Swamp Base

[mrkstvns]

Has anybody done the weekend trips to Atchafalaya Swamp Base in Louisiana?  (https://www.bsaswampbase.org/)

If you've been there, what do you recommend as far as camping?  (Tents on the banks of the swamp, or stay in the houseboats?)

Any thoughts as to preferred paddling routes?

[SBSkip]

Hey Mark!

This is Skip Andaya, the Program Director for Swamp Base. I hope all is well!

I believe we have spoken recently, and we are looking forward to having your Troop for a visit soon! I thought I might use this as an opportunity to speak about our Weekend Trips.

• Primitive camping is free, and tents work best. There are a few trees for hammock campers, but they are inaccessible. A bathroom facility is available, but there is no potable water on site.
• The Houseboats are an amazing experience! We use an outside provider, and he has 5 houseboats that can be linked together, depending on your group size. The cost is $130 per person, and that is the main deterrent. The cost includes the gear rental.
• We have revised our paddle routes, and will be updating the website soon. All Weekend Trip routes are out and back, starting and ending at the campsite. We have 3, 6, 8, and 11 mile trails.

I hope this helps!

[RememberSchiff]

@SBSkip welcome to scouter.com

Edited March 26, 2019 by RememberSchiff
Grammarly spell checker subs shooter for scouter

[mrkstvns]

1 hour ago, SBSkip said:

Hey Mark!

This is Skip Andaya, the Program Director for Swamp Base. I hope all is well!

I believe we have spoken recently, and we are looking forward to having your Troop for a visit soon! I thought I might use this as an opportunity to speak about our Weekend Trips.

• Primitive camping is free, and tents work best. There are a few trees for hammock campers, but they are inaccessible. A bathroom facility is available, but there is no potable water on site.
• The Houseboats are an amazing experience! We use an outside provider, and he has 5 houseboats that can be linked together, depending on your group size. The cost is $130 per person, and that is the main deterrent. The cost includes the gear rental.
• We have revised our paddle routes, and will be updating the website soon. All Weekend Trip routes are out and back, starting and ending at the campsite. We have 3, 6, 8, and 11 mile trails.

I hope this helps!

All that sounds great, but what's really got some of our boys fired up is the promise of being able to ride the air boats. Noise and power and all that...

We're really excited about coming out to Swamp Base. We do have a former scoutmaster who refuses to go anywhere where there's alligators, but I reassured him, telling him that the alligators haven't eaten very many scouters so far this year.

See y'all in a few weeks.

[SBSkip]

It is humbling to paddle with alligators! It is warming up here and they are starting to move around, I hope you guys see a few. The main thing is to not entice them with food, and if we are fishing we don't run stringers (a string through the gills that keep fish alive in the water). 

It probably won't do much to reassure your former SM, but the gators are not aggressive at all. We have many sightings, but we have zero encounters...big difference!

On 3/26/2019 at 2:52 PM, RememberSchiff said:

@SBSkip welcome to scouter.com

Thank you for having me!

[MikeS72]

21 minutes ago, SBSkip said:

It is humbling to paddle with alligators! It is warming up here and they are starting to move around, I hope you guys see a few.

We did a 30 mile kayaking trip a couple of weeks ago.  In about a 150 yard stretch the boys counted 11 gators, some on the river bank, most in the water.

Edited April 2, 2019 by MikeS72