Presidential Ramblings … by Patricia Fontova

Pictures from Memorial Day Black Creek Paddle

Our wonderful trip leader with all the women - Gary was taking the picture and Sparky was off playing somewhere.

Sparky in her new pfd!

Well, the summer started off great with the Black Creek Memorial Day paddle. It was the first Bayou Haystacker trip that I’ve ever been on where the women outnumbered the men! There were 4 women – Kathy Knierim, Elaine Lear, my daughter, Amelia and me; 2 men – Gary Smith and Hoyt Sayler, the trip leader; and my new dog, also a female, Sparky. The water was a little low but not too bad and the weather was nice and kind of cool at night. All in all, it was a very good trip.

I just realized I haven’t been on a club trip since then! Between my daughter’s graduation, my husband’s birthday, parent orientation at LSU and a family vacation, I haven’t had much time for paddling, but that will soon change. This weekend is my Magee’s Creek paddle and it looks like it is going to be a good group with a couple of new people.

There’s not too much on the calendar for the end of July but maybe we can get in an unscheduled last minute trip on July 28 or August 4 – any suggestions?

The Ex-Com meeting for August has been changed to Wednesday, August 8. There was a conflict on the 15th and we wanted to have an extra week of planning time for Paddlefest.

And speaking of Paddlefest – DON’T FORGET!! It will be on September 14 – 16 at Fontainebleau State Park, Group Camp 3. We have a variety of activities planned and it should be a fun and maybe educational experience. The Backpacker and Massey's have pledged their support. The Backpacker will be there with demo boats like last year! Compass Rose will have rental kayaks available for anyone that doesn't have a boat but wants to join in some of the paddles. I just heard from BCKFC (Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club) and they have agreed to join us and give us a presentation on kayak fishing. And we're planning to have a presentation on wilderness survival and some basic canoe and/or kayak classes. Hoyt will lead a trip down Cane Bayou and we will probably have a bike trip to Abita Springs on the Tammany Trace.

There is some information on the website including an on-line registration. If you’d like to volunteer to help – we’d love to have you. Just get in touch with me either by email – president@bayouhaystackers.com or by phone – 504-577-9342. Or even if you don’t want to volunteer but have questions about Paddlefest, don’t hesitate to contact me. I’d love to hear from you. Tell your friends, tell your family, tell your co-workers. This will be a great time to find out more about paddling – whether they’re interested in kayaking or canoeing. I have some fliers ready Click here for a pdf). If you’d like some to distribute at some local sport shops or wherever, just let me know and I’ll get some to you.

And now I’ll leave you with this quote from one of the little paddling books Kim donated to the club: “There’s more joy in paddling a bad canoe with a good paddle than a good canoe with a bad paddle” – so next time you think you want a new canoe, you may try just getting a new, beautiful paddle. You’ll save some money and at the same time feel very extravagant.

Larry Koenig - I'm not sure what he's doing but I think he was telling us something about bandages.

May General Membership Meeting

At our last meeting (May General Membership) Dr. Larry Koenig gave us part 2 of Wilderness First Aid. It was wonderful as usual.

Do you know what RICE stands for? This is something to remember when you are dealing with sprains - Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.

He also gave us a hand-out entitled First Aid Kit Bits and since I am so nice - click here for a copy in PDF format. This handout would be more meaningful if you had been there but it should still be useful.

General Membership Meeting— Weds. July 18, 2007
How-To’s: Leading BPHC Trips … by Martina Ellis

(This meeting is over but here's what you missed if you didn't make it.)

The heart of the Bayou Haystackers is paddling---be it rivers, creeks, swamps, the Gulf, the lakes, moving or still water. We paddle. To do this as a club, we depend upon someone stepping forth to lead the trip.

At our July General Membership Meeting, two of our most intrepid trip leaders--Gary Smith & Hoyt Sayler — are going to tell us about the ins & outs, nuts & bolts of leading trips for the Bayou Haystackers. From deciding what streams to paddle, to the ACA paperwork, a well-run trip requires planning & decisions that are often invisible to those of us just along for the paddle, but make for those memorable trips & stories we share around the campfire.

More trip leaders mean more trips & more variety of trips. So come, get educated and inspired ---and lead a trip!!