly good dose of Bayou DeView this past weekend; motored from highway 145 all the way up to Morton (Hwy 64). Pretty closed in for part of the trip; found myself using the bamboo poles more than once, and had to solve a couple of cypress knee maze puzzles. Also had to remove the motor and lay it on the floor to get under the railroad bridge at Morton. Thank goodness it wasn’t a 20 horse; probably would have pulled me over the transom and into the water if the motor weighed any more. Overall, looks like the best parts of DeView are below Morton; at Morton and going upstream for awhile the river has been channelized. Will have to go further up later to see if the State Wildlife Management area has good boating; from satellite photos I suspect it is more 4-wheeler territory most of the time. Also got to see the new pipeline under construction that will cross DeView just below Hwy 145. Overall I have to say, the environmental impact in this area is not nearly as great as the Cadron Creek crossing; the lack of gradient makes it easier to control run-off, and they are boring under the river which will help reduce the impacts there. Also, they’re not crossing the river with heavy machinery as was done on Cadron; I think they’re making use of the highway 145 bridge when they need to get to the other side. The Brinkley motels are also enjoying the temporary construction boom; Brinkley sorely needs the economic stimulus.

DeBo returns home tonight; perhaps soon she will enlighten you with a SHORT post, something I generally seem to have trouble with.

[Lupe]

perhaps soon she will enlighten you with a SHORT post, something I generally seem to have trouble with.

Yeah! And somehow I'm the one who got the "She of Many Words" nickname? :shock: You're givin' me a run for the money, Mr. Slaps with Branches AND He of Many of Words!!!!

[Cowper]

That reminds me - I'm getting all cut up from branch slaps on these solo motorboat rides; also grabbed a hawthorn tree by mistake, that wasn't any fun either. I need more folks to join in so I can once again be the slapper, instead of the slapper + slappie all rolled into one. You game?

[Lupe]

That reminds me - I'm getting all cut up from branch slaps on these solo motorboat rides; also grabbed a hawthorn tree by mistake, that wasn't any fun either. I need more folks to join in so I can once again be the slapper, instead of the slapper + slappie all rolled into one. You game?

Uh, do I want to join you in the swamp so I can get all cut up being slapped with branches following you?!?!?

Yeah, probably.

Besides, I've learned: carry my own GPS and I can follow from a safer distance.

[MikkiW]

A nice thing about being female is that you can change your mind and only one or TWO jokes will be made about it. My vote is East Lake bayou, East Lake Bayou, EAST LAKE BAYOU!!! That still only counts as one but boy would I love to make that trip if anyone else is interested in it. This area is our old honey hole for coon hunting and a really pretty area. There are 3 roads on the east side of the bayou that are not shown on the topo map but should have deep enough water to easily navigate on through the woods allowing you to avoid most or nearly all of the strong current in the bayou. One follows the bayou N and S right along its bank most of the way and ends in the big horseshoe bend. Another cuts off this at the old Pettigrew camp to run SE over to the Baptize lakes. The last one cuts off the second and runs SE but mostly south to end at ELB about a half mile before it enters East lake. Large open areas of hackberry flats on east side also that should make for scenic and easy paddling. Friends on East lake said that they could get into Big and Little Baptize lakes by motor boat from the bayou with the water as deep as it is now. Don't know if you have been in these lakes but they are beautiful. If we did a lot of exploring and ran late getting out into East Lake proper, friends also said we could park vehicles on their property at Duncan and take out there to keep from having to go down to Prines.