Blog

We had a typical late summer afternoon forecast – 40% rain. Luckily we only received a little drizzle. After spending a bid longer than usual on the on land part of the class,  we took to the water. The progress seemed to be slow at first but all showed steady improvement. Then for the tourRead more

If you are going on a paddle trip on the hottest weekend of the year there is probably no better place in Southwest Louisiana to go than the Northern part of Lake Chicot! It was so hot launching the boats that two guys in the most stable boat in the fleet managed to flip itRead more

This paddle was a fundraiser for the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper organization.  This organization spends all of their time and efforts to preserve our greatest Louisiana treasure, which is the Atchafalaya Basin. This particular paddle is one of my favorite in the swamp, actually it’s hard to have a definite favorite because it is all so beautiful forRead more

You know its gonna be a good day when you start it with an early morning paddle at Lake Martin. It started a little chilly but that didn’t keep us away.  With a mix of kayaks, canoes and one paddle board we made our way to the south end of the lake. We meandered throughRead more

Once we unloaded boats and people at Lake Martin, we found out that this was a group that was in search of alligators, so we headed north.  We meandered through the cypress, stopping to absorb the wonderful sights and sounds of nature.  And what do you know, at a couple of these stops we didRead more

We departed Pack & Paddle shortly after 7am, with a cheerful and exuberant crowd. After a short uneventful drive, we arrived at Lake Martin and unloaded our gear. After a brief review of paddling protocol we put the boats in the water and spent a few minutes acclimating to our new craft.  We started ourRead more

We had an awfully early start this morning, met at Pack and Paddle for 5:30AM. That put us on the water just as the sun was rising. Everyone, surprisingly at this hour, was chatty with smiling faces and plenty of pep for the morning paddle. The stillness of our surroundings was only broken by the splashRead more

This was a private trip for the First Baptist Youth Group.  A great group of mostly high schoolers who were up for the challenge of paddling most of the lake.  We had lots of help unloading boats before giving quick paddling instruction.  We headed to the south side of the lake first to paddle withinRead more

It was a beautiful August afternoon when we shoved off from the North landing of Chicot State Park near Ville Platte, Louisiana. The sun’s rays highlighted the wonder of nature as we paddled through a majestic field of American Lotus pads on our way to the shade of the thick cypress and tupelo flooded woods.Read more

Once we got the boats unloaded near the boat landing at Lake Martin and I gave very brief paddling instruction, I asked the group if they wanted to see birds on the south end near the rookery or alligators and birds on the north end of the lake.  It was an overwhelming vote for alligators. Read more