Vicksburg to Baton Rouge — Appendix

Rivergator: Vicksburg to Baton Rouge MM 437 - 229 Rivergator Appendix Table of Contents Appendix I Other Water Trails for Paddlers to Explore in the Lower Mississippi River Valley Appendix II Paddling on the Yazoo River above Vicksburg Appendix III Habitat Restoration on the Lower Miss Appendix IV Monmouth steamboat disaster Appendix V Layne’s Log Appendix VI Mark River Blog Appendix VII John Ruskey Artistic Journal of Morning Impressions Appendix VIII Additional Stories from Natchez Area by Adam Elliott Appendix IX Vicksburg Services and Accommodations by Layne Logue Appendix X Natchez Services and Accommodations by Adam Elliott Appendix XI Dave & Linnea on the Atchafalaya Appendix XII Sources Appendix XIII Literary Analysis Rivergator Appendix XIV Paddling through Weather Extremes: Wind and Severe Thunderstorms Rivergator Appendix XV Lake Country of Northern Louisiana

Rivergator Appendix I Other Water Trails for Paddlers to Explore in the greater Lower Mississippi River Valley Mississippi Delta Paddling Trails: Links: Big Sunflower River ( ) Little Sunflower River ( ) Yalobusha River ( ) Google Map Links: You can view a google map of these trails by clicking the following links: Big Sunflower River: Little Sunflower River: Yalobusha River: Water Trails of Northeastern Louisiana: Lakes of Northeastern Louisiana: Tensas River Bayou Macon Bayou Bartholomew These trails can also be accessed through Explore Louisiana North: Birders Guide to Louisiana is available as a free download:

Rivergator Appendix II Paddling on the Yazoo River above Vicksburg By Layne Logue & John Ruskey Yazoo River King’s Ferry Landing to Vicksburg Paddlers on canoes, kayaks or stand up paddleboards can follow the Yazoo River out of the Mississippi Delta to where it ends at the Loess Bluffs of Vicksburg. Known as the “River of Death” the Yazoo River was once populated by Quapaws, Choctaws, and others, and still is a vital route for commerce and transportation. Today the Yazoo inhabits the Civil War channel of the Mississippi through downtown Vicksburg, and yields the best possible view of the battlefields.

The Yazoo drains the Mississippi Delta and the Mississippi Hill Country. More blues musicians were born and raised along its banks (and tributaries) than probably any other river in the world! This 5.1 mile paddle is a very easy day trip for the beginner paddler. It can range from 2 to 4 hours, depending on how much exploring and floating you want to do. The Yazoo River banks are wooded along the route, and the main channel is free of debris and very easy to navigate. Paddlers are likely to encounter wildlife such as beaver, gar, asian carp (jumping fish), turtles and sometimes gators.

This area is a paradise for birders and is always flush with waders like herons, egrets, pelicans and many others. During the spring migration the songbirds fill the woods with their beautiful songs. Late in the evening the whitetail deer come out on the top bank looking for food and bear are occasionally spotted. Gar are constantly swimming up to the surface as opportunistic feeders. When you sneak up on them they take-off like a rocket! There is one nice sandbar halfway along the route (near the mouth of the Centennial Lake Chute mile 2.8).

This sandbar disappears when the river rises above 20NG. Otherwise there are no other sandbars or attractive places for paddlers to stop until you reach the Vicksburg waterfront. Custom Google Map For best understanding and appreciation of King’s Ferry Landing to Vicksburg, use Custom Google Map for this route. River Levels: Water levels on this section of the Yazoo are dependent on the Mississippi (only 7 miles downstream) so it’s best to use the Mississippi River Gage at Vicksburg to determine conditions on the Yazoo.

Sometimes the Yazoo has strong flow, but sometimes it is still as a lake, and sometimes it is flowing backwards! (in a strong Mississippi rise). Go to USGS Gage: Or use the Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center: Low Water is 0-20 on the Vicksburg Gage (NG). Sandbars and mudbars will all be exposed, but no access to any backwater places (like Centennial Lake). The Yazoo will probably have some flow. Medium water is 20-30NG. Only some sand and mud exposed. The Yazoo might be flowing, but it might not be flowing.

(Depends on the amount of precipitation upstream and whether the Mississippi is rising or falling). During High water 30-43NG the Yazoo will probably be flatwater. At +30NG, there are almost no places to stop except for the put-ins and take-outs (without paddling through the trees and looking for dry ground). At flood stage (43NG or above) all of the forests will be flooded and the Yazoo will be a stillwater paddle. Don’t Forget to Pack: Life jacket, extra paddle, water bottle, snacks, bug spray, sun screen, wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses,1st Aid kit, emergency gear, cell phone (in zip lock bag), rubber barn boots, sponges and bailers, extra rope, extra food and water, fire starter, camera and rain gear.

Dress for the weather and pack everything into drybags, plastic tubs or garbage sacks. Hunting Season During whitetail deer hunting season (Oct-Jan), there are deer camps on the right bank. Do not venture into the woods during these times. For best protection wear orange cap or vest over your life jacket. King's Ferry Landing 32.400482, 90.923549 (Latitude: 32°24'2.06N, Longitude: 90°55'25.13W) The boat ramp/Ferry Landing is in good condition (small rock & dirt) for boat launch, but paddlers will have to time their entry in timing with the King’s Ferry which operates every day from 6am-6pm.

Parking okay during these operating hours but don’t leave vehicle overnight. Directions from Vicksburg: The King's Ferry Landing is located off of Old Highway 61 (Business 61) to Haining Road to Long Lake Road and finally to King’s Point Ferry Road. There is a large metal sign on Haining Road that states “King’s Ferry Landing.” King’s Point Ferry Road has 4 miles of good gravel road (cars without 4-wheel drive will have no problem).

Mile 1.2 Upper Vicksburg Harbor Watch for industrial and commercial traffic coming in and out of this harbor which includes oil and chemical refineries and Anderson Tully lumber operations. Ergon Refinery dock at mouth of harbor. Mile 2.8 Centennial Lake Entrance 32.373972, 90.89059 Approx. 2.8 miles downstream from the King’s Ferry Landing, you’ll see the entrance to Centennial Lake on your right. When less than 20NG, the Yazoo River typically has a nice white sandbar here that is exposed; good for camping or a nice break point for a snack and/or relax.

If the river is higher than 13NG, it is possible to go into beautiful Centennial Lake through the chute that connects to the Yazoo River. The chute winds 0.8 miles in a narrow channel (30 feet wide low water / 100 feet wide high water) surrounded the trees. It is quiet, full of wildlife and the occasional alligator can be seen here. Centennial Lake Centennial Lake is 1.5 miles long and 0.4 miles wide and known for great fishing and calm waters. An occasional Jet Ski or ski boat will come to the lake to play.

The state boundary of Louisiana and Mississippi runs right down the middle of the lake. During periods of high water you can cut east through the trees over to DeSoto Lake. DeSoto Lake Cutoff 32.350174, 90.887597 Secret Cutoff through DeSoto Lake from Centennial Lake to reach downtown. Only possible when the Mississippi River is higher than 33 on the Vicksburg Gage. Approximate route shown on custom google map . Follow your own intuition and the current state of vegetation and piles of driftwood for actual route.

Vicksburg

National Military Park Fort Hill and the Vicksburg National Military Park are directly downstream and in full view from the Centennial Lake chute confluence. You are 1.2 miles to the Fort Hill cannons as the crow flies, and so you are paddling exactly where Union gunboats would have been nervously steaming through this area in 1863. Paddlers can’t help but imagine the anxiety the ship’s crew felt as cannon balls rained down upon them from the high strategic Vicksburg bluff in the Civil War.

Note: The 1861 ironclad U.S.S. Cairo gunboat was found 2 miles above the King’s Ferry Landing during low water, and was moved to the Military Park where an exhibit has been built about it. There are still some 29 sunken boats from the Civil War known to be in the Yazoo River. Mile 3.7 Fort Hill Bend The Yazoo River takes a 90 degree right turn at the base of Fort Hill as it slams into the Loess bluffs of Vicksburg. Left bank opening is the entrance to the Vicksburg Harbor which is full of industries, tows and barges.

You should keep a careful eye out for towboats, workboats and crewboats from here to the takeout. Mile 4.5 Downtown Vicksburg The city of Vicksburg rises out of the trees bank left in the last 400 yards of the route. The Old (Train) Depot Museum is first to make appearance, and is one of the few buildings here that is not protected by the flood walls. High up the bluff, you’ll see the 1859 Old Courthouse Museum with its clock tower visible like a lighthouse. Mile 5.1 The Vicksburg City Front Boat Ramp 32.350836, 90.885032 (Latitude: 32°21'2.97N, Longitude: 90°53'6.15W) Left bank descending.

Concrete boat ramp and in good condition. Often used by fishing boats and workboats. But plenty of space for paddlers who can take out anywhere along the cobblestones or the mud below. There is plenty of parking on the concrete slabs and the Vicksburg Police Department patrols through here regularly. There are steel chain links embedded in the parking area concrete slabs, which allow big boats to anchor via steel cables. These also allow canoeists and kayakers to lock up boats in the parking lot without fear of theft -- if you wanted to leave it alone while you retrieve your vehicle or go sightseeing past the flood walls.

The flood walls on the side that face the city have beautiful murals painted on it. After a long hot day of paddling, go across the street from the boat ramp to the Catfish Row Water Park and rinse off in the water fountains. …A refreshing ending to a great day! Centennial Lake Roundtrip This is a 5 to 7 mile paddle, easy for beginners and takes 2-4 hours to complete. One of the best features about this paddle trail is the Put-In and Take-Out is the same location, where you parked at the Vicksburg City Front Boat Ramp!

This route is only possible if the river is above 33 feet on the Vicksburg Gage. After leaving the boat ramp, paddle directly across the Yazoo and downstream approx. 500 feet. There will be a small opening on the right in the woods. 32.350174, 90.887597. On Google Earth (Image date: 10-28-2012), the shortcut (dirt path) is easy to see in this low water picture. This shortcut will take you to DeSoto Lake. In less than 5 minutes, you can leave the city and be surrounded by nature. Paddle to the far Southwest corner of DeSoto Lake and you’ll find the shortcut to Centennial Lake.

Paddle 1 mile to the Northeast corner of Centennial lake and you’ll come to the chute that connects the lake to the Yazoo River. 0.8 mile long chute winds down a narrow channel (30 feet wide low water / 100 feet wide high water) through the trees. It is quiet, full of wildlife and the occasional alligator can be seen here. When you get to the Yazoo take a right and return downstream 2.2 miles back to where you started at the Vicksburg City Front Boat Ramp.

Rivergator Appendix III Habitat Restoration on the Lower Miss Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee partners have identified more than 200 projects to restore aquatic habitat and provide greater public access to the river. Water flows have been restored to nearly 40 miles of side channel habitat. More projects are planned based on how they improve habitat quality and whether they are cost-effective.

The LMRCC, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other partners are monitoring habitat changes at restoration sites. Pallid Sturgeon: Studies in the last decade have confirmed that the Pallid Sturgeon, an endangered species, occurs throughout the Lower Mississippi River. Restoration of side channels, among other actions, is improving habitat for young sturgeon to survive. Biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are continuing to study sturgeon populations to learn more about the habitats they need and how they may benefit from restoration projects.

Fat Pocketbook Mussel: This species, also endangered, was first reported from Mississippi River channel habitats in 2003. Recent studies indicate that the mussels are associated with secondary channels where water flows are maintained by dike notches. Interior Least Tern: The bulk of the world’s population of endangered Interior Least Terns occurs along the Lower Mississippi River. The Fish and Wildlife Service states construction of notches in Lower Mississippi River navigation dikes enhances Least Tern breeding habitats by limiting the ability of terrestrial predators to reach nesting colonies.

Rivergator Appendix IV Monmouth steamboat disaster BY DANIEL BETHENCOURT| Nov. 17, 2014 BR researcher explores Monmouth steamboat disaster The facts behind the disaster that struck on the Mississippi River north of Baton Rouge in 1837, when hundreds of Native Americans lost their lives in a horrific steamboat crash, have long been shrouded in the mists of time. Among details that are known: The Monmouth steamboat was heading up the Mississippi River just north of Baton Rouge on a pitch-dark night in October when it crashed into another boat coming the opposite direction where the river splits at Profit Island .

The Monmouth was overloaded with hundreds of Native Americans being forcibly removed to Western prairies, and more than 300 of them drowned when they were hurled into the cold, dark waters as the boat broke apart. Yvonne Lewis Day, who is vice president and program coordinator of the Baton Rouge Genealogical and Historical Society, told members of that group on Saturday she’s pieced together various accounts of the suspicious crash and concluded that several factors came into play in the disaster.

As it turns out, she said, not only were the weather conditions terrible and the boat overloaded — the Monmouth’s crew may have been intoxicated from tapping into whiskey barrels sitting at the back of the boat. If true, the steamboat’s reckless operation led to hundreds of deaths of Native Americans who had already been forced to migrate across the continent as part of the Trail of Tears. The collision ripped the steamboat in two, and by the time it completely sank, at least 300 of the roughly 700 on board were dead — almost all of them Native Americans, Day said.

Most of their bodies had washed ashore hundreds of yards away near Port Allen, only to be buried in mass graves that remain unmarked. Day presented her conclusions at the group’s meeting in the Bluebonnet branch of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library. Throughout her talk, Day made clear that the notion of Native Americans simply being ordered to wander in isolation across several states is misguided — they were led by force, in what she called a “very well-organized military operation.” But the vessel’s disastrous sinking on the Mississippi is a mysterious chapter in that operation.

“The Monmouth was not just a vessel with 700 Indians on it,” Day said. “It was part of a much larger situation that had national implications. It was not just a little vessel out there.” While the accounts of what actually happened on Oct. 31, 1837, vary dramatically, what is clear is that the Monmouth left a port near New Orleans bound for Arkansas, where the boat’s captain intended to deposit the hundreds of Native Americans who would then be forced to make their way west to Oklahoma. But the journey proved complicated, since it took place in stormy weather and near-total darkness.

The night was so pitch-black in part because Baton Rouge did not even have streetlights when the Monmouth passed by the city. The only light that passengers might have seen would have come from a candle still lighted in a window, Day said. In those conditions, the Monmouth reached an especially dangerous part of the river — the stretch with present-day Profit Island north of Baton Rouge that briefly splits the river in two. For reasons that aren’t clear, the Monmouth started to veer left around the island, even though the boat should have stayed right, as is customary for travelers on a roadway.

Suddenly it found itself in the path of another oncoming steamboat, the Warren, which was towing another boat called the Trenton. With only a moment’s notice, the two vessels smashed into each other. The survivors, for the most part, happened to be clinging to the front portion of the boat, which remained afloat. The rest of the boat sank, and the people on board were doomed by the cold and powerful current. No law enforcement group ever gave an official account. But Day found that the crew may well have been drunk when the accident took place.

They had spent the day they shipped out drinking heavily from whiskey barrels at the back of the boat that were on board to be sold in Oklahoma. That’s according to the accounts of Native Americans who survived the wreck and later demanded reparations from the government. “That opens up the possibility that the boat was on such an erratic course not only because of the wind and the water, but the mismanagement of the crew,” Day said. The accident was not in itself surprising given the early stages of the steamboat industry.

The boats were totally unregulated as well as dangerous. There weren’t even laws requiring steamboats to have lights when they were traveling. The accident lives on in oral histories of the Creek tribe, but as far as Day could tell, there have been no efforts to memorialize or even note the location of where exactly the bodies would have been buried. She said that could be a possibility for future research. “History is never as simple as we think it is,” Day said. “I was concerned about setting history straight.”

Rivergator Appendix V Layne’s Log Facebook Journal kept by expedition member Layne Logue Dec 6-16, 2014 Day 1 = 11 miles. Total paddled = 11 miles Remaining = 199 miles Mississippi River Expedition Vicksburg to Baton Rouge (210 miles) Dec 6 10 people and two canoes left the Vicksburg Riverfront boat ramp around 2pm. The rain held off and the wind was at our back. We made campsite at mile marker 428 on the right bank descending tucked into a cove that is protecting us from the north wind. Adam Elliott was grand chef tonight and it was whitetail deer chili with cornbread pancakes. And banana nut bread for dessert. Good way to start... Day 2 = 20 miles. Total paddled = 32 miles Remaining = 179 miles Mississippi River Expedition Vicksburg to Baton Rouge (207 miles) Dec 7 Last night at our campsite (mi marker 426 almost across from LeTourneau boat ramp)... I used my Sierra Madre Research Hammock tent (nube, pares and winter barrier). This was my first time sleeping in a hammock. And it was really good! The day started out very cloudy and a little wind... But the temp was not too c