Camping Coffee and Tea Kettles

 

 This post is not about where to hike, where to paddle or where to bike, subjects you would usually expect to find here.  But it is about something crucial to all three: Coffee.

Specifically this post is about the kettle used to boil the water that makes the coffee.   True, you can boil water in just about any kind of metal container you find in your kitchen kit, but if you have $25-$35 sloshing around you can have your own special-made for boiling water on camping trips- stove kettle.

I own two kettles made to be included in a kitchen of the backpacker or canoe camper.  A model from Primus and the offering from GSI with the orange finger ring on the lid.  Both are very similar, gray, very light weight, made from some super strong aluminum alloy.  Each holds about three cups of water (24 oz.) when filled to the bottom of the spout.  Never fill a kettle covering the bottom of the spout.  Once boiling this overfill could cause water to bubble out of the spout and douse the flame on the stove putting it out.  With the flame out the gas continues to escape and soon the gas canister is empty.

It is hard to tell by looking but the stoves are different.    The opening for the lid of the Primus is smaller, smaller enough that the Primus Essential Stove (a rugged steel stove) will not fit through it.  I mention this because some like to use the open space in kettles to store their stoves.  The Primus Essential Stove does fit in the GSI.  A smaller stove such as the Coleman Peak 1, the tiny, fist size stove using a butane/propane cannister, fits in the Primus kettle.  But not the canister with the stove.

If you cook with the large (5 and a half cup) MSR pot the GSI stove will not completely nest in it for storage.  The spout of the GSI kettle sticks up too much to allow the pot lid to be fitted on and locked. (My pots are about ten years old so sizes might be different now in 2022.)

Both have folding handles that lock up (kind of) to pour and fold to the side to pack. Use caution when pouring boiling water from kettles with bale handles that do not lock securely.  The kettle half full of water can flop to the side if the handle does not lock securely in the up position.

Also, kettle lids may not fasten tightly enough to prevent it from coming off when the kettle is tilted to pour.  When the lid comes off mid-pour steam is released scalding the fingers of the hand holding the kettle. 

Neither of these stoves whistle when they begin to boil.  Knowing when the kettle begins to boil saves fuel and prevents all the water from burning out of the stove which can happen a lot quicker than you think.  Know how long it takes your stove to boil water.  You can watch for the steam to appear or pack a small kitchen timer (about $1 at Walmart). It takes about five minutes for 24 ounces to boil.  A kettle burned dry is ruined some say.

 And no matter what anyone says, once the kettle is boiling the handles are hot.  Always use something such as a bandanna or oven mitt to protect your hands from burning when pouring.  The plastic on the handle is of little use: It melts after a couple of uses.   I used some kind of tubing that I found on the street as a way to not have to use a cloth.  It fit great but was useless at its new task.  The handle, and the tubing quickly became too hot to hold.

-30-

Tammany Trace: Finished! (Well, kind of)

 

When leaving the pavilion in Camp Salmen to rejoin the Trace by riding toward the water tower east of the pavilion.

The Tammany Trace is a 28-mile asphalt path crossing St. Tammany Parish (La) connecting the western city limits of Slidell in the east with downtown Covington in the west.  The path mostly follows an abandoned railroad right of way purchased by the parish in December 1992.

The build-out began when eight miles of trail between Abita Springs and U.S. 190 at Mandeville was completed in the fall of 1994.  As additional money became available, usually from federal grants, more sections were completed.  In 2008 an existing railroad bridge over Bayou Lacombe was rebuilt as a bicycle/pedestrian bridge connecting east and west banks making the trail about 90 percent running from downtown Covington in the west to a dead end at Neslo Rd. west of Slidell, a distance of about 28 miles.

The opening of a 1.5 mile stretch of the asphalt path from Neslo Road to the Camp Salmen Nature Park  in the fall of 2020 is seen by some trail users as completion of Louisiana's first and only rails to trails conversion.

But is it really complete?  The answer is yes and no.  The 1.5 mile extension linking Camp Salmen to the former Trace dead end at Neslo Rd. is more significant than the brevity of the addition might suggest.  Now there is a destination at the eastern end of the Trace that can be accessed by cyclists and hikers without having to mix with motorized traffic; Camp Salmen.  The130-acre nature preserve with a playground, four hiking trails through piney forests and bottomland hard woods and a relaxing vista on the banks of Bayou Liberty is worthy of a visit.  Entree to the park is free.

There are many attractions on or near the western stretch of the trail,  restaurants, a high-end shopping district in Covington, at least one brew pub in Abita Springs, museums in Abita Springs and Lacombe and a state park (Fountainebleau), just to mention a few.

Now with Camp Salmen Nature Park anchoring the eastern end of the Trace and featuring an innovative playground accommodating special needs children who can play and interact with other children with or without special needs, a pavilion with parking, drinking water, rest rooms and numerous tables and benches for people watching and picnics non-motorized Trace users have a reason a reason to expend the extra energy to ride more of the popular linear trail.

( Marauading vandals invading the remote park at night have forced the removal of drink and snack machines at the pavilion, park officials say.)

But parish officials promised 31 miles of paved trail almost 30 years ago when the railroad R.O.W was purchased.  So how can it be considered finished when "only" 28.35 miles are paved now, about 90 percent of the total distance possible?  Where are the approximately 3.5 miles users are due?"

Trying to complete the eastern portions of the Trace presented parish officials with problems they did not anticipate 30 odd years ago.   The original R.O.W. crosses highway U.S. 190 at grade level.  The tremendous increase in highway traffic the parish has experienced in the last 30 years, having the Trace cross the busy highway at grade level is too dangerous to consider.  To protect Trace users from the thundering traffic near Mandeville a tunnel had to be built under U.S. 190 there.     A second tunnel is now being built where LA 59 crosses the Trace at grade level between Abita Springs and Mandeville and may open soon.

Running the Trace south of U.S. 190 presented its own problems.  From the beginning construction of the western end of the Trace, from Covington through Abita Springs, Mandeville and Lacombe, went pretty much as promised: rails and ties were removed and where trains once ran beginning in the 19th century, bicyclists, runners, walkers, skaters now make their way through the woods and neighborhoods of the southern part of the parish on a broad asphalt path crossing 31 bridges.

But getting the trail the last few miles into Heritage Park in downtown Slidell  existing streets will have to be used; there is no off-street R.O.W between Camp Salmen and Heritage Park for a trail to be built.  Any bike path will have to utilize existing streets through crowded suburban neighborhoods.   Most are narrow streets with no shoulders and often flanked by deep drainage canals.   How narrow?  Until recently mail boxes on one street were mounted parallel to the street to lessen the chance they would be knocked down by passing traffic.

The official position of parish officials is that Heritage Park will be the eastern terminus of the Tammany Trace and some maps show Camp Salmen connecting with Heritage Park.   But right now most parish officials are calling the extension "a long-term goal."

Bicycle riders and walkers heading east on the Trace from the Slidell/Carollo TH can just blow-through the former dead end at Neslo Rd.   The Trace passes a busy U.S. 190, (wooden bollards protect Trace users) then on to a straight section of Williams Rd.  Enter the park at Parish Parkway, the only vehicular access in and out of the park--motorized traffic enters the park at U.S. 190.  Follow the signs as the Trace parallels the parkway.   Near the southeast corner of the park the paved path will fork.  The path east goes out of the park and is part of the future connection with Heritage Park.  The paving west is the Tammany Trace Spur which leads to the pavilion with the water, bathrooms and parking and may be signed as such.  If beginning your Trace ride from Camp Salmen, leave the main pavilion keeping the water tower straight ahead.

TRAIL NOTES:  The Slidell/Carollo trail head is close to Slidell but not IN Slidell.  There is a large parking lot there and restrooms, water and a drink machine,  It sits next to a convenience store.  No pets are allowed on the Tammany Trace.  No motorized vehicles.     

 A section of the Trace, about 560 feet, under the I-12 overpass is closed.  The Interstate 12 overpass is being widened.   And it will be closed for at least six more months.  It is really closed. There is no detour.  You cannot connect the north and south sections.  Do not try.  Riding south from Abita Springs the path is closed just past the Koop Rd. Trace Headquarters (the green caboose)).  Heading north from Mandeville the Trace is closed at Little Creek Bridge.  

The construction on the overpass may be progressing to a point that the Trace may be briefly opened for a few weeks to a few months this summer (2021) and then closed again but this unconfirmed speculation (maybe a measure of wishful thinking, too) by a Trace official recently.

Construction is ongoing on the tunnel bringing the Trace under LA 59 between Abita Springs and Koop Road.  The Trace is not closed at the tunnel construction site; Trace traffic is detoured around the tunnel construction.  When the tunnel is open to Trace users it will eliminate  one of the more interesting and dangerous games of chicken Trace users have had to play when crossing the heavily traveled highway at grade level for the past 25 years.

-30-

Canoe rentals come to remote waterway in City Park (New Orleans)

 

by Jack Curry Jr.

        Over ten miles of lagoons, dug by hand in the 1930s, meander through scenic City Park in New Orleans, one of the largest urban parks in the U.S,  Beginning Wednesday, May 20, 2020, about two to three miles of these languid waterways will be open for exploration by canoeists renting boats from LOOP (Louisiana Outdoor Outreach Program) at 1031 Harrison Ave. in the park just west of the Couturie Forest.
     The waterways open to paddlers are in a more remote less busy section of the park designated for passive recreation.   It is not exactly wild: tractor mowers mow the grass regularly.  But without the noisy revenue generating developments that crowd the southern part of the park the area between Harrison Ave. and Zachary Taylor Drive is more like a park, less like an amusement park.
      "We are offering paddling in this part of the park so people can come into the park get a little exercise: get some fresh air," said Heather West, LOOP program director.   Still, dark waters frame picture postcard views of the wooded shore of Scout Island, and the wildlife-rich wetlands along the shore of Couturie Forest--habitats that are home to a wide variety of trees and critters.
          "We saw two little alligators there the other day," West said.  "So don't drag your fingers or toes in the water."  There are about 50 tree species in the 1300 acre park--one of the largest urban parks in the country.  Along the shore, bald cypress tree "knees" break the water's surface.  Ancient and majestic live oaks spread their massive branches draped with Spanish moss in the park's bottomland hardwood forests. Tall pines can be seen.   In late fall a smattering of deciduous trees show red, yellow and orange leaves.

Renting a Canoe from LOOP

       Canoes must be reserved and paid for in advance using a credit card. Call Heather at (504) 655-2770, to reserve.  After reserving you will be directed to a pay site.  Bring the credit card to your launch.  You will leave it there to serve as your deposit.  It will be returned to you when the boat(s) are returned.  The canoes are 16 feet long have two seats.  Maximum three people in one canoe including children.  No walkup rentals. Rental fees include life vests and paddles.  An hour's rental is $25; three hours is $40 and six hours is $55.
        Canoes are rented Wednesday-Sunday, 9 am-3 pm.
         The put-in is at 1031 Harrison Ave. in City Park just west of Couturie Forest.
        Children are permitted but must weigh at least 50 pounds. For each boat rented there is a $5 discount if there is a child in the crew.  There is no store at the put-in. Bring everything you will need for up to six hours on the water: sun block, water, snacks, hat, a poncho in case of a sudden shower.  A garbage bag for litter is also a good idea.  Secure glasses to your face, decide well in advance what you are going to do with your car keys, wallet.  Having them with you in the canoe is not a good idea.  Cell phones have their own special set of issues and are slippery when they are handled with wet, sunscreen soaked fingers.  Dropped in water they sink.   Be careful what you put in shirt pockets-if anything.
        All trips are out and back.  There are no guided trips but each rental comes with a detailed map showing where canoeing is permitted and where it isn't. Portaging canoes to nearby lagoons where canoeing is not permitted is, of course, not permitted.  Sometimes dense floating patches of the invasive water hyacinth plant will block paddlers from exploring all of the lagoon that is open to them.
        Paddlers with their own boats are not allowed on the lagoons in City Park.  Don't assume you cannot get lost in such a small forested space surrounded by a major U.S. city.  It happens all the time.
        A  national franchise operates a boat and bicycle rental (paddle boats, canoes, kayaks and pedal-surreys, bicycles) on Big Lake.  There is at least one kayak rental on Bayou St. John.
-30-
       
   
       

"Missing link" bike/ped path in City Park (New Orleans) funded

     



A .6 mile bike/ped path has been funded for this stretch of Marconi Ave. along the western border of City Park New Orleans.  The path will provide cyclists and pedestrians a way to avoid the busy traffic on the narrow Marconi Dr. and will connect with a completed path along Marconi Dr. from Harrison Ave. to Robert E. Lee Blvd.

   

   Path is now open.  I walked it 8-6-2021. There might be a few little things to do, like some direction signs, but cyclists and walkers are using it now.   

  Construction of a .6 mile concrete bicycle/pedestrian path in City Park along Marconi Ave. is nearing completion.   It connects Harrison Ave. and Zachary Drive and when finished cyclists and pedestrians will be able to ride the five mile perimeter of the northern half of the park without having to share a road carrying heavy traffic.

   The new stretch will give safe access for walkers and cyclists to the tennis center just to the east and the sports fields between Marconi Dr. and the Orleans Canal levee though they will still have to cross the heavy traffic on Marconi to reach their destination.

   Wet weather and delays in the delivery of  wood  for several boardwalks that will be built  to help with drainage in the new trail,  have delayed the opening day of the trail to sometime in midsummer 2021.  The boardwalks will be built in the gaps that now exist  in the concrete that has been poured. 

  A .9 mile stretch of Zachary Taylor Dr., parallel to and north of I-610 will be used to connect Wisner Ave. paved path with the new paved section.  Zachary Taylor Dr. is a lightly traveled road in the park, and should accommodate the non-motorized traffic safely without modification, park officials say.

  Some sections of the loop have been finished for several years.  The Wisner path between Bayou St. John and Wisner Ave. connects Robert E. Lee Blvd. and Esplanade Ave. at the main entrance to the park.  A highway bridge with a separate bike path crosses over the I-610 and the railroad tracks.  In 2018 a mile stretch along Marconi linking the Robert E. Lee with the shared path on Harrison Ave was opened.  And a separate concrete path running the length of the park's northern boundary connecting the two.

           (A broad sidewalk, .9 miles may someday be built along Zachary Taylor Dr. for pedestrian traffic. There is no room for a parallel paved path along Zachary Taylor Dr.  park officials claim  but traffic is mostly light along the lane and should not present a hazard for cyclists using it they add)
           The project will cost a little north of $900,000.
      

Some of this greenery will have to be chopped to make room for a new, wide sidewalk on Zachary Taylor Dr. in City Park New Orleans.

           A paved path threading through the stately live oak grove flanking the busy roadway will be greatly appreciated by cyclists and pedestrians.
           The long-awaited  expansion to the park's sculpture garden has just opened to rave reviews and it appears that the new Children's Museum, across the street, will open on schedule later this summer (2019).
          Remember the City Park streetcar ends at the main entrance to City Park at Lelong Ave.

-30-  

Jeff Parish Lake Pontchartrain Bike Path "Slips Up"

          If for you bicycling the nearly 10-mile long bike path along the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain in Jefferson Parish is an infrequent pleasure you may not be aware of a slick spot at the Causeway underpass that has suddenly developed.   A small leak in the levee (city side) is keeping a short patch of the levee service road/bike path constantly wet near the bottom of the levee at a sharp turn there.
             Not only would a wet spot in a turn at the bottom of a steep, short decline be a problem all by itself,  this being summer in south Louisiana, a thin carpet of slippery, hard to see algae is growing in the damp patch.   Riders barreling down the levee trying to squeeze every mile an hour they can with the rare opportunity of riding downhill,  have hit that slick patch at 20-25 mph or better and gone down.  One rider I spoke to said this is not speculation: she saw it happen once.
          Where the bike path turns away from the lake and crosses the levee to go under the Causeway is dangerous when dry.  At the bottom of the steep incline are sharp turns.  Gravel collects in those turns and riders risk a spill when trying to make the turn at speed. An unexpected patch of slippery algae on the road/path adds considerably to the risk.
           Most of where we ride in New Orleans is flat as a pancake.  It is hard to pass up a chance to tempt fate by risking a few speedy seconds zooming downhill to have a rare "here, hold my beer while I do this," experience.
          But try.

-30-

 

 

Wisner Overpass Bikepath Open

     

Looking northbound from De Saix Ave.
 

            When the new Wisner Avenue Bridge over I-610 and the CN railroad tracks opened last fall only four narrow traffic lanes-- two in each direction--opened.  The bike path, separated from the traffic lanes by a thick concrete wall, remained closed.  It looked like the path designers forgot to connect it with any other path or sidewalk.  To the south the bridge path just stopped, dumping cyclists and pedestrians in the grass.  The north end was close to a service road but the 10-12 foot gap was not paved.
            Now, ten months later, the path on the bridge is open and connected to the existing Wisner Ave. path at the north end and the Festival Park service loop in City Park at the south end. Soon work will be complete on the path connecting De Saix Ave. and Esplanade Ave.  This will complete a River to the Lake Route (Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain) route comprised of a mix of bike routes separate from traffic, Wisner Avenue Path) painted bike lanes on streets (Nashville Ave.) and suburban streets with light traffic signed as bike lanes, Moss Ave.
           So just how do cyclists and pedestrians navigate the newly open overpass now?  Heading south on the Wisner path along Bayou St. John, cross Harrison Ave.  Veer to the right to cross the bridge using the path and keep going south.  Both northbound and southbound bike/ped traffic uses the 12-foot bike line.
          If approaching the overpass from the south-- Carrollton Ave., or Moss St. or City Park-- you will not be able to use the stretch of new path connecting De Saix Ave. and Esplanade Ave. because the intersection at Esplanade intersection is not yet finished.  (Maybe in a month or so.)  You will have to detour through City Park.  Keeping Wisner Blvd. in sight, take the path along the eastern side of Big Lake about a 1/4 of a mile and exit at the first opportunity to the north and cross Freidricks Ave.  Right away turn right on to the Festival loop and ride about 100 feet to the spur leading to the right to Wisner Blvd where it intersects with De Saix.  Go up the little incline and wait for the light to change in your favor.  The traffic signals apparently not all installed yet. (none of them can be seen while standing at the end of the spur so be cautious when crossing Wisner to get on the Wisner overpass bike path.
          You will have to be very careful when crossing the intersections.  Both cyclists and drivers will have to figure out who has the right of way, who stops when and where.  This may not be immediately apparent to first time users.
           This brings up a safety issue.  Remember that cyclists coasting on the down strokes of the bridge can easily reach 25 miles per hour coasting.  While on the overpass be very aware of all other users both in front or behind you.  Also remember many users are going to be unaware of your presence because their hearing is blocked because they are wearing headphones.
            Freidricks Ave. (where that snotty little private school is in City Park) connects with Wisner Blvd. but does not cross to connect with the bike path.  A ramp has not be cut into the curb allowing easy access.  That "S" turn on Wisner Ave. is a very dangerous place to be on a bicycle anyway.  Bumpy.  Narrow.  Short sightlines.  Curbs and no shoulders.  Heavy traffic.  This is not a place to have to fiddle with having to get off a bicycle to jump a curb to get out of a busy street.

Wisner overpass bike path looking southbound
 

-30-

            

A brief review of outdoor, plans, projects and policies begun or finished in 2017

         Before 2018 disappears completely below the horizon of time, let's take a look at the many plans, projects and policies attracting attention of the year just past.  When reviewed altogether 2017 was a bountiful year for lovers of the outdoors in the New Orleans area.

Wisner Avenue Bridge and bicycle side path over I-610  ( The Wisner Overpass)

          The long-awaited opening of the Wisner Avenue Bridge and its much ballyhooed 12-foot wide bicycle side path in the fall of 2017 came and went with only the traffic lanes opening.  The 12-foot wide bike/ped side path, separated from bridge's narrow car traffic lanes by a thick, concrete wall, did not connect to any path at either its northbound or southbound entrances rendering it a path to nowhere.  The day the traffic lanes of the overpass opened, police barricades closed the bike/ped path.
          Construction has begun on  an off-street, paved path along Bayou St. John, replacing a sidewalk there that will connect the bike/ped overpass with the Esplanade Ave./ Wisner Avenue traffic circle.  Access to the two paved loops in City Park; Big Lake and Festival grounds will be via a spur at De Saix Ave.
          When completed sometime in late winter or early spring (2018) the path will provide an off-street bicycle path from the junction of City Park Ave. and the beginning of Wisner Ave. to Robert E. Lee Blvd. just a few blocks south of Lake Pontchartrain.
            For decades cyclists have made the transit from uptown New Orleans to Lake Pontchartrain using the narrow roads with normally light traffic that wind through City Park.  However an increase in visitor traffic and construction of the new Children's Museum and expansion of the Sculpture Garden in the park have increased the traffic on park roads shared with cyclists.  The opening of the path at the edge of City Park will be a welcome coincidence.
           Cyclists who do not want to ride in City Park in the street have two loop trails to ride; the .7 mile long Big Lake Trail and the slightly longer trail around the festival grounds.  They do connect with each other and when construction is complete on the connecting trails to the bridge, the festival trail will connect to the Wisner Trail at the intersection of Wisner Blvd. and De Saix.

New Orleans Bike Share program "Blue Bike" launches

              A program to provide 70 bicycle racks stocked with 700 bicycles that can be rented, ridden one-way and left at a bike rack at the destination, is now underway in New Orleans.  December of 2017 and January of 2018 saw most of the bike stations built and stocked with bikes ready to use.  The stations are largely in the Central Business District, French Quarter, Treme, Marigny, Treme and downriver of Jackson Ave. uptown.  There are seven stations on Esplanade Ave. and two in City Park.
          Tagged "Blue Bike" by sponsors; New Orleans City Hall, Social Bicycles (the company making the bicycles used) and lead sponsor Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, is expected to fill in that gap transportation planners call "that last mile"  when major public transportation such as buses or streetcars drop transit riders off about a mile from their destination.
          All transactions to reserve and pay for the rental (fees vary depending on income) take place using an app on a smartphone or laptop.  Everything is "self-serve."
          Bad weather in the New Orleans area--record freezing temperatures--have probably dampened enthusiasm for bicycling riding just a "Blue Bike" was ramping up.  But as the weather warms and the program catches on it is expected to make money.  The program will not costs the City of New Orleans--financing comes from Social Bicycles and Blue Cross as well as from bike rentals.