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Paddling Journal November 2004 The days are short and the weather cool. Trips this month: 7
11/17/04
Finally! It seems like it has been a month since I've been on the water - well, two weeks, I guess, but that is far too long. We were in California last week and the week before that we were either getting ready for the trip or else other things kept me off the water. This is my first trip since the time change and that takes some getting used to. The sun seems to be almost set before I get in the water and the temperature is just cool enough that I had to break out my spray skirt for the first time in addition to wearing my fleece. Fortunately, the high winds from the Nor'Easter had died down and the water was only a bit choppy as I put in at Browns Creek. With the tide going out and nearing mid levels I thought Browns Creek would offer me the most productive quick paddle and I knew I would find bird life nearby since I could see from the road the herons clumping on the closest big island. That's where I headed and I made an easy trip over and scared off an Osprey and a Great Blue before I reached the main clump of birds. In addition to the usual whites and Tri-Colors I saw three Great Blues hanging out in the trees overhead and although they eyed me warily, they stuck to their perches as I floated by. The setting sun highlighted their plumage with just a hint of pink and orange and it also provided a nice view of the North Side Generating Station and the Dames Point Bridge. As soon as the sun disappeared behind the horizon I headed back to my truck and home. See the pictures from this trip
11/18/04 Not much of a trip - still knocking the rust off. A quick paddle around the two big bends and then I took the shortcut that heads toward Clapboard Creek. Only out about an hour and I saw almost no wildlife at all. The sky was beautiful, however and I got some good shots of the bridge and the port with the setting sun behind them.
11/22/04
This has become our new Thanksgiving tradition - spending the week, or at least part of it, in Cedar Key, Florida at the Fenimore Mills Condos. I awoke to a glorious sunrise over the gulf and with high tide at or around mid-day I put-in about 9:30 and headed for Atsena Otie - the large island offshore from Cedar Key. I had spotted another kayaker ahead of me and as I approached the channel that divides the island I could see that he was walking on the beach watching the Bald Eagle that I had spotted from well offshore. I made my way through the channel, pausing to shoot a Little Green Heron along the way and then drifted under the tree where the Eagle was perched. I took a few shots but not many since he was backlit by the morning sun. He flew off after a while and I continued on to the south side of the island. There I got out to stretch my legs and as I was walking up the beach I suddenly noticed an Eagle in the tree directly above me. He flew off but perched again on a tree on the same side of the island so I decided to try and get close again before heading across the channel to Snake Key - the next island out from Otie. I was able to get quite close to the Eagle this time and marveled as always at the majesty of this wonderful bird. He was watching me and sniffing the air occasionally and I suppose my lack of a bath that morning finally drove him away because he flew off to another perch. As soon as I turned my boat south to head across to Snake Key a huge splash caught my attention and soon I could see three or four dolphins scattered about chasing fish. I paused to shoot them before continuing on the mile or so journey to the key. Once I reached the shoreline I began to traverse the island and found a channel through some mangroves where I immediately scared off three or four Great Blues. I got some wonderful shots of a Tri-Color in a mangrove and was shooting a Great Blue when another Bald Eagle suddenly flew out from a tree nearby with a partially eaten fish in his claws. After completing the circumnavigation I took a quick swim and then headed back toward Otie and Cedar Key. As soon as I reached the beach along the eastern shore I could see for the first time the same pair of Eagles I had seen last Thanksgiving sitting in the tree with the large nest. I believe I could identify the female by her slightly smaller profile and unlike last year her head was now fully white meaning that she has reached full maturity. I observed them for a while but it had been a long day and I soon headed back across the water to home. Just before reaching shore I saw a head pop up a couple of times and it could well have been an otter. Yeah, this is one tradition I think we will keep. See the pictures from this trip
11/24/04
On my way home from Cedar Key I decided to explore some of the other rivers in the area. I headed back up 24 from Cedar Key and then turned south on 98 and dove down to county road 326. After about five miles the road dead-ended at a county park where there was a boat ramp located on the Waccasassa River. According to the maps, it was about a five mile paddle down to the Gulf from the boat ramp. I had no intention of paddling the entire way but I thought it would be interesting to check out this remote river. Just down from the ramp was a large commercial fishing boat that was abandoned and listing to the port side. It was registered in St. Pete and it seemed like and unusual place for it to have wound up - no houses anywhere close and I can't imagine a storm blowing it that far. I was surprised and a little disappointed at the lack of wildlife. The river itself appears to be deep and flowing well and the banks were wild and junglely with trees fallen over in the water a continuous feature. The water was not at all brackish and I fully expected to see gators lining the banks but I never saw a one. I may have heard one however as a huge splash occurred just behind me and I turned to see a large wave heading my way. I stopped to see if a gator would surface but nothing did. Whatever it was - it was enormous and I can only think that a gator would be big enough to make that kind of noise. I continued on and the river slowly widened and the banks opened up from a thick forest into a marshy plain much like the area in Jacksonville. I could sense that I was getting nearer to the gulf and a later look at my maps showed that I was probably less than two miles away. The wind had really picked up and now that I was more exposed I decided that I didn't want to fight it so I turned and let the wind push me back. On the way back I explored some tributaries I had passed. One of them I later found out to be a branch of the Waccasassa that went around Staffords Island and I would have seen the other end of it had I continued a little further. On my way back I suddenly heard the raucous call of a Red Shouldered Hawk and I looked up to see him flying through the trees. I watched as he lit upon a tree nearby and so paddled over to watch and shoot him. I also saw several Wood Storks soaring overhead but none ever came close to landing nearby. As I watched the storks, I began to hear a terrible roar coming from the direction of the gulf. At first I wasn't sure if it was a plane or a boat but soon I knew what it was and pulled well over to the side to let the airboat pass. It hurt my ears as they passed and the three occupants all had ear muffs on. Somehow it just doesn't seem right to have to enjoy nature while driving anything that requires ear muffs to operate. But that's just me. Thankfully, they haven't really caught on in Jax. See the pictures from this trip
11/25/04 Happy Thanksgiving! Nice to be back in home waters but the windy conditions that showed up on the gulf followed us home and I woke up to 20 mph winds with gust of over 30. Too windy for a nice paddle in Hannah? Not for this nut and I set out about 30 mins before high tide. I knew that there would be little or no wildlife to photograph and I was right. I saw a Great Blue near the put-in but he was in no mood to stick around. The wind was coming out of the WSW and therefore was pushing me quickly to the east. I decided to take some of my smaller more shielded routes and then let the wind push me to the old cedar where I took a break. I passed a Northern Harrier who was swooping along the grass, enjoying the breeze. After a brief break I headed south and then west into the teeth of the breeze which had picked up and was now coming directly out of the west. That meant that there was no way I could use the banks to break the wind and I had a slow, tedious paddle back to the truck. Invigorating way to begin the holiday season.
11/28/04 Back in Hannah Mills for a brief paddle. It was a bit breezier and chillier than I expected and the sky was a mottled gray color as I set out and made my way to the old cedar. I really had no idea where I was going at first but after sitting at the cedar for a while I decided to make my way north and go up to Deep Creek to make a long circuit. As I set out from the cedar I crossed paths with three or four small dolphins who were leisurely making their way to the ICW. There wasn't much in the way of bird life out today - the second consecutive day that the marsh was devoid of much activity. I entered the ICW and headed north until I found the entrance to Deep Creek and then headed back south until I crossed Shad Creek. I stayed west of the waterway until I was opposite the Kingfish Park and then came back across the ICW. The pair of Oyster Catchers who hang out on the corner were there and they turned out to be my only real photo ops of the day. The rest of the paddle was fairly easy with the wind coming almost directly out of the north and it didn't hinder me much.
11/29/04 As I was examining my Terraserver photos last night trying to decide where to paddle today, I realized that there was a huge gap in my experience. I had never really explored the ICW north of Ft. George River and so I decided that today's paddle would at least make an attempt to do just that. I couldn't have asked for a better day. Beautiful clear skies and only a hint of wind coming directly out of the north. I had thought that putting in two hours before high tide would mean that I would have the incoming tide with me for at least part of the journey. As it turned out, however, the tidal influence of Nassau Sound overcame the FGR and I fought the tide as well as the slight breeze the whole way up. In looking at the terraserver photos I could see that there were at least a dozen islands on either side of the waterway and I stopped along the way at a few of them and took a good look from the water at all of them. Every single one seemed to be ideal for camping with large clearings under the cedars and pines. This section of the ICW has a more remote feel than the Sisters Creek stretch. Even though Black Hammock Island to the west is well developed, the southern end is lesser so and all of the homes are well off the waterway. The eastern shore of the waterway, of course, is Big Talbot Island which is completely undeveloped except for the small section along the FGR. With the increased distance away from Blount Island, Atlantic Marine, Heckscher Dr. and Mayport Navy base meant that it is incredibly quiet. The boat traffic was fairly busy but most of that was the southbound snowbirds and their migration will soon be over for the winter. It took me approximately three hours of steady paddling to finally reach the place where the waterway takes a sharp turn to the east and enters the Nassau Sound before continuing north. There I stopped to try to photograph a Great Blue and a group of Wood Storks and then headed north. Of course, by now the tide had turned and for the first hour and half I was battling it again. Fortunately, I still had the breeze and that helped. I stopped to take a break and eat lunch at a nice island in front of the part of the waterway that is actually called Sawpit Creek and then continued on. Just prior to reaching the FGR the current turned in my favor and that was a welcomed change. I was worried that there wouldn't be enough water in the north branch of Horseshoe Creek which would add another 30 minutes to my return journey but I lucked out and there was just enough water to negotiate the oyster beds that clog Horseshoe's northern stream. Not much in the way of wildlife but this trip was more of an exploration journey anyway to get the feel for the tidal conditions. There were plenty of small streams left to explore, especially on the Big Talbot side and I will return to make a more thorough search. |
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