Calcasieu River - Hineston to Strothers Landing

Both launch site and take out were very accessible. This section needs to be done only when water is at 12'/just at flood stage. Smaller sit-in kayaks highly recommended. The current was swift and there were many fallen trees which is why I rated it difficult. We did one true portage and another semi portage. We were able to sneak under or around about another dozen or so trees. With the swift current there was no time to take pics and you had to be constantly watching the river and ready to expect anything. It was a beautiful day for a paddle and the water was very cool and refreshing as Lynn found out. It was one of those incidents we all fear to a certain extent. She ended up broadside against a large fallen tree with a very swift current. She ended up turning over. A very serious situation, but we all kept our cool. I was the closest to her as Dan had already paddled around the tree. I was able to get to her as she was clinging to her boat. Luckily, Lynn was upriver of her boat. I paddled alongside and she was able to keep afloat being wedged between her boat and mine. I don't remember how, but somehow we got to the bank. Dan had managed to come back to help and Bill had rescued her boat. We all learned a lot. Lynn's PFD was not self inflatable, and she did not have the opportunity to inflate. When paddling in a swift current you never know what is going to happen. I was lucky in that my boat did not turn over when helping Lynn. It almost did and I still had on my heavy knee high rain boots! Yikes! But, at least I was wearing a full PFD. Anyway, we all recovered pretty quickly and the only thing Lynn lost was her hat. There could have been a different outcome; so always be prepared and know your skill level. We saw a few herons, a few snakes and some turtles along with lots of beautiful scenery along a very peaceful river. We went for a meal after loading our kayaks and before we parted we all knew we had had a wonderful day paddling. Even Lynn said, "That was fun!'