Mile 151.5 - LBD Bird Island East
151.5 LBD Bird Island East
Bird Island East is the very last piece of marshland on the Atchfalaya River system. Do not venture out this far into the Gulf unless you are certain you will not be encountering wind, oncoming weather, nor any major tide changes. There is a tiny beach on its south end. Otherwise this island is nothing but grasses, canes and some scrubby brushes.
Pount Au Fer/Raqet Pass
Two miles past Bird Island East and a full six miles across Athcfalaya Bay past Melanie Island (the last island of any permanent size on the Atchafalaya) is a small but solid island called Pount Au Fer or Raqet Pass (on Google Earth). Pount Au Fer or Raqet Pass is a curving block of seashells, sands & gravels with beaches all around, and several bays on its backsides, one of them a very protected inlet facing northeast. Its entire perimeter might measure one mile total. If you were paddling down the coastline east from the mouth of the Atchafalaya, say towards the mouth of the Mississippi, this would be a safe harbor along the way.
Getting back to Land
There are many choices for your return trip back to land, to meet your ride, or get back to your car. If you left your car or are meeting a ride in Morgan City you could paddle back up the Atchafalaya. But if the wind and weather conditions are favorable, you could also paddle across the bay over to the Wax Lake Outlet, and then follow any one of the many bayous and canals back up to the Intracoastal Waterway for a takeout in Berwick/Morgan City. There is a campground maintained by the Atchafalaya Delta Wildlife Management Area in the top middle of the Wax Delta. So you could paddle across the bay, camp a night, and then paddle out the next day. That route would make an adventure all in of itself, with great animal and bird watching along the way. But be ready for hard paddling, especially in high water levels. If you happened to be paddling the annual Spring Pulse, which sweeps through the Atchafalaya in March, April, sometimes May, you might be doing some very strenuous upstream paddling indeed. But many paddlers have done this before you, and many more will follow.
Here’s a possible scenario for this return trip: 1) paddle down Shell island Pass to Bay. 2) Paddle across Bay. 3) Paddle up East Pass (or any of the other passes) into the heart of the Wax Delta. Locate WMA campground at top of Camp Island, the highest Island in the Delta. 4) Enjoy beautiful camp. 5) Paddle up any one of the many bayous or canals back to Intracoastal Waterway. 6) Follow Intracoastal Waterway to Berwick/Morgan City Boat Ramps. Note: Use the WMA Atchafalaya Delta Map to help visualize this route.
Atchafalaya Delta WMA Campground
The WMA campground is located at the top of Campground Pass and Main Pass, at the top end of Camp Island in Crewboat Channel of the Campground Pass.
Wax Lake Delta Passes
The Wax Lake Delta Passes are (from West to East):
Oryx Pass
Little Beach Pass
Fred Pass
Redhead Pass
Campground Pass
Shortcut Pass
Rookery Pass
Mallard Pass
Gadwell Pass
Main Pass
Greg Pass
Pintail Pass
East Pass
Getting Back
Whether you paddle back from the Gulf, or hitch a ride with a powerboat, the beautiful boat ramp below Berwick at the mouth of the Intracoastal Waterway is the best place to return to, and meet your shuttle home. Downtown Berwick Boat Ramps is a close second but requires more upstream, paddling, and is a less desirable boat ramp. A lot of paddlers in recent years have arranged for powerboats to shuttle them back from the ocean, or have hitched rides from passing fishing boats or workboats on their return to home port (which is almost always Morgan City for everyone in the Atchafalaya Delta). And you might decide the same, that you don’t want to paddle upstream. The current can sometimes be tough to paddle against, and the wind might be unfavorable. You are probably exhausted from your long day’s paddle to reach the coast, and really don’t have the energy to paddle back. But you can spend the night and do it in the morning. You probably already know that it isn’t too tough to paddle upstream. But we’re going to remind you here. And also offer the option for an extra day or two for a supreme ending to your expedition. You can make an extra campsite, and the take an extra day to paddle back to Morgan City. You will never be more than 25 miles from any given extremity of the Atchafalaya Delta. The Quapaws are the downstream people, and the Omahas are the Upstream people. You have been a Quapaw for three months or more. Be an Omaha for a day or two. Anyone who has paddled the length of the Mississippi can surely paddle back upstream 25 miles! If the water is high and you have headwinds it might require 2 days of paddling. Lastly and most importantly, there is a distinct beauty in being an Omaha and making the upstream paddle home. You see the marshes and cane brakes and islands and mudflats up close and intimately in a way that you never do paddling downstream. You get closer to birds and other wildlife. You might see (and take photos of) animals you have not been able to approach, like nutria, osprey, green tree frogs, and maybe even a gator.
Upstream Paddling
The trick to upstream paddling is to find the path of least resistance. On a river, that means staying as close to shore as possible without grounding out. It helps to hug the inside of long bends when possible. You will find it necessary to follow the long lines around wing dams, jetties and dikes, and paddle underneath docks or other man-made structures that get in the way. But the most important skill in being an Omaha is learning to dive in and out of eddies. Paddle like the French Voyageurs of the Lewis and Clark who paddled up the Missouri, and then later up the Columbia and Snake rivers. Watch carefully in front of you for eddies and slow places and use them to your advantage. Cut into every eddy you can find and relax when you can. As the water speed increases past points in between eddies paddle hard and tough with quick bursts of energy. Find the next slow place and take a break. If the wind is blowing, hug the shore which offers the best protection.
For the most part paddling up the passes from the ocean will be enjoyable, and not too tough. The water is slow in most passes (unless in flood). Try to time your return with the incoming tide. The most challenging portion of your return paddle will be the last 10 miles into Morgan City where the Atchafalaya River runs most powerful. The currents are almost always strong here, even with the tide in your favor. Also, you will probably have to make a channel crossing somewhere along the way. This might be a dangerous crossing with the frequent freighter traffic moving up and down the river through here. But with careful examination, and monitoring your VHF marine radio on channel 13 you will be fine. Make your crossing as quick as possible, in a perpendicular run straight for the opposite shore, even if it means losing some ground due to river flow. You will quickly regain any lost ground once you resume paddling back up the other shore.
In general the left bank descending (East Bank) will be easier to paddle alongside going upstream since it has slower flowing water. You will have to maneuver in and out of the various bayous and bay along the way, but in general these variations in the riverbank further slow the current and make the upstream haul a little easier. Furthermore, the East bank features more inlets, passes, and other breaks that offer more opportunities for rest stops along the way. Be sure to inspect Google Earth and search out options for the return journey. Bayou Shaffer would be a good route which you can access through Sweetwater Bay, LBD 131. But be creative and choose your own unique route. You might hit a dead end or two, but that is part of the adventure. The Atchafalaya Delta is a green tapestry woven of many strands of bayous, backwaters and passes, all of which you can see on Google Earth and find the route that seems best.
LiNKS = Leave No Kid on Shore
Leave no Kids on Shore (LiNKS) is an after-school environmental conservation/stewardship program for youth from the Lower Mississippi Valley to learn the skills of carving canoes, safe paddling on the big river, and wilderness survival. This is a continuation of the successful Mighty Quapaw Apprenticeship Program which has been active since 1998. LiNKS will focus on long-term solutions over short term fixes, in particular by applying long-term attention to our youth, and fostering mentorship relationships that last a decade or longer.
LiNKS is all about self-knowledge, personal health, character development, leadership, team skills, and learning to overcome challenges. Skills gained in first year will lead to self-confidence and self-knowledge and lay the foundation for future leadership skills and summer jobs in Lower Mississippi Valley eco-tourism opportunities. Skills include 1) sharpening: learning to hone carving tools razor sharp; 2) carving: learning to carve canoes with the axe, the adze, the scorp & the hand plane; 3) canoeing: learning to steer canoes using the c-stroke, j-stroke & ruddering; and 4) wilderness survival: camping skills including building a fire, setting up a tent in a rain storm, and cooking. Each skill is a rung on a ladder leading to become a confident outdoorsman or outdoorswoman. Each skill learned prepares students for next challenge (i.e. learning to steer leads to safe river navigation leads to becoming a group leader; learning to sharpen a tool leads to mastering a carving tool leads to self-confidence). The Mississippi River, the Helena Harbor and Buck Island are the classrooms for all canoeing activities. Canoe carving takes place in the workshops in and around Quapaw Canoe Company in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Helena, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee. LiNKS meets 4-6pm four times per week during the school year with once a month all-day field trips and an overnight canoe-camping adventure every spring and fall, in all involving 650 youth. A summer program will be conducted mornings during the week 9-10am for 6 weeks for 100 youth. Rewards Program: In March 2016 two youth will be chosen to participate in the 2-week scientific/educational circumnavigation of Big Island (20,000 acre island at the confluence of the Mississippi, White, and Arkansas Rivers). In the Summer of 2016 two LiNKS participants will spend 2 weeks rafting down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.
In 2016 we will provide 750 youth with experiences on the big river with the main goal of creating future environmental stewards who can care for, protect, and enjoy the Mississippi River and its Mississippi Delta floodplain for generations to come. What good is it protecting the forests if we don’t also populate the woods with ethical users? If we don’t use it, we’ll lose it. If our kids don’t use it, we’ll also lose it. LiNKS will engage Mississippi Delta Youth for river-based conservation by creating 1) real experience in the outdoors with 2) real conservation practice with 3) young men and women from severely distressed neighborhoods (focusing on black males ages 13-21). LiNKS will offer high-quality learning experience outside of the traditional school year that supports low-income students over the course of their Pre-K–12 academic careers.
LiNKS will create environmental stewards amongst the next generation and simultaneously help protect the forests and wild landscapes of the Lower Mississippi. It will enable participation amongst demographic groups who are not enjoying the same access as others. LiNKS will foster a young and upcoming community who will conscientiously use these landscapes in a sustainable fashion for a lifetime of good conservation and recreation.
Contact:
LiNKS/Leave No Kid on Shore
John Ruskey, Director
Lower Mississippi River Foundation
291 Sunflower Avenue
Clarksdale, MS 38614
john@island63.com
Cave: 662-627-4070 Cell: 662-902-7841