Lafitte Corridor: Nine years and no trail yet

 



Hikers in the 9th annual hike of the Lafitte Greenway walk through a section of the greenway between Jefferson Davis Parkway and Carrollton Ave.  Paving of a 2.4 mile trail on the 3.1 mile green way might begin late this year

PAVING OF A PORTION OF THE 3.1 PROPOSED PATH COULD BEGIN BY END OF YEAR

     In May of 2004, just as a lark,  Bart Everson and two friends hiked a 3.1 mile section of derelict abandoned railroad right of way linking Basin St. with Canal Blvd.  The following year 16 hikers made the urban trek past abandoned and rusting businesses and sheds, through the shards of broken glass and waist high weeds. A tradition was born.
      But this may have been the last year of walking the greenway as a weedy and trashy urban eyesore.
      Fliers handed out to the group of about 50 hikers on the 9th annual hike sponsored by the Friends of the Lafitte Corridor (FOLC), proclaimed construction on the path is projected to start by fall 2013.
      Funding, most of it from a Disaster Recovery Community Development Block Grant will provide for just the basics; the trail, landscaping and some signage.  Many more facilities have been proposed for the land that will become the city's first park in two decades, but they will have to wait until funding becomes available.
     At several stops along the trek of the future greenway (the park is the greenway, the Lafitte Corridor includes blocks of housing and commercial enterprises flanking the greenway) volunteer guides gave hikers insight into the greenway's future.  The lunch stop was at the western end of Bayou St. John where the proposed trail crosses the existing Jefferson Davis Parkway path.  Under a big tent hungry walkers were treated to po boy sandwiches from the nearby Parkway Bakery and Tavern. 
     There was music along the route: a brass band at the lunch stop and a jazz trio at Bud's Broiler on City Park Ave. where the hike ended.
     Rain postponed the hike from the previous Saturday which may explain the much lower turnout than previous years.   However weather for the May 18 event was warm with partly cloudy skies.
    

Original FOLC board members Daniel Samuels and Bart Everson.

TRAIL WILL NOT CONNECT BASIN ST. WITH CANAL BLVD.

     The first phase of the trail starts at Basin St. and dead ends at N. Alexander; a distance of about 2.4 miles.  The remaining .7 mi. to Canal Blvd. is an active railroad with a train servicing a brick yard several days a week.
     An agreement allowing the trail to be completed to Canal Blvd, could not be reached between Norfolk-Southern, the railroad with the right of way between N. Alexander and Canal Blvd, and the city,  FOLC members said.
     (This means trail users will forced to detour using surrounding streets to connect with Canal Blvd. and City Park.)
     The project appears to be grinding along at a snail's pace for many reasons.  After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 the city was focused on reconstruction, not park creation.  Later, after bids had been accepted and a planning firm selected, the whole process had to begin again after an election brought in a new administration.  But those familiar with public capital improvement projects say things are moving about as fast as can be expected.
     While the Lafitte Corridor trail itself has yet to see any signs of the construction outside of a little grass cutting, businesses within the corridor are busy preparing for the greenway's eventual opening.
     The trail passes by Mid-City Market, a small shopping center under construction in the footprint of a shopping center and car dealership on N. Carrollton Ave. destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  Mid-City Market developers, at the urging of the city, have included access to the trail providing trail users easy access to the Winn-Dixie, Office Depot and several food outlets and other businesses in the development.
     Where the tracks and City Park Ave. intersect, Shannon McGuire, owner of one of seven Bud's Broiler franchises, is getting her business ready for the trail's opening.  McGuire, who made the hike with the group, said she is installing bike racks and an area with piping to spray a cooling mist on overheated summer trail users.
     The building containing the popular burger dive has a history.  The railroad was built in 1905-1908.  The building now housing Bud's was built in the 1920's as a ticket station for passengers boarding trains of the Southern Railway, McGuire said.  Later, when the railroad moved its passenger service to the new Union Station the small two-story frame building became the city's first Bud's Broiler in 1952.  (The Southern Railway became part of Norfolk-Southern in 1982.)
     The cozy burger joint has since become a treasured tradition in New Orleans, serving charcoal broiled hamburgers, hot dogs, onion rings, French fries, hot pies and shakes to hungry patrons 24/7.  McGuire has modernized the menu expanding the sandwich offerings.  Seating has been expanded with tables outside on the sidewalk and a patio in the back.

Bud's Broiler, 500 City Park Ave. N.O., LA. 504-486-2559

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Camping fees at Gulf Islands National Seashore go up May 17, 2013

    PUBLIC DID NOT WANT TO PAY PROPOSED 50% INCREASE

     Camping fees at Gulf Islands National Seashore developed camping sites at Fort Pickens near Pensacola, FL and Davis Bayou, Ocean Springs, MS, will go up $6 per night beginning May 17, 2013.  In Florida the rate will go from $20 to $26 and in Mississippi from $16 to $22.
     Individuals 62 years of age or older with a Senior pass or those with an Access pass for a disability receive a 50% discount.  SEE NOTE BELOW.
     In a press release dated 5-13-13, Gulf Islands superintendent Dan Brown said a proposed hike of $10 at each location was reduced following public input.
     "Although the majority of public comments supported the proposed increases, some indicated a preference for a smaller incremental increase," Brown said in the release.
     Camping fees have not been raised since 1997, but since that time salaries at the park have increased by 53% and electrical rates and usage have increased by more than 50%, Brown said.
     After hurricanes Ivan (2004) and Katrina (2005) the Fort Pickens Road and the large popular campground there did not reopen until the spring of 2009.
     Gulf Island NS will retain 80% of the camping and entrance fees to help repair, improve or replace visitor facilities.  Upcoming projects include replacing the restrooms in the For Pickens campground, remodeling the Fort Pickens campground store and redesigning the entrance stations at Fort Pickens and Perdido Key to speed entry and reduce line.
     Beginning March 1 of this year, in response to budget cuts mandated by congress (sequestration), some part-time positions at the park were cut.
     Gulf Islands National Seashore is among the top ten most visited national parks.  The white sand beaches and emerald water are popular with boaters, bathers and scuba divers.  The Florida unit of the park is about 220 miles east of New Orleans.

NOTE;
     These passes are not widely available.  Here in New Orleans they are sold at the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park but may not be available because of a security problem.  This is apparently not a problem for the Mississippi unit of Gulf Islands National Seashore which has them on hand.  Recently they have been made available over the Internet but that process will take a month, sources say.  The bottom line: Don't wait until the last minute to get one if you think you will need one.  They are only available to U.S. citizens (you have to prove it) and are good for a lifetime.    
    

Paddling the Salt Marshes of western Bay St. Louis (MS)

Jan Stammeyer, Maarten Buijsman and Lee Quave, relax with beer and crawfish on the deck of the Harbor House restaurant after exploring the salt marshes Catfish Bayou south of Diamondhead (MS) in their kayaks recently.

GROUP SHARES KAYAKING EXPERIENCE IN TIDAL WETLAND IN MISSISSIPPI    

     Spending two or three hours kayaking through the salt marshes of Cutoff Lake and Catfish Bayou at the mouth of the Jourdan River in southeast Mississippi is normally not my idea of a good time. The scenery of a salt marsh, endless stands of head-high cordgrass, is not motivating enough for me to load up a kayak and gear and make the 120 mile round trip from New Orleans to this wetland south of Diamondhead, MS.
    Salt marshes are not a unique environment along the Gulf coast of Mississippi and Louisiana.  If you live here you don't have to go far to see one, certainly not 60 miles. And despite their importance to the food chain, a jaded thrill seeker might rightly complain, once you've seen one salt marsh, you've seen them all.
     Please don't misunderstand me.  Some people, mostly naturalists or birders, are in rapture while drifting amid the head-high grass and mud bottoms watching a great blue heron achieve liftoff and launch into the brightening blue sky.  Or, in the dawn silence, seeing an orange sun gradually turning night into day in these fertile wetlands can be a thing of inspiring beauty.  A Kodak moment. 
      It was the opportunity to share this fairly mediocre scenery with a diverse group of kayakers passionate about the sport and the outdoors that moved me to make the trip.  Being with the group made the trip a pleasure and worth the effort.  The nearly dozen yakers in the Mississippi Kayak Meetup Group that gathered at the Diamondhead launch ($5 launch fee) represented a broad spectrum of those attracted to the sport.  Conversations among the boaters bobbing in the murky waters of the treeless wetland centered more on what boat we were paddling and less about where we were paddling.
     The weather was warm enough for t-shirts and it was breezy.  Not whitecap breezy but you knew the wind was blowing when you paddled into it.  High thin clouds hung around for most of the day earning the weather a few demerits for what would have been a nearly perfect weather.
     There was a  young couple paddling his-and-hers fully outfitted SOT fishing yaks.  (He caught a keeper red fish that was dinner for the pair that night.)  There was a winning kayak racer and two padders with shiny new boats on their maiden, or near-maiden, voyages.  Two boaters brought small dogs who spent the voyage curled quietly in the laps of their paddling captains.  There was a long, sleek and shiny wooden kayak, hand built by its owner, a composite sea kayak and a paddler lounging in a comfortable and well used ten-foot rec-yak.  Lots of yaks to yak about.
     The trip was a loop, a leisurely 10 miles, linking Cutoff Bayou, the Jourdan River and the western end of St. Louis Bay.  These waterways can have heavy speedboat traffic but we did not see much of that the day we paddled and most of the boats we did see slowed down for our group.
      A small sand beach appearing on a Google Earth satellite view, did not appear in reality so the group had lunch under the high haze in their boats, sheltered from the breeze by a small island of stiff cordgrass.  There were no gnats, mosquitoes, black flies or deer flies which seemed to me unusual considering we were in a salt marsh in warm weather.
     After lunch we left the sheltered marsh waterways for a more exposed run of about a mile WNW across the shallow western end of St. Louis Bay to Cutoff Bayou.  Small wavelets slapped at hulls but there were no white caps. 
     After returning to the launch, most everyone loaded up, said their goodbyes went their separate ways.  But four paddlers decided to "hang" at the restaurant next to the launch for some beers and food.  Before taking out, trip leader Maarten Buijsman displayed his skills at rolling a kayak in the placid marina waters before an appreciative audience of diners watching from their perch along the railing of the restaurant's upstairs gallery.
     The Harbor House restaurant there at the launch was a good choice.  We dined upstairs on the open deck overlooking the marina, and the salt marsh through which we had just paddled.  The service was outstanding and so was the food.  The down-scale ground level had a three-piece cover band, hot dogs and crawfish.  (The band and the crawfish are there most Sundays in crawfish season.)  This was just the second encounter with the succulent mudbugs for Buijsman, a native of the Netherlands.  Soon he was going bug for bug with his crawfish eating mentor Lee Quave, a native of the area.  The service staff was happy to freight upstairs platters heaped with the orange boiled crustaceans for our enjoyment.  The mood of the crawfish was not recorded.

THE HARBOR HOUSE-Diamondhead, MS.  From New Orleans, take I-10 east.  Exit south at the Diamondhead exit (Exit 16).  Or motor your boat to the dock in front of the restaurant. Visit their Facebook page: Harbor House of Diamondhead..

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Longleaf Trace: Mississippi's Premier Rails to Trails

    


Map of the Longleaf Trace, at 40 miles, one of the longest rails to trails in the South.

MISSISSIPPI TRAIL IS ONE OF THE LONGEST RAILS TO TRAILS IN THE SOUTH

     The Longleaf Trace is a 40.25-mile long paved multi-purpose recreational trail running from Hattiesburg, MS to Prentiss, MS. through the piney woods of southwest Mississippi.  One of the longest rails to trails in the South, since opening in 2000 it has drawn users from across the nation and around the world, earning it a place in the Rails to Trails Conservancy's  Hall of Fame.
       In the early 20th century this was a busy rail corridor with steam engines huffing and puffing hauling long freight trains carrying lumber and turpentine, all day and long into the night.  By the time all the trees were cut in the early 1920's, rail service that had supported up to four passenger trains a day from Natchez, MS to Mobile, AL, dropped to a trickle, then stopped.
      Today it's the trail users doing the huffing and puffing as they bicycle, run, jog, power walk and skate through the second-growth stands of longleaf and loblolly pine that flank the trail's smooth asphalt.  There is also a 22-mile equestrian trail parallel to the trail. 
     Massive steam engines hauling heavily loaded trains of lumber needed easy, flat grades through the low rolling hills.  But the Longleaf Trace is not flat.  At least not flat from end to end, like the Tammany Trace in Louisiana.  Heading northwest from Hattiesburg, the trail takes its time--about 35 miles-to climb 300 feet to the trail's "summit" Carson-- 519 feet above sea level.  From there the trail gradually drops in steps to the bridge at Jaybird Creek before it makes the gentle rise to Prentiss, the most noticeable uphill on the trail.  Not a lung-busting, sweat-fest but you may have to shift down a gear to keep momentum up for a couple of stretches.
     Also, unlike the mostly arrow-straight 28-mile long Tammany Trace, the Mississippi trace has curves.  Not sharp curves but long turns that gradually, a degree or two at a time, gracefully carve shallow arcs through the patchwork of farmland and forest.
      Near Hattiesburg, the state's fourth largest city, the trail feels like a skinny city park, its broad asphalt and groomed shoulders crowded with runners, cyclists, families with strollers, people out for a stroll, university students and seniors. (Because of first-class medical care, Hattiesburg is one of the state's most popular retirement destinations).  Be wary of the kids, dogs and other trail users not aware of speeding cyclists on this stretch of the Trace and save the 20 mph pace lines for the remote sections of the Trace west of Sumrall. 
     But crowds thin the more away from the city you ride.  The scenery becomes more rural with farms and large homesteads becoming the dominant feature.  Shade from tall pines covers much of the trail.  There are rest stops and "rain stops" (rest stops with a roof) along the trail, each sponsored by a local business, service club or individual.  Public support for the trail began even before the trail was built when, at the request of the residents of the counties through which the trail would pass, the Mississippi legislature created a special recreational district and a small property tax millage to pay for the maintenance of the trail.
    Six trail heads offer parking, restrooms and drinks.  The small market towns of Sumrall and Bassfield can be explored on foot.  The A.F. Carraway Store in Bassfield is an old-time hardware store with everything and Lau-Tori's Fine Foods, within sight of the Trace in Sumrall has an extensive menu of Southern favorites and lots of ice cream treats.  Open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.
     A two-mile spur along Ed Parkman Rd. leads to a small campground in a wooded grove on the shore of Jeff Davis Fishing Lake, a unit in the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.  The lake and camping are closed now but will reopen May 22, 2013, a Wednesday, when re-construction work on the lake is complete.  The campground offers hookups for water and electricity and hot showers.  A fee for camping is charged.  There is a free primitive camping site for trail users at Carson Station.
     Just east of Prentiss perched on high ground on the right is the site of the Prentiss Institute, a private black high school founded in 1907.  The academically rigorous boarding school graduated as many as 200 a year before closing in 1989.
     There is a livery and riding stable in Bassfield that also offers RV camping and tent camping.  Another livery in Sumrall offers horse rentals.     
     From New Orleans the easiest access to the trail is the eastern terminus at the Gateway on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) in Hattiesburg. (See directions below.)  Here, those without bikes can rent them--geared comfort bikes are popular--get a soft drink, pick up a map of the trail, buy Trace T-shirts and caps.  Park where the signs designate Longleaf Trace parking.  The row of  parking spaces closest to the high rise dorm is for Trace users only and is under camera surveillance.
     Plans call for extending the trail 3.4 miles east from the Gateway at USM to the railroad station in downtown Hattiesburg but no one knows when that will be.  Mileage markers on the Trace are calculated from the railroad station.  Maps of the Trace mark 0.0 at the Gateway at USM, 3.4 miles west of the downtown station.
     The Amtrak train the Crescent stops daily at the station on its way to and from Atlanta, Washington D.C. and New York, to take on and let off passengers; northbound in the morning, southbound in the afternoon.  However the station has no baggage service--carry on luggage only--so no bicycles can be put on or taken off the train there.  There are baggage stops in New Orleans and Meridian, MS.

Milepost 10 of the Longleaf Trace
 

DIRECTIONS
       From New Orleans the trail's eastern terminus at USM is about a two-hour drive.  Take I-10, then I-59.  At Hattiesburg exit east at the Hardy St. exit (towards downtown).  With USM on your left, turn left at U.S. 49.  Follow the signs to Fourth St. West and the parking lot for the Gateway at USM.
     Coming from the south,  at Hattiesburg I-59 signs direct Trace-bound traffic to the Jackson Rd. Station trail head, 4.1 miles west of the Gateway at USM.  Turn right at Hardy St. to go to W. 4th St. and the Gateway at USM.

INFORMATION, PLEASE:
Gateway, Southern Mississippi University, 2895 W. 4th St., Hattiesburg, MS.  www.longleaftrace.org   Phone 601.450.BIKE.
Moore's Bike Shop, 1607-C Hardy St., Hattiesburg, MS.  Phone; 601.544.1978.  Bike sales,accessories, repairs.
Lau-Tori's Fine Foods, Highway 42, Sumrall, MS. Phone; 601.758.3586.
4K Stables, Bassfield, MS  601.943.5003 or fourkstables@aol.com.
Circle S Riding Stables, Sumrall, MS.  601.270.9243 or danielsumrall@hotmail.com

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Kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and a 60-pound weight loss on Bayou St. John

   Saturday (4-20-2013), members of the Bayou Haystackers Paddling Club spent a sunny spring day mixing the business of getting others passionate about paddling with the pleasure of sharing the fine weather with good friends.   The occasion was an outdoor camping and paddling "outreach" near the Magnolia Bridge along Bayou St. John in New Orleans.

Veteran paddler Martina Ellis

evaluates a vintage Dagger Sojourn 

      About a dozen members from the nearly 40-year-old outdoor club participated, proudly explaining to passers-by how the boats, tents and stuff from their private gear stashes worked and showing nascent outdoor explorers where to experience wilderness in the New Orleans area.
     The curious were invited to take a paddle on the historic bayou in one of the many canoes (most of them solo) and one sea kayak brought by the members from their own "fleets."
     Next to the Haystackers, a display of more than a dozen sit on top (SOT) kayaks, some of them specially outfitted for fishing, drew considerable interest.  Several paddle boards were also on hand for a trial voyage.
     Chad Almquist, of Massey's in New Orleans, said demand for fishing kayaks and the gear to go with them is very strong in the New Orleans area.
     "A kayak outfitted for fishing can go where a guy in a $30,000 bass boat can't get to.  And the kayaks are a lot cheaper to own and operate," said a newly slender and fit Almquist.
     And the 60-pound weight loss?  "Marry a nutritionist," Almquist said.

 

      
      

Canoes and a kayak wait for paddlers at a outdoor "outreach" held on Bayou St. John, Saturday, April 20, 2013
 

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Underpass at Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and lakefront bike path opens ending dangerous situation

Jefferson Parish Bike Path along Lake Pontchartain could be finished by end of 2013


 

   

More than 35 years after it was built, the paved path along Lake Pontchartrain in Jefferson Parish now has a safe way to cross Causeway Blvd.

       The underpass at the south end of the Causeway Bridge, part of a complete redesign of the Causeway approach, is now finished allowing cyclists, walkers, skaters, runners and others on the paved path along the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain in Jefferson Parish to cross under Causeway Blvd., avoiding the heavy traffic it carries.
     By the end of this year (2013), the entire length of the 10-mile trail, from Bucktown, near the Orleans Parish line to the canal at the St. Charles Parish line will be open, said Fran Campbell, executive director of the East Jefferson Levee District.
     About seven miles of the aphalt path is complete, and it looks to be smooth enough for wheelchair use.  However to connect the trail at the Bonnabel pumping station where the bridge is in the construction zone and closed, trail users have to cross the levee and detour around the pumping station using streets in the adjacent neighborhood.  A detour using Bonnabel Blvd., Poplar and Metairie Court adds about a mile to the trip making a ride connecting the completed sections of the trail--from the eastern trail terminus at Bucktown to Laketown in Kenner-- about eight miles long, including the detour.  Bikes have to be pushed through the grass over a steep levee at Metairie Ct.
     Near the western end of the path, the trail bridge at the Duncan Canal, west of the Laketown recreation park on the lake in Kenner, is also closed because of construction to the pumping station there.  Campbell said construction at both pumping stations will finish before the end of the year and the bridges will reopen.
     Part of a 2.4 mile section of the path, west of the Duncan canal to the St. Charles Parish line, was repaired by Jefferson Parish work crews after Hurricane Katrina but is not accessible now because of the closed bridge at the Duncan Canal, Campbell said.
     Bridges at the Elmwood and Suburban pumping stations are open.

PATH HAS BEEN WORK IN PROGRESS FOR DECADES   
 Over the years the trail has been a work in-progress.  When first opened the path ran at the edge of the lake most of its length.  It now runs on higher ground yards from the lake through what used to be a scrub forest of hackberry, tallow, black willow, elderberry, live oak and cypress trees.  This environment along with its understory of weeds and grasses, supported a wildlife population of racoons, marsh rabits, mice, snakes and rats along with numerous song birds and other birdlife.
     When the path was first paved, in the mid 1970's, it was considered complete despite having no bridges crossing the four pumping station outfall canals on its route, requiring trail users to detour through adjacent neighborhoods to complete the trail from end to end.
The path's paving abruptly ended at Chickasaw St. forcing riders to walk over the levee and continue east on Old Hammond Highway to avoid the rough and sometimes muddy unmarked path at the levee's toe. The path's informal eastern terminus was the 17th Street Canal and a pedestrian bridge over it--about where the Army Corps of Engineers pumping station is now. It was not until after hurricane Katrina--almost 30 years after the trail was constructed--that the trail was completed to Bucktown.
       More seriously, trail users faced a dangerous situation where the trail crossed the Causeway approach to the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway at the bridge's south end. With no underpass, overpass or traffic control devices allowing trail users to avoid the heavy Causeway traffic, trail users wanting to connect the east and west sections of the popular path usually dashed across the six lanes of traffic dodging the traffic while pushing or carrying their bicycles. Other trail users would try to cross Causeway at a cross street but the lack of pedestrian crossings made this crossing just as risky as crossing at the levee. 
     Some path sections now have a parallel path for walkers and joggers.  There are no shaded rest stops along the trail now, just a few benches.  Drinking water is available at the playground at the Bonnabel boat launch and at Laketown.  There is parking at Laketown, the Bonnabel boat launch and at Bucktown.  Paved access paths zig-zag cross the high levee connecting the trail with adjoining neighborhoods but there is no parking there.
     The current levee in Jefferson Parish along Lake Pontchartrain was built in 1947 after a ferocious hurricane caused extensive property damage in the parish.
 
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CAUSEWAY CROSSING
     From a window in his office in a nearby highrise, Ken Hollis, former state senator from District 9, saw a mother pushing a baby carriage on the trail, try to cross the six lanes of traffic at the Causeway approach.  The danger she faced so alarmed him that he began to look for a way to fix the lack of a safe crossing for users of the bike path at the south Causeway approach.
     In March of 1997 a loop under the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway was built between the levee and the lake.  Because there was little rise to the Causeway coming off the levee, to allow headroom for trail users, the loop had to be built at about the level of the water in the lake.  The loop was protected from flooding by a rock wall.  However the loop had to be closed frequently because it was often flooded with either lake water or rain water.   A pump was installed to pump out the water but after several attempts to get it to work it continued failing to keep the path dry enough to use.  Finally the loop was closed permanently and path users were back to dodging traffic on Causeway.

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Okatoma Creek: Mississippi White Water Paddling

Map of Okatoma Creek, Mississippi.  Not to scale 

     Many consider Okatoma Creek, a two-hour drive northeast of New Orleans, to be the best canoeing day trip in Mississippi.  Known by many for its "whitewater," the creek is also a beautiful float through a wooded forest largely devoid of signs of civilization.  That is, if you don't paddle it on a busy summer weekend when hundreds of canoes full of boisterous paddlers noisily beat and bang their way downstream.
     Serious paddlers argue endlessly over Okatoma's "whitewater" reputation.   They scoff that the creek's three low, hard clay drops and several bouncy and noisy shoals are rated Class II, the most benign challenge on the six class whitewater rating scale.  They rant that any stream that, on a busy weekend, sees everybody and their grandma whooping and hollering in the froth does not deserve a rating above a beginners rating of Class I.
    But there is no argument about the stream's popularity.  When the temperatures are warm, two large canoe liveries launch hundreds of paddlers in canoes and kayaks into the most floated section of the stream, the 13-miles from Seminary (MS highway 590) to Sanford (MS highway 598).
     Three other access points serviced by one or the other canoe livery, offer other trip options.  The creek is considered runnable beginning at the community of Kola, southeast of Collins, one mile east of U.S. 49.  The eight miles to Seminary is often a serene float, seldom disturbed by other paddlers, through a leafy forest shading the creek.  There are no drops to negotiate but there may be a pull over or two at low water. 
     At the other end, six miles downstream from Sanford is Lux, the last take-out with shuttle service.  The creek is broad and slow in this stretch with only one low waterfall.  But it is a very pretty and relaxing trip especially for fishermen who will find fishing for the creek's population of bass and bluegill much better than on the crowded upstream sections.
     Most people paddle the Okatoma for the exciting stuff.  And the "good" stuff is in the first eight miles downstream of Seminary.  Here a skilled paddler can "surf" (riding the upstream face of a standing wave) or practice eddy turns.  Those who just want to paddle the creek's whitewater can take out at Fairchild Landing, a private access point.  This cuts five miles, and about two hours, off the Seminary to Sanford trip.  Okatoma Outdoor Post customers take out river right just downstream from Okatoma Falls, the last big falls.  Call Okatoma Outdoor Post to be picked up here.  Seminary Canoe customers take out river- left  just a few yards farther downstream.
     The slower sections between the lively water gives paddlers a chance to appreciate how lovely Okatoma Creek really is.  The winding creek flows through a dense hardwood forest of red maple, magnolia and river birch trees crowding the dark, squat vertical banks that flank most of the creek.  There are sandbars but there are not many and most of those are small.  Shuttle services offer overnight options but all the land along the creek is private and the paucity of easily accessible camping makes day tripping the most popular option for paddling the creek.
     In addition to its re known for exciting paddling and superb scenery, Okatoma Creek is almost as well known for strict enforcement of Covington County's no alcohol laws.  Since the first canoe rental business began operation in the early 1980's officers with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks have routinely checked boaters for alcohol, glass containers and proper safety equipment.  Violators receive tickets and stiff fines.  Privately, canoe livery staffers say enforcers will leave you alone if you have canned beer encased in a coozie and are not raising a ruckus, but do you really want to take that chance?
    
 THE NEW ORLEANS OUTDOOR MEET-UP GROUP PADDLES THE OKATOMA
    On a recent mild and partly cloudy spring morning, a small fleet of nine paddle craft, mostly kayaks piloted by members of the New Orleans Outdoor Meetup group pushed off from the sandy bank in the shadow of the Seminary Bridge into a muddy and running Okatoma Creek.  Rain on the watershed two days before brought the narrow stream to 8.6 feet on the Sanford gage, a level well within the floatable range of between seven and 10 feet given by canoe liveries, and a level considered by experienced paddlers to be the perfect height.
     Bobbing in the current that morning was diverse group of paddling veterans and newbies, big city professionals and blue collar workers.  They quickly became friends.  Those who had stories of past paddles shared them while first-timers listened for clues of what would be in store for them downstream. The likelihood of going for a swim at one of the creeks infamous falls created a sense of anticipation that was palpable.
     "Was that it, the first one?" shouted a beginner after a run through a short, choppy shoal splashed a drop or two on her kayak's deck.
      "No.  The waves at the falls are much bigger than that," came the reply.
      Quickly enough the group entered a long pool of slow moving water, a sign the first drop was just ahead.  The noise of the flowing water over the claystone outcropping, at first faint, grew louder as the group drifted closer.  Then, after quickly scanning the horizon and picking a line, one by one they dropped into the froth.
     No swims.  All smiles.
     And that is the way it went for the remaining two named drops, the Chute and Okatoma Falls.  The Chute is famous for its foaming river-left dogleg chute requiring quick steering strokes to avoid going for a swim.   But the water level was high enough this day for even a tandem canoe to slide sideways over the ledge parallel to the chute, the adroit strokes of bow and stern paddlers keeping it and its cargo of two four-year-olds stable and upright as it plopped into the churning slot.
     On a normal warm weekend day in the the summer there would have been a crowd gathered on the hard clay bank to watch the misadventures of dozens of paddlers as they attempt to negotiate the tricky drop.  But not today.  With temps in the upper 70's it was too cool to swim so the peanut gallery was empty.  The joy of a preseason Okatoma Creek paddle.
     Okatoma Falls, at three feet the deepest drop on the trip, was a piece of cake for most in the group as each member accessed their inner Natty Bumppo to slice through the haystacks downstream for a few seconds of thrilling paddling.
     After Okatoma Falls, the creek calms down considerably for the last five miles to the take-out just down river from the Sanford highway bridge.
    At the shoal just downriver from Okatoma Falls, the group had a chance to help a couple who had capsized their tandem canoe in the fast, deep water.  Members of the meetup group righted the overturned boat and then retrieved a frightened female standing on a shallow spot near the center of the stream.  She said later she could not swim.  The group then scoured the banks for the couple's paddles and gear.  The two cell phones and car keys, kept in flimsy ziplock bags and not tied to the boat, were lost.  But the paddles and a soggy video camera were recovered.
     The couple made it to the takeout without another capsize and were apparently in good spirits, meetup members reported, joking as they walked up the takeout ramp, looking forward to getting a spare set of keys for the 'Benz to make the drive home.
     For our group, home was a nearby primitive campsite, a drive of just a few miles.  Each camper made their own dinner and shared the bounty around a roaring campfire to the beat of a very good boom box.  As the flames shrank to glowing embers, tired paddlers and their tired children gradually drifted off to snuggle in warm sleeping bags under the twinkling stars of a clear, chilly spring night.    

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:
     The two liveries listed below offer similar services but shuttle overlapping stretches of Okatoma Creek.  In addition to canoe and kayak rentals and shuttle services both offer camping, primitive and RV, and cabins.  Reservations should be made well in advance, especially if your plans include summer paddling or camping.  Tandem canoes rent for about $35.  Kayaks about $30.  Both liveries shuttle a private boat for $20.
     Be sure to make prior arrangements for shuttles outside regular canoe livery stops and confirm the day of the float.
     Shoes (sneakers or a disposable pair of jogging shoes) will be appreciated for the long walks from the takeouts to the parking lots and while walking on the gravel and hard clay on the creek banks.  Capsize is likely so leave your car keys with the livery operator as they ask.  Everything else that cannot get wet should be sealed well in a dry bag, NOT GARBAGE BAGS OR ZIPLOCKS! and tied to the boat.  Glass containers are not allowed on the creek.  Eye glasses and sunglasses should have retainers.  Sunscreen, hats, long sleeved cotton shirts are a good idea especially for the sun sensitive.  The well prepared will bring a windbreaker or rain gear to avoid a case of the shivers after a sudden and cold summer thunderstorm.

Okatoma Outdoor Post and Canoe Rental, 1.888.OKATOMA.  Shuttles from Seminary to Lux.
Seminary Canoe, 1.866.OKATOMA.  Shuttles from Kola to Fairchild Landing.

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