The images below were pulled from video footage of various parts of the Pearl River basin. It’s difficult to hike through dry areas due to the high fraction of hardwoods that were felled by Hurricane Katrina. Such areas are now filled with thick vegetation, including impenetrable blackberry thickets. It’s difficult to hike through flooded areas since your feet sink deep into the fine mud with every step. Such areas contain hidden holes, including one in which I tore up a knee last year. Hiking out and back a mile in the Pearl can take up to five hours. An ivorybill can fly a mile in less than two minutes.