With an impending full moon and no recent rain, the afternoon low tide was likely to be pretty low. The wind was blowing pretty hard, which threatened to create a wind tide, but I figured it would be nice to go for a paddle, even if I couldn’t find any mud.

The wind turned out to be a real challenge for this out-of-condition old man. I tried to maintain a strong but sustainable cadence as I labored against a strong headwind. I did get breaks from the wind, as the river snakes back and forth. I had a 2.5 mile (4 km) paddle to my destination.

When I arrived, I encountered an unexpected obstacle. It’s kind ironic that I had packed a lot of gear for this trip but the one thing I really needed, I didn’t have. That was my machete. The grass had grown up since my last visit and my naked body was no match for the sadistic saw grass. By the time I made my way to the mud, I was bleeding in multiple places and I had lost much of my enthusiasm.

I did go in the mud (as you can see in the pictures), and I tried to enjoy myself as much as I could. I only set up one camera to record the event. Once I finished, I had to make my way back to the creek through the tall grass to clean up, then I had to go back to get the camera, and finally return to the boat. By the time I was back at my boat, I was a bloody mess. I still had time to sink some more, but I just wasn’t up for another pass through the gauntlet. If I had brought my machete, I could have cleared a path, but alas, I did not.

The paddle back to the car was also an exercise in endurance, but needless to say, I made it back and my arms got a great workout.