South Louisiana Icecapades 2010

[islandpiper]

After some short but intense planning the group of Six headed out last monday morning. Jdupre', Bearridge, Keith, Seedtick, Islandpiper and young Islanddrummer from Minnesota. We put in at a little private campground launch near Port Vincent La, and camped on some family property of Keith's brother.

The pontoon boat served as ice breaker #1 and three pirogues fell in behind.
Ice 1/2 " thick is a real job to paddle through. The PT boat mashed up a good channel for us. This was not an ultralight, pure essentials trip. WE took what we wanted and used it all. Lots of food, cook gear, guns and airguns, ammo, food, shelters of various designs, food, cans of bacon grease, extra bacon, some food, lawn chairs, whiskey, ammo, food, and two dutch ovens.

Who says you can't have fun in the winter time? I'll post again in a while with sots of pics. I need to sort out the ones of a bear )((*&^%%ing in the woods and delete them. The rest are OK for family viewing.

Chime in you other wild explorers......add your dollar's worth as you go.

piper

 

[mike]

Oh, I can't wait for this........... 8) 8) 8)

Mike

 

[oldsparkey]

I think he forgot the food but remembered the ICE or did he just pick that up while paddling ... Stay tuned in to this channel to find out , we will be back right after this commercial break ........ :lol:

 

[jdupre']

We're back - showered and warm. This is what we were met with on Monday about 10:00 am.

The little bay at the landing had ice 1/4" thick or so. We had to break the ice with the paddle, make a stroke, and break the ice on the opposite side for the next stroke. Slow going. keith and seedtick , with bearridge riding shotgun, broke ice for us with the PT boat after that. When we got into Gray's Bay, the ice increased to 1/2" thickness. Did we mention this is South Louisiana?!

This is the pontoon boat set up as a floating hotel.

Our intrepid boatbuilders brought enough supplies,food, equipment and niceties for a small African safari. Thanks guys.

As usual, piper treated us to a variety ( big understatement) of fine meals - about 10-12 per day as I recollect. :mrgreen:

Much more to come, I'm sure.


Joey

 

[jdupre']

I think he forgot the food but remembered the ICE or did he just pick that up while paddling ... Stay tuned in to this channel to find out , we will be back right after this commercial break ........ :lol:

Ice on the open water is so unusual, I don't think it entered anyone's mind to pick some up for the ice chests. :roll:

 

[oldsparkey]

How many guys were in Hammocks when camping ? Or did everyone use tents or the PT Boat with a heater going. Camping arraignments in that weather would be interesting to find out. You did have some unusually cold weather for us southerners , some really not normal cold weather.

Another question is , how good are pirogues as ice breakers , since three folks were paddling them , that is an uncharted use for them on here that has not been said. I had to bust the ice out of mine one morning in the Okefenokee but never paddled in the ice with it. Hopefully that never has to be done again but it does leave that question. Do they make a good ice breaker ?

Chuck

 

[islandpiper]

I'll get some pics up ASAP.

I slept in my hennessey, with the new under cover and under pad and space blanket like hennessey recommends. I must say that in spite of the twenty plus temps i never had one minute of cold in the sack. Now, I do have a nice down bag and that is the key. But the Four Seasons kit from hennessey is great. Easy to use and very warm.

My son slept on a pad in a down bag in a tent and was also warm.

I had forgotten what STIFF tennis shoes feel like at six AM.

Men have been gathering around campfires for warmth for a couple million years. I'd like to report that it still works. The coffee was good too.

As for ice breaking, well, the UJ ran up on it when it was 1/4" thick and at the midpoint, broke through. At the 1/2" thickness that did not work as the flat bottom didn't point-load the ice enough to break it. Then, there was some bashing and crashing to make it go. Not fun. I have broken ice in an aluminum canoe, and it was more effective.

piper

 

[jdupre']

Chuck, they broke the ice (1/4" to 3/8") fairly well, but you couldn't hardly break it with the paddle without banging it down on each stroke. Good thing we had the PT boat for an icebreaker.

Piper and bearidge slept in their hammocks for the whole trip with varying degrees of success. I'll let bear elaborate on that story. I doubt the story will live up to the "live version" given around the campfire after a few adult beverages. :lol:

I wimped out and went back home the first night. I didn't want to risk those low temps with my cold foot syndrome. Mike and I slept in my tent the second night and I slept in the hammock last night. I had a full length blue pad and a smaller one under that for my upper body. A couple of chemical warmers for my feet and I was toasty warm. I think the temp was in the mid 30's. I'm really thinking about some kind of under insulation for the hammock. Fighting the pad and the sleeping bag to get and keep them in position is trying at best.

Joey

 

[jdupre']

This is one for the anti-gun nuts. Liquor and guns. Southern boys know how to have fun.

Keep yer shirts on. No drinking before shooting.

Joey

 

[oldsparkey]

Just was thinking I was the nut out camping , a pad under me in the hammock and a good down bag , as snug as a bug in a rug...... for a good nights sleep. Getting out is the problem , just something no normal person wants to do when it is that cold and you are nice and comfortable. Unless someone has the coffee going that is always a eye opener.

Chuck.

 

[seedtick]

The local papers had been publishing articles all week, warning hunters and fishermen about the hazards of being outdoors in sub freezing temperatures.

They didn't say anything about camping so we thought we were OK

We knew it would be a unique trip when the guy that owns the campground and the guy that manages it showed up Monday morning (Monday is their off day) to see if we were really going to put in and head out. As we were breaking the ice at the landing, the owner said he'd check with Al Gore and see if he could get a truckload of global warming sent down to help us out - reckon old Al didn't answer the phone

 

[islandpiper]

This one is a little image heavy......lots going on here, from ice on the channel to roast chicken, hammocks and group portraits.

piper

 

[islandpiper]

And a few more:

 

[seedtick]

with that much intelligence at one place, you just got to learn something, here's just a few things I picked up

1. weren;t any Democrats on the trip
2. young Island drummer is welcome at my campfire anytime
he does a good job of keeping the fire going
he does most of the dirty work around camp, leaving us geezers time for serious stuff
he's also good at being sure everyone makes it to their assigned sleeping spot at night
3. Piper - already knew he was an exceptional cook - but did you know he's about to get a pineapple plantation?
4. Joey can call a crow but can't call a turkey
5. Bear has discovered that that Sam Walton's chinese plastic grocery bags keeps your feet warm
6. Friend Keith - I've known him since we were little bitty kids so there ain't much left to learn from him
7. Whiskey bottles ought to have a label on them saying that alcohol can make you walk funny in the swamp

 

[jdupre']

with that much intelligence at one place, you just got to learn something, here's just a few things I picked up

7. Whiskey bottles ought to have a label on them saying that alcohol can make you walk funny in the swamp

Also, ya probably ought not to put Dago Red in Early Times bottles alongside real bottles of Early Times. Not saying nobody got a snoot of the wrong stuff in the dark or nothin'.

Joey

 

[jdupre']

A few more pics.

Piper's double jeapardy pineapple upside down cake. Absolutely delicious.

This is a very hard-to-get, high-speed picture of Bearridge "in between" bites of cake. Bear was our self-appointed cake crumb and pineapple drippings cake plate cleaner-upper. Good job, Bear.

This is friend keith doing a little on the spot carving of a bottle stopper. With all the gear that was present, there was not a cork screw to be found. Jules and Dale ( our drop in guest) pushed the cork into the bottle to gain access.

In hind sight , the stopper probably was not necessary. :wink:

Joey

 

[Kayak Jack]

Good to see all those (ugly but) familiar faces again. Island Drummer is lucky that he doesn't look like his Daddy. I see that Mr. Seedtick has joined true geezerdom and is sprouting chin whiskers. either that, or he shaved through a screen door.

I believe that I recognize that green pirogue that Island is paddling. I paddled that one a year ago. It had two inches of freeboard - one inch on the port, and another on its starboard side. :wink:

Really a treat to see you ice breakers of the primeval swamp brigade in operation. Simply amazing to see ice there, ehh?

 

[jdupre']

Jack, I might have seen ice like that twice before in my life, but NEVER camped in such weather. I think we were all a little uneasy about going out in those conditions.

Here's bearridge's hammock setup.

With all the trees there, he picked two that were just a bit too close together. Bear experimented with his cold weather sleeping gear. He had some really warm looking Polar Tech pants and covered with a Polar Tech blanket instead of fighting with a sleeping bag. He slept cold-footed the first two nights (I sympathize with ya, Bill), but hit on a good combination on the last night. Bear's search for warm feet made for a hilarious conversation around the campfire the last night.

Piper had a slight mishap with the pineapple upsidedown cake which caused him a couple of small burns. That started a rant about suing , amoung others, the cake mix people, the aluminum foil people, the plywood people, the dutch oven people and an ongoing idea about piper being awarded a pineapple plantation ( less Bearridge's 40% cut , that is). A couple of us even wanted a cut because of the trauma of seeing our buddy suffer with his injuries. Ya kinda had to be there. :mrgreen:

Joey

 

[islandpiper]

Condensed synopsis of the menu:

Slow cooked wild pig leg, pulled in gravy with rice, baked chicken (several) with dressing, chicken/sausage gumbo, fried potatoes with bacon (lots) and sausage, scrambled eggs with bacon, fresh cornbread and Grandma Doyles Irish soda bread (both baked there at camp), hot fried ham, sliced marinated and fried pork tenderloin, hot dogs, cheese, cheese curds, various inseason citrus fruits, pop tarts, Little Debbie cakes, beef jerky, trail mix, dried fruit, pecans, one MRE just for fun, pineapple upside down cake baked there, sausage (various), cookies in a bag, water, wine, just a smidgen of whiskey, beer, coffee , gourmet teas, hot chocolate......hmmmm........guys, what am i forgetting?
Much of this was possible because of the generous supply of wood provided by Keith and Mr. Stihl.

piper

 

[jdupre']

That just about covered the menu. BUUUURRRP!