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It's outage time and I am on nights again so I can enjoy the great paddling weather we have this time of the year. Trips this month: 10
03/4/04
Well, I volunteered for nights again and after being stuck at home this week awaiting futilely for a delivery, I was finally able to get out and enjoy the fabulous weather. The tides were all wrong, of course, but I put in at Alimacani around 11:00 at the end of the outgoing tide. I spotted a Great Blue Heron at the entrance to Haulover Creek and decided to try to get a few pics. He flew off before I could get my camera ready but he didn't go far and I was able to stalk him for a while in the interior of the creek. I stalked him as he was stalking a meal and I was able to watch him for several minutes while he snagged a few fish. I moved on from there and paddled against a pretty stiff current as I headed toward the entrance to Simpsons Creek and our old campsite there. The location is started to suffer much of the same erosion as the campsite on the opposite bank and a large oak tree has fallen onto the beach which made it ideal for hammocking. I vegged out for a while drinking a beer and then heard the loud exhale of a dolphin and turned to see one surfacing in the water not more than 15 feet away. I watched him as he caught the tail end of the outgoing current and headed to the ocean. I followed him a few minutes later and headed home. See the pictures from this trip
03/9/04
I'm in the night shift groove now and with a week of fine weather forecast I am planning on hitting the water with abandon. Today, I awoke refreshed and got into the absolutely glassy water at 10. It was just cool enough to dig my spray skirt back out but it was warming quickly toward 70. It was almost a shame to ruin the perfect mirror of the calm water as I set across the pool toward the first of my usual birding spots. It was full of Tri-Colors and Snowys and I can't say that I got anything memorable but it was nice to see them huddled up in the sea daisies which are starting to turn a lush green. I made my usual stop at the old cedar and ate an energy bar and then headed out to the ICW where I crossed over to enter Shad Creek. After stopping to admire the Osprey's now finished nest atop the channel tower, I headed toward the river so that I could get a better idea of the route the Sierra Club is planning to take in a couple of weeks for their Poker Run. They have asked for my input as they change the route to use Shad Creek and I wanted to get out there and look at the route as if I were a novice paddler. I will be meeting with them this Saturday morning and I wanted to be able to give them good information about where to place their markers etc. After I tooled around a bit I came back to the tower where I watched the nesting pair. Now that the nest is complete it looks as if Mom is sitting on her eggs while Dad appeared to be playing about - doing some acrobatics above her head for no apparent reason other than to keep the homebound lady entertained. They were uncomplaining about my presence and I guess they feel pretty secure being at least 50 feet above the water. I spent some "hammock time" on the island near there and finished my re-reading of the "Return of the King" while I drank a beer. After a good rest I headed back by the Kingfish Park where I snapped some Ruddy Turnstones and then paddled against a very stiff outgoing tide as I headed home. See the pictures from this trip
03/10/04 I thought about heading up to Pumpkin Hill today but the wind really picked up and I decided to go back to Hannah Mills with the intention of exploring Deep Creek some more. Once I got out there, however, I realized that the gusts of close to 30 knots would make that a bad idea. I decided then to head north and west toward the point where Hannah and Cedar Point meet and I stayed mostly to the smaller streams and out of the wind as much as possible. There was very little animal life out there today - a few herons, an osprey or two and a couple of White Pelicans heading toward the pool but everything else was huddled up out of the wind. From the midpoint of the marsh I came back south and then took a tiny branch that heads due east and dumps out just west of the ICW where I headed back to the southwest and my truck. While loading my boat a fellow kayaker from out of town stopped by and asked about the tidal conditions in the area. A breezy, chilly day but it was lonely and quiet out there.
03/11/04
I'm in a bit of a Hannah Mills rut, I know, but when I am limited in time it is just so easy to put in five minutes from my house and wander off to points unknown - so rather that head to Pumpkin Hill I decided to do what I had intended to do the day before and explore Deep Creek. The weather was the complete opposite of yesterday - the water was like glass and there was not a cloud in the sky. The first part of the trip was the usual - I stopped to harass the herons on the sea daisy outcroppings and then headed north in the parallel stream that empties out on the ICW north of our first camping island. Along the way I encountered another otter who had the same blonde coat that the other otters I have seen in Hannah Mills have worn. He was also very shy compared to my most recent otter encounter on Haulover last month. He barely popped his head above the surface a couple of times and then disappeared for good. Once out on the ICW, I stopped at an island near marker 80 and pulled my boat up to let a long line of "snow birds" heading back up north go by - their huge yachts wreaking havoc on the shoreline as they plowed northward. I walked around the mudflats a bit and explored the island for camping potential - too much work - at least for now, although the mudflat behind it looked like a great spot to spend the night star gazing. The entrance to Deep Creek was just opposite where I took my break - a little north of marker 80 and I quickly found the branch that I wanted to explore. I had meant to bring my terraserver picture but forgot it so I was left to do my usual exploring of promising streams only to confirm that they were dead ends. As I meandered closer to the western shore of Ft. George Island I finally came across a stream that had an unusually strong current - especially one so deep in the marsh. I knew that the source of the current could only be Garden Creek and the ICW so I followed it until I reached a clear indication that I was indeed in that stream. The afternoon was progressing rapidly so I headed back just as the tide turned. At one point I crossed paths with a strange phenomenon in Deep Creek. On this nearly breathless day I suddenly saw the water in front of my boat sparkle like a million diamonds and I knew that a wind was picking up. As I coasted toward this sparkling I was looking forward to a cooling wind since I was now getting a bit warm under my fleece but as soon as I reached that spot in the water the sparkles began to move in an erratic pattern and headed toward the bank of grass to my right. I watched as the grass began to be flattened slightly - but only in a area about 10 feet in circumference, and that pattern headed off in an erratic pattern across the marsh and disappeared. Meanwhile, I was sitting in the exact spot where seconds before the "wind" had been rippling the water - but it was absolutely still. What was it? A mini-twister cause by the mid-day sun heating the water? A ghost? The spirit of long departed Timucuan Indians? Weird! Anyway - I decided to make tracks for home rather than stop and hang out on any of my usual spots. As I entered Hannah once again, I noticed a pair of Great Blues roosting in the top of the cedars on the island across from Shad Creek. One of the herons was noticeably smaller than the other and I can only assume that this was a nesting pair of Great Blues since normally you see them by themselves. They finally flew off but circled together near the island and I wondered if their nest is somewhere nearby. I made it back to shore about 3 1/2 hours after I set out and packed up to go to work yet again. See the pictures from this trip
03/13/04
Today I was to meet with Don Pepe and Dave Baldwin who are running the Sierra Club's Poker Run around Ft. George Island this month. Don and I have been corresponding over the past year or so about alternative routes for the run which normally goes down the St. Johns to Sisters Creek rather that using Shad Creek. Don and Dave wanted to make the run themselves to see what I have been talking about and investigate where to place markers and have checkpoints. They were setting out from Heckscher Drive around 10 and so I put in at the Kingfish Park at the same time with the intention of meeting them halfway. I have never been in this portion of the marsh at this low of a tide and I was surprised at how it completely changed my perception and view of my landmarks. Sure enough, I took a wrong turn and wound up in Deep Creek heading north before I realized my mistake and paddled back to the midpoint of the marsh where I waited on an oyster shell bank for several minutes. Obviously, my wrong turn was just enough for me to miss them and so I headed back toward the channel tower - hoping to catch them at the ICW. As I headed that way it was hard for me not to forget about the meeting entirely and spend the day out there photographing the birdlife. At that water level, the herons and egrets were crowding the banks in search of food. Twice, I came across a group of 14 Great Blue Herons crowded together on a shell bank. As I continued to paddle I was stunned by a flash of brown and white that crashed into the water not 10 feet from the bow of my boat in a plume of water. The Osprey completely disappeared under the water for a few seconds and then slowly surfaced as he struggled to stay above the water. I was still too shocked to get my camera out until he was finally able to struggle to the surface and then slowly he extricated himself from the water and flew away clutching an enormous redfish in his claws. I was able to get one or two photos of him before he flew away. A few minutes later I had reached the channel tower where I could only see the male sitting above the nest chirping at me as I approached. As I passed by I swear that he intentionally let loose with a stream of poop that drifted in my direction and splattered my boat - and me. I guess that's one way to get rid of unwanted visitors. Finally, I got to the ICW and found Don and Dave waiting there. We had nice chat and they were glad in a way that we had missed connection because they were forced to find their own way which they did quite easily. They said that they loved the route and they thought that everyone else would prefer avoiding the river. I'm happy for that - I was afraid I was steering them down the wrong path. We parted company after about a half hour and I headed back to the Kingfish Park.
03/18/04 This was just a "veg-out" trip and I had intended to land at the same place as I did a couple of weeks ago but it was taken and I was forced to head across to the opposite bank of the mouth of Simpsons Creek - my first campsite and what used to be a favorite hammock spot until the massive erosion wiped it out. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has turned into a completely different place and has now opened up some pretty nice new areas to camp and hang out. It's still a bit trashy but I am used to that. I found several ideal places to hang my jungle hammock and may return this summer to try them out. Anyway - nice day to swing in the warm breeze and read.
03/21/04
Thanks to another day off yesterday I was able to take advantage of a mid-morning tide and decided to explore the Deep Creek to Garden Creek connection a little more thoroughly. As I set out, the water was fairly calm but I could see by the stack at SJRPP that there was some pretty good wind out there somewhere and I could tell that I would probably find it on the way home. After stopping at my favorite breakfast spot - the old cedar, I headed north and found myself out on the ICW within 30 minutes of setting out. I made my way across the waterway and entered Deep Creek and soon was in the branch that winds its way eastward toward Ft. George Island and Garden Creek. This time I remembered to bring my terraserver pic and I made no wrong turns as I found the stream that connects the two creeks. Once in Garden Creek I decided to explore the shoreline a bit and found the stream that dead ends at the western road of the island and investigated several pull-offs and possible campsites. I then located the strange man-made feature that I had found on terraserver a while back and had investigated way back in January 2001. The long string of little "clump" islands that border most of the western edge of the island are still as much of a mystery as they were back then but one day I hope to discover their origin. My guess is that they are a relic of some aborted development on the island. I also found the remnants of an old dock that had washed up in the grass in the middle of Garden Creek. From there it was a quick jaunt to ICW where I was now buffeted by a strong westerly wind and a waterway that was full of boats, making it a rough ride as I headed south. I crossed over the west bank so that the islands on that side could shield me from some of the wind and I chased a large group of Snowy Egrets from place to place along the bank for most of the way down the waterway until I headed back into the branch of Hannah that would take me home. I was surprised how well my pictures turned out - the wind and the wakes made it nearly impossible to glide in on anyone before they took flight but it turned out that some Snowy's were very photogenic after all See the pictures from this trip
03/24/04
After two straight days of winds in the 20-30 knot range that canceled planned excursions, I finally ignored the trees bending in the breeze and set out for Pumpkin Hill. With N.E. winds in excess of 15 knots I set out into some pretty rough water with the confidence that I would have a pretty easy ride home later on. It wasn't too bad in spite of the wind - there was not a cloud in the sky and not a boat on the water and it felt great to be hit by the wind and salt water. It was a pretty uneventful trip to my planned lunch spot at Tiger Point. There was a gathering of Snowy Egrets and Tri-Colors along a stretch out of the wind but I was unable to get very close to them. As I approached the point and was about to turn into Edwards Creek to land - I noticed three or four small dark heads popping in and out of the water close together about 100 yards away. I thought at first it might be cormorants or mergansers but as I approached I could detect the outline of ears and whiskers that told me that this was a family of four otters out for a day on the water. I followed them over to the grass bank opposite the point and they appeared to gather up briefly before three of them disappeared for good. The fourth one swam head up in a semi-circle around my boat as he checked me out a little more closely and then he was also gone for good. That was the first time that I have seen more than one otter together in the wild. After years of not seeing them very often - I am now seeing them quite a lot. I then headed over to the point and disembarked and set my hammock up out of the wind. I ate and drank and read and then dozed for a bit before setting back for the house - glad that the wind, which was now over 20 knots was at my back. See the pictures from this trip
03/25/04
My SI joint was a little gimpy this morning but the breeze was the lightest it had been all week so I headed for Hannah with the intention of exploring another one of the branches of Deep Creek that meanders toward the Island. On my way, I stopped at my usual birding spots including the first sea daisy island that is normally occupied by Dowithcers and Egrets. As I approached, I could see the the Dowitchers were being stirred up by something that was causing them to fly up and around the island. As I got closer, I could hear the cawing of a crow and sure enough I saw a large one on the banks of the island that was occasionally flying up and swooping in on the poor Dowitchers which were voicing their displeasure. As I glided in to take some pictures of the Tri-colors, the crow flew up and dived on one of the herons causing him to fly away. The crow apparently didn't want to stick around with me there so he abandoned his territorial dispute at least temporarily while I took some pictures of the lone remaining heron and his Dowitcher companions, who were happy that Mr. Crow had moved on. I headed on across the ICW and then headed north into Deep Creek. I had brought my terraserver pic with me to help me find the branch that was just south of the one that leads into Garden Creek. This one apparently goes nowhere but almost reaches the shore of the island and I was curious what I would find there. Unfortunately, I took a turn too soon and wound up back in Shad Creek close to our dear friends, the Slover's house. Dave and Liz have the best house on Ft. George Island in my opinion. It has a tremendous view of the marsh but unlike their ostentatious neighbor to the north - you can't see it - even up close and that is the sign of house that is compatible with the preserve - I wish there were more of them out there but I guess if you have money - you have to show it to people. I still wanted to explore but my SI joint was telling me otherwise so I headed back to the island by the channel tower and relaxed a bit before coming on back. As I pulled into Hannah Mills by the old marina, a dock building barge preceded me and pulled up along side the pier with a load of new timbers - apparently the city is going to do some repair work on the dilapidated dock. See the pictures from this trip
03/31/04 Just a quickie in the FGR to veg in a hammock. It started off as a bad day when I had confrontation with one of the bridge workers that has been a long time coming. Is being a dumbass a requirement to work for the DOT or does it just get you promoted quicker? Anyway - I got to meet one of my long time Paddle Post members - Keith Reynolds who I have been corresponding with for a couple of years so that was nice. The rest of the trip was a matter of finding those two trees, swinging in the breeze, drinking a brew, eating a sandwich and reading the latest LeCarre novel. |
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