Second Member in Alzheimer's Toxic Duo Identified

Like two unruly boys who need to be split up in class, a pair of protein molecules work together to speed up the toxic events of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio February 4 announced the discovery of the second molecule and said its identification could lead to drugs that disrupt the interaction, and thereby block or slow Alzheimer's onset or progression.

Yalobusha River: A quick look

Yalobusha from Grenada Lake to Greenwood will be one of our Delta Region trips. Plans are for sometime in February. We're shooting for President's Day Weekend. The Yalobusha joins the Tallahatchie at Greenwood to form the Yazoo. The trip will be 52 miles.

Trip Log: Lost and Found on Pelahatchie Creek

BY B. Keith Plunkett

A friend and coworker has spent the last year and a half listening to me tell tales of paddling all over Mississippi. He finally had enough of it and purchased himself and his wife a couple of Wilderness Pamlico 120’s in December. We scheduled a rendezvous at Pelahatchie Creek. The creek enters Pelahatchie Bay from Rankin County to the East, which in turn feeds into the Ross Barnett Reservoir.

It was a close central meeting point for us, he coming from Brandon, and I from Flora. I had yet to paddle Pelahatchie and had been hearing good things about it being a great afternoon in and out spot. He was anxious to get his new boats wet.

Weather forecasts had been warning for almost a week of an impending ice and snow storm that would shut down everything. Anxious to get in some time on the water prior to the doom of the Snowpocalypse, Sharon and I bundled up and prepared for a cold January paddle. His wife joined us, too.

Launching from Pelahatchie Trading Post we paddled 3.5 miles before the setting sun forced us to turn back.

We launched from the boat ramp behind the Pelahatchie Trading Post at around 2:00 that afternoon. The GPS showed the trip to be one longer than we could complete in the short daylight hours we had left. So, we decided to make it a leisurely trip, get as far as we would, and then turnaround and come back.

Paddling East under Highway 471 we passed by a few fisherman hunkering down in the well protected areas at the mouth of the Creek. The wind in open areas wasn’t terrible, especially with the sunshine, but the fishermen we spotted appeared less concerned with a catch than with just being there. For the first three or four bends we rounded in the creek we spotted fishermen, all said they had caught nothing.

Golfers were out playing the adjacent course of Bay Pointe that abuts the creek for about a half mile. Mississippi’s winter 2010-2011 has been tougher than in most years. This day was hardly good for golfing, but folks accustomed to being outside can only take so long before cabin fever begins to set in. There was no look of seriousness to any of the play, but you could tell people were happy to have a day of sunshine.

It is easy to see this is a favorite paddle spot for day-trippers. Downed trees that could have likely caused problems were eaten away in spots from some previous visitor’s chainsaws. The creek is loaded with logjams, but they are obviously cleared with great regularity. And, it’s a good thing. There are no sandbars, at least in the short 3 and a half mile run upstream we did. So had we run into an impassable jam, the choice in most places was to turn around and call it a day.

At around the 3-quarter mile mark the open golf course to our right disappeared and we were swallowed up by the surrounding trees. As we meandered upstream, I prepared for a quick couple of shots with the camera. I allowed the others in my party to paddle ahead, as I still have a hard time talking to a camera with others around me. A few shots here and a few there and I began paddling to catch up with my crew.

The only opening I would see again in the heavily forested creek would be immediately surrounding Highway 25. But as quickly as I descended from the woods, once crossing underneath the bridge there and I was just as quickly back into the thick of it.

At this point, I should have caught up with the other three paddlers. But, I had not. I thought to myself that maybe during my few months of not paddling as frequently I was not in as good shape, but surely I hadn’t lost that much. Even though I’ve been in a couple of kayak races, I’m a touring kayaker, not a true racer. Still I could easily sustain speeds in excess of 5 miles per hour and, unless my GPS was really bad off, I had hit 6 miles per hour on a few bursts. How could they have gotten that far away so quickly?

I rounded bend after bend, nobody. Just me, the woods, the water and an increasing number of deer and squirrels.

As I was trying to decide whether they had turned off the main route, or whether I was just crazy. I began to see wildlife, lots of it. How could I be spotting deer and squirrel that undisturbed had my cohorts already been through here? How could they have turned off so easily? The creek is fairly easy to track.

At that moment, a big splash jolted me out of my deep thought. River Otters! I had seen them before on the Chickasawhay, but these guys were close, two of them. They were much more playful and curious too. I scrambled for my camera once again forgetting about my paddling companions.











After playing with the Otters, my thoughts began to focus again on finding my wife and friends. It seemed obvious that they must have made a wrong turn. I had noticed several cuts that crisscrossed the creek. But they weren’t big enough to mistake for the main creek. Were they?



I sat silent.

I paddled ahead a short distance.

I paddled back a short distance.

I began to worry.

My wife is going to being ticked off!



And then, there they were. The signs had all been there. The animal’s I was seeing was an indication they hadn’t been this way, and they hadn’t. They had made a wrong turn. Sure, it was easy for me to keep on the creek, I had the GPS. And they, well they didn’t. I took my wife’s not so subtle irritation like a man.

Yes dear.



I do get lost in my thoughts out here. But, that’s part of the allure.

We paddled a little farther upstream, before turning back. We loaded the kayaks just as the sun and the temps were dropping fast. We’ll be back to do the whole thing, and next time I’ll try to keep up with my crew.

The beauty of time spent in the outdoors as only Twain could tell it.

"and at night they were to dance in the open air, on the upper deck, in the midst of a ballroom that stretched from horizon to horizon, and was domed by the bending heavens and lighted by no meaner lamps than the stars and the magnificent moon—dance, and promenade, and smoke, and sing, and make love, and search the skies for constellations that never associate with the "Big Dipper" they were so tired of"

Mark Twain--The Innocents Abroad

Tenn-Tom around Columbus offers opportunity for paddlers with a bent for exploration.

BY: B. Keith Plunkett

November 22, 2010--The Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway is a 234-mile artificial waterway that provides a connecting link between the Tennessee and Tombigbee rivers. The waterway begins at Pickwick Lake on the Tennessee River, then flows southward through northeast Mississippi and west Alabama, finally connecting with the established Warrior-Tombigbee navigation system at Demopolis, Alabama.

After 12 years of construction, the waterway and its seventeen public ports and terminals opened to commercial traffic in January 1985. In addition to the original 110,000 acres of land acquired for the construction and operation of the project, another 88,000 acres have been purchased and managed by the two state conservation agencies for wildlife habitat preservation and mixed use including hunting and parks.

Sharon and I, along with fellow paddler Dawn Henderson, used one of these parks, DeWayne Hayes Recreation Area, as our base of operation to explore the waters north of Columbus Lake. DeWayne Hayes is operated by the Army Corps of Engineers and is very well maintained and heavily used, especially when there is a big SEC game happening just up the road in Starkville. Despite the numbers we were able to claim a very quiet location in the primitive camping area.



Monk waits patiently for his opportunity to play
in the Tenn-Tom Waterway.

 We set up camp Saturday afternoon and, as luck would have it, our site was immediately adjacent to a two-foot shelf where Stinson Creek met the Tenn-Tom and was protected by a small group of cypress stumps. We were easily able to get in and out of our kayaks without worry about falling out into deep water. This private access area also gave me an opportunity to play around in the water with my sidekick Monk. Monk is my seven-year old yellow lab. I miss not having him with me on kayak-camping paddling trips. But there isn't enough room in my 14-foot Wilderness Tsunami. These trips that allow me to set up a base camp means Monk gets to come along.

Stinson Creek enters the Tenn-Tom just north of the park. The creek and the waterway are defined by the wide open areas between the tree-lined banks, but the flooded swamps in between offer some interesting sites to explore, as does the Cypress Swamp to the south of the camp that flows under and around Highway 50. We took a sunset paddle north on Stinson, paddling in and out of several swamps before hitting the big creek, turning on to the Tenn-Tom and heading south.




Dawn took this picture at the end of the first excursion.
The picture is looking back up Stinson Creek as the full moon
was rising in the distance.

 An evening of vittles made possible by my ever-increasing campfire cooking capabilities left us all rubbing our bellies and yawning. The encore came the next morning as I pounded out another stellar meal (if I must say so myself) accompanied by campfire coffee. Funny how it always taste better around a campfire, huh?

We then hopped in the kayaks and headed south towards the entrance to Cypress Swamp. As clearly indicated by the map of our route, we explored a great deal. The water was suprisingly clear, and the water hyacinths and grasses taking root on top of them were extremely thick in some areas.

There is something both comforting and haunting about paddling around in a swamp. Maybe because, due to the stumps and floating plants, it's impossible to get into a hurry. You have no choice but to take your time. But, there is something hauntingly familiar about it, too. With the exception of the occasional distant sounds of vehicles crossing the Highway 50 bridge in the distance, there was an eery quiet. Every so often, a suprised Blue Heron would startle ahead of me and begin a clumsy attempt at takeoff, all legs and neck and squawk. But, other than the sometimes yapping of the prehistoric looking birds, it was just the sounds of the paddles and the water.

We headed out of Cypress Swamp heading south on the Tenn-Tom for about a half mile. I noticed several other inlets on the west side of the waterway worthy of exploration. But, by this time the clock was telling me not to forget I had an appointment this evening back in Madison. I did my best to get the heart pumping on the paddle back, running off and leaving my companions to themselves. I was hoping to get in the excercise I would miss out on by not paddling the 25 to 30 mile days my body has become accustomed to. I may not have added as many miles in the 10-mile trek as I normally do, but I certainly got something out of the trip.

I hope to one day paddle the entire length of the Tenn-Tom. It's worthy of a longer closer look.

Above is the route from campsite north up Stinson Creek and around the point heading back south on the Tenn-Tom. The next day we headed south and, as you can see by the loops in the route around Highway 50, we explored the swamp as extensively as time allowed.

Been there. Done that. Here is the T-shirt. . . and cap!

As promised here's the merchandise for Lucy's Revenge: The Alzheimer's Paddling Project, and just in time for Christmas. All proceeds go directly to the Mississippi Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, and are put to use supporting caregivers in Mississippi.

Caregiver's need your help. You need a t-shirt and cap. And, we want your money for the project. It's a win, win, win!

It's guaranteed to work better than mistletoe!

Order by clicking HERE

Lucy’s Revenge Closes in on $10K, Breaks 300 Miles in Alzheimer’s Fundraising Effort

Mississippi Paddler asks East Mississippi health care officials and residents for help.

Flora, MS. October 19, 2010—Keith Plunkett, Mississippi paddler and organizer of Lucy’s Revenge, has paddled over 300 miles in the yearlong effort to raise money for and awareness of Alzheimer’s Disease on Mississippi waterways. Joining a group of eight other kayakers on October 16, Plunkett launched from Bell Fontaine Point in Ocean Springs in route across the Mississippi Sound to Horn Island. Plunkett says he was driven to paddle a few extra miles while out on the island in order to be sure he met the 300-mile mark by the time the group may landfall to end the trip.

“South Coast Paddling Company and Mississippi Gulf Coast residents have been a huge help to the project on the coast and I wanted to be sure and hit this milestone there,” said Plunkett. “The Horn Island trip was a South Coast Paddling sponsored trip, so they did all the planning. I hadn’t mapped it before hand, and I wanted to be sure I got the mileage in.”

With that worry in mind, Plunkett awoke on the west end of Horn Island on Sunday morning and decided to put in a few extra miles before joining back up with the group. Paddling south of the island to Buoy 1 at Dog Keys Pass, he added an extra 6.6 miles, and had some unexpected but welcome company on the way back to the island.

“The first buoy is a little over 3 miles south of the island out into the open Gulf,” said Plunkett. “It was a little nerve wracking to look back and see Horn Island as a little speck behind me. I felt pretty small and vulnerable out there. But on the way back I got an escort from about 8 to 10 bottlenose dolphin, and that helped calm my nerves. They are beautiful animals.”

When Plunkett landed again at Bell Fontaine Point on Sunday afternoon he had logged another 29.5 miles bringing his totals for the project to 305.8.

The Flora resident began kayaking just over a year ago and says he wasn’t around the water much as a child, but is growing more confident in his paddling ability every day.

“In mid-July I thought I had reached the far reaches of my distance for a weekend paddling trip when Sharon and I floated a 45 mile trip on the Wolf River. Less than two months later we kayaked over 86 miles from Shubuta to Leaksville on the Chickasawhay River. About a week ago, I paddled in the Ninth Annual Phatwater Challenge on the Mississippi River. On that trip I managed to paddle nearly the same mileage that had taken me a full three days only three months earlier, and I did it in less than 6 hours. My ability and confidence has grown by leaps and bounds.”

Plunkett kicked off a yearlong effort to paddle over 600 miles of Mississippi waterways in July on the Gulf Coast. A goal he says he now expects to exceed by the projects end date in June 2011. He began focusing on waterways in the East Mississippi Region in September, but due to drought conditions and interest from other parts of the state he’s not done as much in the area as hoped.

“East Mississippi has many of the jewels of our state’s paddling waterways,” he said. “I really need some more help from East Mississippi, and some sponsors to step forward. This disease knows no boundaries. I know there are people and caregivers there that need the support, and I want to be there.”

So far, Plunkett has been on the coastal waterways of Old Fort Bayou, Davis Bayou, Wolf River, Escatawpa River and the Pascagoula River. He has paddled sections of the Pearl River, Strong River and Mississippi River. He and wife Sharon also completed an 86-mile trip on the Chickasawhay River in East Mississippi on Labor Day Weekend. Plunkett has raised $8,600 for the Mississippi Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association since July while paddling through 14 Mississippi counties.

Stories, videos, and photos are posted to the website, www.lucysrevenge.com . General Donations and Sponsorship Opportunities links on the website connect donors directly to the Alzheimer’s Association website.

The project is named in memory of Plunkett’s Grandmother, Lucy Plunkett, who suffered from Alzheimer’s before succumbing to the disease in 1993. The matriarch of the Plunkett family reared six children, and oversaw the upbringing of 9 grandchildren. She was a housewife and an active member of her church and the rural community of Little Yazoo in Yazoo County.