12/05/06 Paddling Juniper Springs Run: (7 miles one way):
Got kinda nippy last night but that brought some decent looking skies this morning. Juniper Springs Recreation Area is about 15 miles from where I'm camped. It's one of Florida's designated canoe trails so that sounded promising.
Juniper Springs itself has been surrounded by stone walls and made into a swimming pool but probably hasn't been altered other than that. A mill house with a large active water wheel is nearby. Fern Hammock Springs is at the end of a boardwalk and is much more interesting. You can see several boils bubbling away continuously and I guess that's the underground water coming to the surface. Fish seem to like to hover over them.
The shuttle picked me up at the end of the canoe trail after I had unloaded the kayak at the beginning and brought me back to the launch area. That way I could take my time and not have to worry about being picked up.
Juniper Creek is only 10 feet wide and not that many inches deep at the launch. I had to carry the 17 foot plastic kayak about 150 feet along a narrow paved path, walking sideways between palm trees the whole way. I was exhausted before I even started. For most of the run the creek is about 20 to 50 feet wide and 1 to 3 feet deep. I guess with the constant flow of the springs this doesn't change much. Most of the way the current was around 1 knot but picked up to 2 or more in a couple of places.
The banks are crowded with cabbage palms and palmettos for most of the upper section. The palms frequently lean over the creek forming a canopy to paddle under. The bottom varied between firm sand and wide grasses. Lots of bushes line the banks too and the rudder was getting caught in them when I got to close to the shore. I didn't want to put it down because I thought the water level might drop to inches again or it would get caught up in the grasses. Also, if I had to back up in shallow water with the rudder down it would dig into the bottom.
After 45 minutes I started to notice cypress trees amongs the palms and then started seeing their little knees sticking up here and there. Big clusters of purple flowers became common and a few bunches of yellow flowers appeared farther downstream.
Saw a lot of turtles, some fairly large and these just ignored me as I paddled by. With 50 canoes a day passing by on a weekend they probably got tired of climbing back up on their logs so just stay put now. The smaller ones still hit the water when they saw me. A fair number of ducks, a heron and an ibis were the only other wildlife on the river. I had seen a bobcat earlier. The size of a medium size dog but looking exactly like a house cat except for a shorter tail.
2 hours brought me to a small wharf that's used for breaks and picnics by people going down the river. They told me most runs are 4 to 5 hours. I questioned that with a 1 knot current and only 7 miles to go. They told me it was because of all the twists and turns in the creeks. And twist and turn it does. It seldom goes 50 feet in a straight line. By the time I got to the wharf I was pretty tired of the constant pressure of dodging submerged logs and going around sharp turns.
At 2.5 hours I broke out of the palms into a more marshy area. Schools of small mullet like fish and a bunch of a different type headed from sandy areas to the grasses when I approached.
I was paddling along thinking about all the alligators I wasn't seeing. I thought about them possibly being in some of the deeper sections watching me as I paddled by. I looked down into the crystal clear water and saw a large shadow following beside me and my heart skipped a beat as it got even larger. Good gawd! A 17 foot alligator with no legs... shaped exactly like my kayak... Whew!
I turned a bend at 3.5 hours and there was the bridge and my takeout. Glad that alligator didn't get me.
12/06/06 Paddling Alexander Springs Run:
Tried to paddle Alexander Creek upstream from the normal takeout but didn't get too far. The creek is wider and deeper than Juniper Creek down here with a 1 knot current. Lots of lily pads, some kind of cabbage leaf type plant and little round plants on a stem all along the shore. Fewer palms, palmettos and cypress trees. Some Spanish moss.
Saw a blue heron, a hawk, a couple ibises and ducks, a limpkin and a anhinga.
At .5 miles several docks and houses showed up on the right bank. Another .5 miles through a marshy area and I ran into trouble. 3 foot tall reeds became the dominant plant and it was increasingly difficult to find a way through them and I finally gave up.
Stopped at the recreation area and the lady says the shuttle does run but they don' recommend it as you can paddle about 4 miles but pretty much have to drag the boat through vegetation the last couple of miles. Glad I quit when I did. Maybe try again tomorrow.
12/07/06 Paddling Wildcat Lake:
Radio complaining of -20 degree weather in the plains and great lake states. Last night was in the upper 50's and its in the 60's now with the skies pretty much overcast.
Since there was no sun I decided to paddle Wildcat Lake today. The goal is to build up paddling strength and stamina. I expect to be paddling upstream on a lot of rivers and creeks this winter and that ain't always easy. I've also bought another bicycle to try and use for a shuttle. I'm figuring 10-12 miles per shuttle and with hills and dirt roads that ain't easy either.
The first thing of note about Wildcat Lake is its right off SR 40 which receives heavy truck use. Some of them can be hear 3 miles away. A sign at the ramp says all large mouth bass must be released immediately. Guess they're trying to raise trophy size bass in this lake.
The lake is about 1 mile by 1/2 mile with just a couple houses. Its lined with grasses with mostly hardwoods backing them up, some with varying amounts of Spanish moss on them.
Found a gap in the grasses and paddled into a large pond half covered with lily pads. I paddled around it and found another gap and paddled through it into another large pond mostly covered by lily pads. This pond was only a couple of inches deep with lots of grass making paddling pretty difficult.
As I was paddling through this pond a small frog jumped off a lily pad as I passed by and scared the crap out of me. I thought that 17 foot alligator from the other day had come to life.
Buds are developing on some of the lily pads. Maybe I'll be seeing some flowers soon.
Another gap in the grasses and another large pond covered in lily pads and grasses similar to the last one. I Just stuck my head into this one to see what it looked like and then backed out.
I saw something on the outer edge of the grasses. Same color as an alligator, not very big but I couldn't focus in on the shape. I paddled within 50 feet and it hit the water. I said, "duh, guess it was an alligator".
Found a put in at the east end of the lake but didn't check it out. Might be better than paying $3 per person to swim or launch a boat.
Except for a couple of egrets and a limpkin, no other critters to day. Paddle lasted 1.75 hours.
12/08/06 Paddling Silver Glen Springs Run:
Yesterday was just too cold and windy to do anything... so I didn't. Its still hunting season with lots of folks running around with orange vests. Many of them (legally) use dogs to root deer out of the brush where they bed down. Others are using antennas to track deer with collars that have been tagged by Fish & Game to monitor their movements. These bozos are tracking the deer to shoot them.
Some cold weather moved in last night. I don't know if its part of the -40 degree front in the mid-west or not. I broke out the sleeping bag as it dipped into the 30's last night. Warmer this morning and not so much wind so I headed out for a paddle.
Silver Glen Springs is just down the road. I was kinda avoiding it because the run is only .5 miles long. When I found out it runs into Lake George I decided to add it to my list of things to do and today was the day to do it. Its another fee area. I don't know why. Today is a Saturday and I was the only one when I got there and 4 hours later when I left.
The put in is 100 yards away but there's a canoe cart to help lug the kayak to the water. I saw a bass boat trolling the waters and 3 houseboats moored to each other in the middle of the run. When I came back a sea plane was cruising up the channel followed by a large powerboat.
I passed a lot of anhingas and buzzards still roosting in the hardwood trees and on fences. A number of herons and egrets, a couple of ibises and limpkins and even a bald eagle flew overhead. A number of large mullet were jumping, 2, sometimes 3 times in a row. Cypress, live oaks, palms and palmetto all crowed the banks of the 100 foot ride creek. Crystal clear water several feet deep in places.
Followed a side creek near the mouth for a ways. I got stopped by a small branch a foot off the water. I might have been able to power over or through it but decided not to.
The wind was picking up so I tried to put my spray skirt on while in the boat. Somehow I got the carbineer on my camera case hooked on a strap on the spray skirt and couldn't get it untangled so had to land to get straightened out.
As soon as I got on Lake George the wind hit me... 10mph.or so. I turned into it so I could get a little workout. I paddled for 30 minutes or so before turning back. I think paddling against a 10mph wind is about the same as paddling against a 2mph current. The shore of Lake George was pretty much the same as the run down to it...cypress, live oaks, palms and palmetto. Lake George is the 2nd largest lake in Florida, 5 miles wide, 18 miles long but averages only 10 feet deep.
I also did a little hiking trail to the actual springs and boils and then did another trail down to Lake George.
12/10/06 Paddling Alexander Springs Run:
The makings of a really nice day today. Got out on the water about 10:30am. The first thing I saw was several scuba divers in the spring????? I also saw a 4 foot alligator cruising not too far from them. No one else seemed concerned so I launched the kayak and headed down stream.
Lots of buzzards here too. A great blue heron and a limpkin were in a bunch of lily pads across the creek as I launched. Alexander Creek is crystal clear but with all the grass on the bottom looks quite dark. Every once in a while there's an open patch of sand and you can see how clear it is.
The creek is over 100 wide in most places and over 200 feet in others and up to 5 feet or so deep and almost no current. Going downstream the wind was the more dominating factor and I actually got pushed upstream a few times.
Mostly hardwoods along the banks with a few palms poking their way through and a little Spanish moss here and there. In many areas you could see whole forests of palms behind the hardwoods. I dunno if the hardwoods are forcing the palms out or the palms are taking over.
A couple of small alligators in the water and one splash to let me know they were there. Saw an alligator gar on the way down and another, probably the same one on the way back. This is a 2.5 foot fish with a long alligator like snout. The usual anhingas, limpkins, buzzards and herons. There are otters in the creek but I didn't see any.
It's about 2 miles to the CR 445 bridge and another couple of miles before the tall reeds take over and choke off the open water.
While taking out I saw a big old turtle up in the picnic area covering over a hole with her back legs. When I mentioned it to one of the employees he said it was that time of the year and they would be laying eggs all over the place and that the raccoons would get every last one of them.
12/11/06 Paddling Salt Springs Run (9 miles round trip):
I put in from the Salt Springs Marina into a small lake .5 miles long and .25 miles across. Apparently this is the spring. Paddled out onto the lake and watched some kind of small hawk crash into the water after a fish but it came up empty. Buzzards all over the place again. Probably after garbage from the campground.
Paddled out of the lake and downstream a bit and saw a lump in the water. Thought it might be a manatee sleeping or something. Turned out to be a dead 7-8 foot long alligator, belly up. Its head was hanging down and its snout had caught in the grasses. I suppose some fisherman with an aversion to alligators shot it. Must have been quite recent because nothing had been at it yet. Buzzards were after it a couple of hours later when I came back.
A few powerboats were out fishing but they didn't cause me any grief. Herons, anhingas, egrets, kingfishers, coots. Saw a couple more alligators in the water.
The first 3 miles or so of the run were uninteresting to me. Over 100 yards wide, marshy grasses as far back as 50 yards, grassy bottom. The last 1.5 miles the river narrowed to 100 feet or so and palms, smaller live oaks, pines and a couple of cypress trees, At the mouth of the run a line of palms appeared to span the river with a 20 foot opening to Lake George.
I pushed against a 6-7mph wind on the way out and part of the way back. Didn't seem to be much of a current. 1hr 45min on the way out and 1hr 15min on the way back.