Paddling the Primordial

MINGO SWAMP, MISSOURI: Deep in the boot-heel country of southeast Missouri, just 80 miles south of St. Louis and 40 miles west of the Mississippi River, is a sprawling depression ringed by rolling hills and limestone bluffs. Covering some 16,000 acres of the 21,676-acre Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, Mingo Swamp is the kind of place in which Huck Finn might have gotten lost.

To the Shawnee and Osage Indians who made camp here hundreds of years ago, Mingo meant "treacherous and unreliable." Today, Mingo Swamp is a haven for both wildlife and nature enthusiasts. The refuge has three hiking trails, including boardwalks into the swamp, but to really feel Mingo's pulse you'll need a boat, preferably a canoe.

After stopping at the visitor center off State Highway 51, launch your canoe on Stanley Creek or the Mingo River. These narrow, dark, and sluggish streams wind sinuously into the ancient swamp, of which 7,730 acres have been designated a Wilderness Area where no motors or man-made alterations are allowed. Here, in the quiet of wooded wetlands with their magnificent stands of cypress, tupelo, and swamp cottonwood, listen to the call of wood ducks and pileated woodpeckers; watch for herons, beavers, raccoons, muskrats, swamp rabbits, and a rare mink, otter, or bobcat. There are plenty of venomous snakes in the swamp, especially cottonmouths, but the serpents pose no threat unless one accidentally plunks into your canoe from a trailing vine.

Figure on a leisurely one- to two-hour paddle on the Mingo River or Stanley Creek to Monopoly Marsh, in the swamp's interior. You can explore all day, but all visitors must be out of the refuge by one-half hour after sunset.

A visit to Mingo can be worthwhile at any time of year, but the most desirable months are March to May and September to November, when temperatures are cooler and wildlife is most abundant. (Note that in certain seasons parts of the refuge are closed to provide an undisturbed sanctuary for waterfowl and nesting bald eagles.) Camping is not allowed in Mingo, but camping facilities are available at Wappapello Lake, eight miles west of the refuge, and Duck Creek State Wildlife Management Area, five miles to the north.

Contact: Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, (573) 222-3589. Inquiries on camping should be directed to U.S. Corps of Engineers, Wappapello Lake Management Office, (573) 222-8562; or Duck Creek State Wildlife Area, (573) 222-3337.

BIG THICKET, TEXAS: Located in eastern Texas, not far from the Gulf of Mexico and near the Louisiana line, is a hodgepodge of junglelike rivers, blackwater bayous, swamps, and savannas called the Big Thicket, which once covered more than three million acres. Only about 300,000 scattered acres have survived, 86,000 of which are contained in Big Thicket National Preserve in nine separate land units and four water corridors.

The Big Thicket is an area of contrast and surprise-a biological crossroads of North America. The Thicket nurtures plant life found in southeastern swamps and the arid southwest, the Appalachian forests and the open woodlands of the coastal plains.

Trekking through the Thicket can be deceiving and treacherous, but if the opportunity arises, you certainly should canoe it. Of most interest to paddlers is a 54-mile section of the Neches River that flows through the preserve, from below H. A. Steinhagen Dam to the U.S. 96 bridge. Lining the slow-moving, flatwater river is a dark curtain of hardwoods laced with stands of pine, and hushed baygall swamps with towering old magnolia and water tupelo trees.

Primitive canoe camps range from clean white sandbars to open palmetto flats on the fringes of the Thicket. But for an otherworldly campout, I enjoy sneaking into one of the many cypress sloughs and oxbow lakes for the night. Misty, spooky places of green solitude, they have evocative names that call up visions of Civil War deserters, moonshiners, and desperadoes who once holed up in the Thicket. But today the area is mostly the realm of birds (over 300 species have been recorded), 'gators, deer, otters, razorback hogs, and one of the continent's foremost selections of reptiles and amphibians.

The river can be floated all year. Summers are hot and humid, with daytime temperatures between 85 and 95 degrees. Moderate temperatures in the mid-50s are normal for winter. Spring and fall are the most pleasant seasons for outdoor activity.

Contact: Big Thicket National Preserve at (409) 839-2689. For shuttles and canoe rentals, call EASTTEX Canoes at (800) 814-7390; and ask about Village Creek, an excellent choice for an additional one- or two-day paddle through the Big Thicket.