THE SERIES:
Prepare for a grand adventure as you embark upon the
Caddo Lake Swamp Tour series. These eight caches (more to be
added later) will introduce you to the mysterious beauty of Caddo
Lake. As you plunge into the swamp you’ll be venturing to scenic
areas referred to by locals by such colorful names as Devil’s Elbow
and Alligator Bayou. Many of these locales acquired their whimsical
monikers during the height of Caddo Lake’s glory days: the
steamboat era. Others were named during other periods of the area’s
rich history: the early Caddo Indian days, the pearl hunting craze,
the moonshining period during Prohibition, and the oil boom of the
early twentieth century. You’ll certainly get a sense of these
ghosts of days past as you proceed.
To reach these caches, of course, you will need some form of
waterborne transportation. A boat and motor would be best, but if
you have good endurance a canoe or kayak could be employed as well.
We hid the caches at a time of unusually low water levels, yet
reached all of the cache sites fairly easily by using a
flat-bottomed jon boat with an 8hp outboard motor. If you plan on
bringing a boat with a deeper draft, you should call ahead to one
of the marinas listed below to get information on the water level.
Whatever method you choose, you should get an early start to allow
yourself plenty of time to linger in this special place. In one
secret spot near Mossy Break you might encounter a small
hand-lettered sign affixed to a moss-draped cypress tree: Be
still, and know that you are in the presence of God.
THE LAKE:
Caddo Lake represents the only large, naturally formed lake in
Texas. Many stories exist to explain the origin of the lake. One
Caddo Indian legend recounts the story of the tribal chief who had
a vision of an impending flood; he moved his people to higher
ground just before the ground shook and waters rushed in to flood
the hastily-abandoned village. This seemingly-incredible story may
have some factual basis, for another theory suggests that the lake
was formed or enlarged by the 1811-1812 series of earthquakes
centered near New madrid, Missouri. These earthquakes, believed to
have been the most powerful seismic events in North American
history, also created Reelfoot Lake on the border of Tennessee and
Kentucky.
Most modern experts, however, believe that Caddo Lake formed
during the late 1700s or early 1800s as a result of a huge logjam
on the Red River. The logjam may have been over 150 miles long from
Natchitoches, Louisiana north to the Arkansas border. The logjam
had the effect of backing water up and flooding low-lying areas
along the existing streams. This immense logjam, known as the Great
Raft, created navigation problems on the Red River, so Captain Henry
Shreve of the US Army Corps of Engineers began to clear the
logjam in 1836. This allowed steamboats to move from the lower
Mississippi River, up the Red River, and through Caddo Lake and up
Big Cypress Bayou to the city of Jefferson, Texas, which soon
became the second largest port in Texas. In 1836, Port Caddo sprang
up near modern-day Karnack and served as a trading post for
Harrison County. Over the following years, the logjam slowly
reformed and Captain Shreve was again hired to break it up. He
succeeded, and the water level in the lakes and streams slowly
began to fall. The waterways gradually became too shallow and thus
choked off the steamboat traffic. What remains of the lake today is
composed of some 30,000 acres of interconnected sloughs, bayous,
islands and cypress thickets of almost indescribable beauty.
Oil was discovered in the Caddo Lake area during the early
twentieth century, but the wells proved difficult to drill due to
large areas of wetlands. At the behest of Gulf Oil Company, an
earthen dam was built across Twelve Mile Bayou below Caddo Lake in
1914, which increased the water depth. In 1911, the Gulf Refining
Company drilled the world's
first offshore oil well. Today, hundreds of old rig platforms
still exist on the Louisiana side of the lake. Howard Hughes Sr.
(father of the eccentric filmaker and aviator) made his first
millions by inventing a new type of drilling bit to be used on the
Caddo Lake oil rigs.
PLAN OF ATTACK:
In addition to the usual geocaching supplies, you’d be
well-served by acquiring a Caddo Lake map, available online or at
many of the local businesses and marinas in Karnack and Uncertain.
The best of these – the full color foldout map from
AID Associates – includes a GPS grid and shows the 75+ miles of
marked boat roads which wind through the lake. There is no need to
venture off these established boat roads to reach the caches, but
if you do so you’d better have extra batteries along and know how
to use the backtracking feature of you GPS unit. Spending the night
lost in the middle of a cypress swamp is not for the faint of
heart!
If you plan on bringing your own watercraft, you have several
options to choose from when it comes to deciding on your launching
point. All of the following offer concrete boat ramps (coordinates
are approximate, derived from TopoZone):
- Under the SH-43 bridge over Big Cypress Bayou, Karnack, N 32°
41.800 W 94° 11.290
- Caddo Lake State Park, Karnack, N 32° 41.710 W 94° 10.390
($2.00 per person entry fee, unless you have a Texas State Parks
Pass)
- Shady Glade Resort, Uncertain, N 32° 42.770 W 94° 07.240
- Johnson’s Ranch, Uncertain, N 32° 42.440 W 94° 07.120
- Crip’s Camp, Uncertain, N 32° 42.160 W 94° 04.340
If you don’t have your own watercraft, you'll find several
viable rental options on canoes, kayaks, and boats with motors.
Begin your research of the possibilities here or here.
THIS CACHE:
You'll be venturing to Devil's Elbow, a stretch of Alligator
Bayou near its juncture with Big Cypress Bayou. It's not hard to
imagine the 200-foot long steamboats that once plied these waters,
loaded with bales of cotton bound for market in New Orleans.
You'll be looking for a camouflaged M&M Minis
container holding a logscroll and pen. The intrepid FTF cacher will
also discover a custom FTF Certificate tucked inside. If the water
level is low -- as it was when we hid the cache -- you'll probably
have to climb for it. Be careful!
 Hunting in area
- use caution  Dangerous area -
use caution  Snakes
 Island Cache
(Boat required)  Swimming Nearby  Compass Suggested / Required
 Historic Site
 Wear bug repellant!
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