An excellent month of paddling some of Florida's finest streams with friends mostly from Central Pennsylvania. After a few days in Pensacola, we paddled beautiful rivers for a week near Tampa, then a week of rivers around Ocala, and ended up with a week back in the Panhandle, near Pensacola.
As you probably know, I'm not a big fan of big cities or touristy places, and so it was a delight to find rivers and streams that were relatively isolated and where it was still possible to be in subtropical nature and see wildlife up close. In most of our paddling adventures, we were the only group we saw on the river. Pretty amazing, really!
Big thanks to Chris and Lori for doing most of the planning and organizing, and to everyone who joined in for this trip!
Linda paddled alongside this alligator for a couple of hundred yards
One of the few rapids in all of Florida
The ALIFIA River, near Tampa, on our second day
Wildlife on a log: The alligator is a juvenile so the turtle is in no danger here. Could be a different story in five years. Alligators like to eat turtles, and consume about a turtle per week to meet their dietary needs
Our lunch spot along the LITTLE MANATEE RIVER
We counted three dozen alligators on this six mile section of the HILLSBOROUGH RIVER (Sargent Park to Trout Creek)...
We also saw and heard lots of birds, including this Roseate Spoonbill. A real wildlife extravaganza!
Paddling along the HILLSBOROUGH
Our second week featured rivers near Ocala. Here's our crew paddling our way down the OCKLAWAHA RIVER
JUNIPER RUN is one of my Florida favorites. The stream begins as a narrow, tree-shrouded stream with crystal clear water. It gradually becomes more biodiverse, with organic material, plants, fish, birds, and even alligators adding to the river as it meanders through the Ocala National Forest
Jennifer and Rick paddling along JUNIPER RUN
Sandhill Cranes greeted us at the put in to BLACKWATER CREEK and LAKE NORRIS
Launching at the swampy BLACKWATER CREEK
My favorite cypress tree on LAKE NORRIS. I call it the "Dancing Elephants" tree
We got up close and personal with a few manatees on the SILVER RIVER...
...and this juvenile got really up close to us
In our third week, we started by paddling a section of the BLACKWATER RIVER near Pensacola. It is a beautiful, tanin-stained river with lots of sandy banks and cliffs
Most of our crew on the BLACKWATER RIVER, including Lisa, Lori, Nan, Nadine, Chris, Mary, Bart, and others
Paddling through a clearwater tree tunnel, this time on TURKEY CREEK on the Elgin Air Force Base
Boats appear to float above the water on TURKEY CREEK
Our final run was on the BIG JUNIPER CREEK, also near Pensacola. Lots of sandy banks as we meandered down this gem
Lori paddling with Bart on the BIG JUNIPER
I began the trip by meeting up with a couple of my good buddies (l-r Patrick, Scott, Andy) for a few days of great paddle sailing in and around Pensacola Bay
Then I moved down to the Tampa area. Our first river there was the HILLSBOROUGH at the Hillsborough River State Park: A beautiful river with rapids, wildlife, and some "not so fun" water hyacinths. We slogged through not one, not two, not even three, but four of these thick mats of invasive plants
A wonderful few weeks of paddling beautiful streams with great paddling pals. Thanks again to Chris and Lori for organizing, and to all who joined in the fun!
More pics here:
Comments
Post a Comment