2005/04 Deep South trip - Valentine Lake, Kisatchie Forest |
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We discovered this mistake in the end but it was nearly dark when we pulled into the campground. We were the only campers there other than the campground host, and had our pick of campsites overlooking the lake. We scrabbled around collecting damp firewood and managed to cook dinner outside, looking out over the lake.
Tuesday April 12th
In the morning it was apparent that we were in a really beautiful place. Despite the beauty, the host, another thermal refugee from Minnesota, said that the locals never go there to camp, so he has an easy job. It was a warm breezy day, so we launched the kayak to explore the lake, beginning at the swampy end with all the interesting channels. The host had said he didn’t think there were any alligators in the lake, but he was very concerned about snakes. Normally he’s headed back north by this time but this year he’d stayed on an extra month and found out about all the reptiles that become active in the springtime.
Well we saw a good-sized alligator within the first few minutes, gliding across our path as we came around a corner in 
the swamp. There was also an alligator nesting area, with some well-worn chutes across the sand into the water. However, our kayak’s alligator repellant seemed to be working well and we had no close company. The rest of the lake is ringed with yellow irises, big plants chest high. Behind them are magnolias, bamboo, and wild azaleas. Being the wild variety, the azaleas are all the same colour, creamy white and pink. The swamp was covered with strange floating water plants.
At the other end of the lake I got out of the kayak to check out the route under a bridge, well worth doing as it turned out to be hiding a twenty-foot deep weir! While I was away, Sandie, still sitting in the kayak, was visited by a couple of snakes, swimming in the lake. One was a small coral-coloured snake, probably a harmless water snake, and the other was a good-sized and dangerous water moccasin, also known as a cottonmouth. Sorry Mum, Sandie didn’t think to keep them amused until I got back, so I wasn’t there to get you any pictures.
Our campground host and his wife were a little dismayed to hear about all the new wildlife we’d found. As they’re both terrified by snakes I don’t think they’ll ever stay into springtime again.
Later we set out to hike the Wild Azalea trail, but turned the wrong way and ended up walking around the lake instead, on a trail between the irises and azaleas, with Sandie looking out carefully for her new snake friends.