|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||
|
|
The Nature Conservancy in Tennessee Home Contact Places We Protect Press Releases Virtual Preserve Tour Slide Shows Ways of Giving |
|
|
|
||||
|
|
The Great Hatchie Canoe Expedition -
Day 2: Powell's Chapel Road to Bolivar, TN
Author: Monica Clutch
Date: December 27, 2007
Location: just southeast of Bolivar, TN
Photo © Monica Clutch/TNC
Previous entries in the blog
A Cold Day on the River
Day 2 from the outset was like being on an entirely different river. The day was overcast, and the temperature at launch hovered stubbornly just below freezing. (Might I remind the reader that I do not especially appreciate cold weather!) Mike Martin and I were both wearing multiple layers of clothing to ward off the chill, but our frozen fingers fumbled with the canoe tie-downs as we prepared to embark on our journey. A long day was planned: 26 miles on the Hatchie River from our put-in on Powell’s Chapel Road to our take-out on Highway 64 just outside of Bolivar, Tennessee.
The Hatchie River is intriguing in its ability to seem like an entirely different river from one day to the next. On that day, the sky was gray and overcast, lending a silvery, frosted appearance to the leafless trees. Pale green lichen stand out in an almost phosphorescent-green on days like this; those who have seen the lichen-covered trunks of tall cypress in the opaque waters of the bottomlands know well the eerie glow that these interesting cryptogams produce. Everything was cold and still, the only disturbance being our canoe as it slipped through the water.
The Balance of Man and Nature
On Day 2 of our journey, we experienced an even greater number of debris piles. On Day 1, we encountered quite a few drifts, all of which were passable. On Day 2, however, it was with great difficulty that we managed to avoid the need to portage over the massive jumbles of logs, garbage, and other detritus. At times we became trapped on semi-submerged logs and had to rock the canoe in order to slide over the top before continuing on our way.
High water and debris on the Hatchie. Photo © Monica Clutch/TNC
At one point, as we were passing alongside a railroad line, a train approached. It thundered through the bottoms along the trestles, reminding us of the relationship between man and nature – a constant struggle to find balance. As distant from civilization as we may have felt at the time, we were always aware of human influence on the environment.
Outside of the immediately obvious trash in the river, there were other clues to human presence. Porter’s Creek runs into the Hatchie south of Highway 64. From the river, you can look up into the creek, which seemed to stretch like a tree-lined runway into the distance, an example of the channelization that has so impacted the river. Despite the recent post-rainfall flows of the Hatchie River, a sandbar was still present near the mouth of the confluence of the Hatchie and the creek, evidence of the massive amount of sediment being transported into the river from the channel. We also saw a heavily logged stand of timber along the left bank. Trees were cut right up to the stream banks, and some tops had been carelessly allowed to fall to the water's edge. Doubtless some will contribute to debris pile-ups in the future.
All of which begs the question: Can man and river coexist? In Tennessee, we have stopped large-scale channelization, having learned that the benefits from this method of flood control do not counterbalance the ecological damage that results. Additionally, while we did witness some less-desirable timber management, it is important to note that many of the harvested stands we passed demonstrated commitment on the part of the landowner and/or timber harvester to exercise good forest stewardship, seeking sustainability in the use of the natural resources. Hardwood timber is an important part of the West Tennessee economy. Sustainable timber harvest provides incentive for landowners to keep property in various stages of tree-cover, providing important habitat value and soil stability. We also know of nature’s ability to heal over time, given favorable conditions.
I have to admit, much of the last few miles of the trip passed in a blur. The temperature never climbed much over 40 degrees, and an unrelenting north wind chilled us to the bone. Always one to be hypersensitive to the cold, I knew my discomfort was justified when Mike suggested he was also disinclined to experience much more of the day's frigid weather. By the time we disembarked from the canoe, our legs were so cold we had to support ourselves for a few moments before loading the canoe back on the trailer. Fatigued and chilled to the bone, we looked forward to improvement in weather conditions before resuming our journey on the Hatchie.
On to Day 3...
