Saturday, July 27, 2013

West to Columbus

Over the course of the last three years, the quest for new paddling destinations has led me from Houston in almost every compass direction:
  • Buffalo Bayou at the center
  • Oyster Creek and Cedar Lake Creek to the southwest.
  • Surfside Beach to the south.
  • Armand Bayou to the southeast.
  • Pickett's Bayou and the Old River to the east.
  • Sheldon Lake, Lake Houston, and Luces Bayou to the northeast.
  • Lake Raven to the north.
  • Lake Conroe and the West Fork of the San Jacinto River to the northwest (more or less)

At long last, I can fill in a destination to the west. At Linda's urging, we met up with friends in Columbus, TX and paddled the Columbus Paddling Trail on the Colorado River. It took us just over an hour to reach the starting point in Columbus and we completed the loop in about two and a half hours of paddling at a very relaxed pace. The water is fairly clear, flowing over a bed of mostly gravel and stone. On the banks are a mix of woods and ranch lands.

With the ongoing dry conditions in central Texas, the current was very light, but there was still plenty of water for floating. We saw numerous birds, a profusion of turtles, lots of cows, and even a few deer as we made the big loop around Columbus.

Once we reached the end of the loop, the nice folks at Howell Canoe Livery quickly shuttled us back to our cars and we were off restore our energy with a lunch of barbecue before heading back to Houston.

It was a nice relaxing paddle and well worth repeating.

More Pictures from the Colorado River at Columbus

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