Nuts for the Nueces
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh21ANUGvnsZjVCvM2Q8drGjtL1OA2cPjan0DGOuMsBRT7ertAqaxbBYdL9pxKvGWM9tZIasZoz1P-xbXJvuqDJ9IxLre2NhuTZH4ovajok6sIG4CVLnHqazMOH41cApB2DYDU/s200/NuecesCC.jpg)
The refineries exist because of the Port of Corpus Christi -- the nation's sixth-busiest -- and the port exists because of the Nueces River.
Shortly after the refineries come into view, the interstate crosses the river. Here it is a slow, silt-laden stream crawling between muddy banks choked with mesquite, willow and scrubby oaks. Just downstream, the river meanders into spartina marsh before emptying into the shallow, reef-strewn reaches of Nueces Bay.
That's the Nueces I grew up with.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5sBE5PCMOhtut6UDDz62iGUulbyYX6xo9RawXPRo75RIMtOLU7fJv1m9Jloyj7P1uPhHdcg1IKtrVeW5qpbnsnfkqZBviZ3P-rmMmkM62z_GtuUojD9Uuhd2fA80gvRTcsmg/s200/yaksrock.jpg)
Last weekend, with four friends, I set out to explore that difference, and the river that has long been calling to me.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvaR2gg3B070t98ZzFh7ocRKPQfBl48pUnyWHfx8Bvkw-5NouZnyFVG2-kavD_bJlHWjKGdZO9ROAzHSETEEvOscmYYmsjzn7l7qRx-jKtH776AB6Q-Ihsau30T4Vc3p4fyjI/s200/kenfoot.jpg)
McCord also reports that some 45 miles of the upper Nueces, from north of Barksdale to near Uvalde, are navigable nearly year-round.
Not so, said Marilyn Stoner. Marilyn and her husband Tom own Clear Creek Outfitters in Camp Wood. From the paddling shop-and-antique store on the main drag, they rent kayaks, provide shuttles and counsel kayakers on current river flows and conditions. The advice and help with route planning is free to all comers.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynpkzrSU5wqaMLtA6jzVOWyoKNqvn9TMV6Vne3BZ1Q3pgwiJLsYUZJLU9g_5pPQxTAvn-wtw9xsYf441haLWNShnx3PtIJGB-a2fXeA6DYO3GwwrpD6KQmAvDWbtGK1YefIg/s200/schudanny.jpg)
Marilyn warned us that the river is shallow in many places and we'd probably end up dragging the boats part of the way.
"There are rocks in some of those rapids that will eat boats," she said.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2PY6e2gNawCTaVAgw282I-kMlgT13PpsdIoZYB5AweRVa-aJqBj2TY0z_kbDE9hyMhWp9XauLGISG1Rvy4pA9X6j2AlD_fr4vyJnfoFiFFVHfh1T6TNCf25d-P-zUEoQ_Oc/s200/cichlid.jpg)
On the Nueces, even more than some other Hill Country streams, rises can come quickly. The river's watershed is huge -- it drains something like 17,000 square miles -- and a downpour out of sight and sound beyond a ridgeline can translate into a sudden wall of water under bright sun and blue skies somewhere else minutes or hours later.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHZMJvTdYSu7HFHmr4S6WBpgo2nSJOih_kiWL7Mqn_EP21k915w7IG79w1aB2yBbYzjhHxpccspD0BRyYeT7YrZ_VDJ-pYFUI7Fpptsh9NhMsJSkFq0ooqmruHDnPXk_lp0yg/s200/3fish.jpg)
On one six-mile reach I was forced out of my boat exactly once, and then only because I chose the wrong channel at the head of a riffle.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBACDJ3OZzUlp2Tv4IzBMuNZRK7yHT_TzHbYwAwzbsFPGL0Lg9fir7wXv0Ri6KjDHM2uhNldW727A__NWQGAzD0Wxnn38kvpkj9LjxIzYEY6IsAZSQ4dZ0ARYZA1d1zQs4OA/s200/vincebasslight.jpg)
We chose Big Oak campground just south of Camp Wood, where tent camping sites include water, electricity, fire rings and grills.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsTNS3chT-z5cc4oTwQ6XxNcItk1X3VufrQnC_bUWsGif-zs4HxUpzQT8w7RG1rsN6t5yTnY7fN-XWPCHZRSt4Sc4rmdFij5rgscaDOjwpqcpvJqxXvj0kwcV9aFQHfsaDzk/s200/keneasycheeze.jpg)
It's also about leaving workaday concerns behind. It's about the joy of watching a belted kingfisher hover above a riffle, dive and emerge with a minnow in its beak. It's about the play of light and water and limestone, and a flock of wild turkeys coming down to drink.
It's about good friends and good food and the lies guys tell around the campfire.
Vince (an old college buddy of like mind who I'm just now really getting to know) brought venison fajita meat -- and his Big Bend staple, Easy Cheese (I'm now a convert); Ken, my regular coastal paddling partner, provided a flask of apfelkorn. Danny -- my fishing partner of more than decade -- and Schu, another Houston friend, kept busy passing icey cans of Pearl Light around the fire.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7FjwusLn4Zt4vTjnkorOTFXcgCA7qrilhO2vpW9FOE32JrfOlUCoUocbaKXDv6iEVRu4ynkW1RigBKq3QhAnoJQkI3JWgjkK8vRcxvzSGGCjndQM3IGBHLQKuuYQaXQ5mzc/s200/campfire.jpg)
For Vince and me, that meant heading 20-plus miles cross-country from Barksdale on an unpaved county road that wound through large ranches along the canyon carved by Bullhead Creek. That road connected to Ranch Road 336, which plunges south to Leakey.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwy_eOlQc4QuFvJgP0-nLNl4hPiz7BYZ5jIXrvQ1Ig7Ha9WbRyYDJljQi0-IFbcRnMqmxARpNixJXiIKAvwON7ZqaOTbV-o8YzX2bp7K4bPIPedaG2AyMr_FEjDrqYAnVe7Qk/s200/camelkiss.jpg)
Between Leakey and Vanderpool, Vince and I pulled off at a picnic area high atop a ridge to stretch our legs and grab a quick bite to eat. As we carved chunks of venison sausage onto saltines liberally spread with Easy Cheese, we heard a voice: "Good job! You're doing great! Just a little farther now ...."
We turned to see a young boy -- probably only 9 or 10 -- coast to a stop on his bicycle. Behind him came a man on a triple-seater, two younger children behind him.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijYT4mY5D7Rwoy6cUPUYnoAt_NpTglXfJs_QmCGUlfiYinlr0DN0v4OmwvEicitOBjJMNtnKVn_29OEFZKl9f7bB613yEHvOJTV3bYeGjanFaUW-IsCr2or4igtpggvYfK0j8/s200/bikers.jpg)
A Team Cyclone support trailer pulled in a few minutes later, so I guess they probably knew what they were doing. But still. Wow.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ-UdJzl8Py-PUQUzFIi3a8Eq1EW8MjlpFfXymSSNeXfrbYnWJKjPvylJAM7zxHiONixmn-EReXbqYdJmFyiV_JTpmoUyDXvFNWYtJOyiBFLRzjHuv0yAewtQaaOQi_KCF_6Q/s200/signs.jpg)
It's a fine coincidence that Sunday is one of two "Fossil ID Days" UT hosts each year. Look for a report on that expedition here after the weekend.
[The Nueces at LaBonte Park, alongside IH-37 just north of Corpus Christi. Note the dead crab in the foreground; still life with boats on the Nueces River near Big Oak River Camp; this view of Ken's right foot gives a pretty good idea of both the water depth and quality in the upper Nueces (photo courtesy KendalLarsonPhotography.com); Schu and Danny negotiate a snag in a tight bend on the upper Nueces below Camp Wood; A nice Rio Grande perch, the only cichlid native to Texas; Danny, Ken and Vince show-off a largemouth bass triple-header; Vince admires a nice Nueces River Guadalupe bass; Ken goes for broke with the Easy Cheese; sitting around the campfire; You never know what you might see on the roads through the Hill Country. Here, two camels kiss; Five tired but happy bikers at the top of the ridge between Vanderpool and Leakey ; even if you don't paddle, or fish, the trip to Camp Wood is worth it for the amazing scenery. We figure the more warning signs, the better the drive (photo courtesy Vince Terracina, TAG Marketing).]
2 comments:
Nice report! I grew up in Mathis, with the Nueces just a few miles to our south. We spent many afternoons splashing around and fishing on the muddy river below the dam. I recently stopped at the river crossing on Hwy 90 just west of Uvalde. It was beautiful. Hardly can belive it's the same river! (p.s. got your blog URL from Vince on the Big Bend Chat site)
Yeah, it's way different, isn't it? Thanks for stopping by!
Post a Comment