I've moved a little north to the Ochlockonee River State Park. From here I have access to the Ochlockonee, Sopchoppy and Wakulla Rivers.
This morning I went looking for the way to the Florida Canoe Trail of the Ochlockonee River. Missing a turnoff I ended up on the Wakulla River. Since I was there...
The put in at the US 98 bridge of the Wakulla was at a canoe rental place that would probably charge a fee. I found a bridge on CR 365 that also crosses the Wakulla which had primitive launch facilities.
The first thing I noticed once I was on the water was how lopsided the bridge looked from underneath. The road over the bridge was flat but the pilings underneath were anything but. They looked as if they'd suffered through a major earthquake or something.
The second thing I noticed was the fencing completely across the river on the upstream side of the bridge. I had planned on starting the trip off by paddling the mile or so to the Wakulla Springs, from which the river flows. The bottom of the fence was 2-3 feet from the water and I could have squeezed through without much effort. The only signs on the fence were Florida State Boundary markers saying not to steal the plants and animals. I presume the gap was there because of the low water level. In any event, I chose not to go under the fence. I'd guess it was to protect the interests of the concessionaires in the park. I understand there are glass bottom boat tours and such at the springs.
Turning downstream (oh no, not downstream at the beginning of a paddle) I was presented with a couple of great looking cypress trees and root systems out in the water. Draped in Spanish moss they made quite a picture. Cypress were the predominate tree in the area backed up by hardwoods and a few palm trees and palmettos.
Little gray egrets, great white egrets, cormorants and a few pairs of wood ducks could be seen right off, gorging themselves on the fingerlings in the shallows.
80 feet of water separated the banks with heavy growths of grasses in and floating on top of the water. The water, of course, was crystal clear and moving 1-2 knots at the put in. A little farther on it slacked off and remained rather placid the rest of the trip.
The river down to the US 98 bridge, about an hour or so, is very pretty but many docks project out into the water along the way. An occasional large house could be seen leading away from some of them. If there were other houses, they were hidden by the forest.
A 5-6 foot gator cruised around unconcernedly in the middle of the river. When I pointed it out to a couple of fishermen they said they were mad at it. The alligator had just caught a large fish that had hung out either end of its jaw while they had been skunked so far.
Tons of green turtles were out sunning themselves. I counted 10 turtles on one dead palm tree sticking out of the water. As I tried to drift down on them for a picture they all plopped into the water at the same time. It was as if a giant hand had turned the water and dumped them all into the water at the same time.
I had seen many decent sized bass and several schools of large mullet on the way down the river. One bass had to be more than 18 inches.
Beyond the US 98 bridge the river opened up to about 150 feet and docks became fewer. Unfortunately the river became a little more marshy and less attractive to me. I was heading south and a 5 knot wind started from the south so I quit around 11:30am and let the wind start pushing me back.
On the way back I explored a couple of small tributaries and found a small spring oozing up from about 10 feet.
Back at the truck, I took keys and wallet out from a big baggie I carry them in on the water. I set them on the back bumper while I loaded the rest of the stuff in the back. After driving 15 miles or so, up to 65 mph, I realized I didn't have my wallet. I looked on the front seat and then pulled over and made a quick search of the back, knowing damn well I'd left it on the bumper. The one place I didn't look was on the bumper itself until heading for the cab to go back to the put in, I glanced down and there it was still on the bumper. Somebody watches out for me.