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Paddling Journal November 2008 Cool weather and a couple weeks of vacation to enjoy it. Trips this month: 11
Back to Journal Index
11/2/08 I woke up this morning to the sound of rain falling outside and since I knew that there was a forecast of 60% for the rest of the day I resigned myself to skipping my usual Sunday morning paddle. After making Hope breakfast and sending her on the way to church, however, I noticed that the skies had become increasingly clear so after a check of the radar to confirm that nothing was impending I quickly loaded up and headed up the road. I put in at Hannah Mills with the intention of heading up the ICW to the Pelican Pool to see if the big birds had returned for the winter. Getting out of my truck I was blasted in the face by at least a 15 mph wind pushing whitecaps across the pool. I ignored it and labored across the open water until I reached the sea daisy island but by that time I was pretty sure that I would have to change my destination plans. I could see that the ICW was already busy - full of senile Snowbirds heading south as well as sad, hung over Bulldog fans heading north so by the time I reached the old cedar I decided to stay away. I decided to head up the parallel stream that runs north of the cedar and then find the little stream that runs east-west from there to the island that lies in the middle of the marsh. The little stream provided a nice, calm respite from the wind and waves and I quickly made my way through it to the area directly south of the island. I could see several White Pelicans coming in over the marsh from the south and I watched as they gradually dropped in altitude and then disappeared into their pool. I also watched as a Northern Harrier swooped over the grass - one of the few birds that actually enjoy a gale. I headed back south toward the put-in and rode the wind pushed waves back to the put-in. It was only two hours out and no pictures worth saving but it was still nice to get out there.
11/7/08
I like to look back at my paddling journal as I begin a new month to see where I was in the previous year at this time so today as I began a vacation I decided to head back to the place I first explored a year ago - Durbin Creek. I arrived at the put-in beside the bridge on Race Track Road on a foggy morning at about 7:30 and was on the water a few minutes later. I decided to head upstream this time to see how far I could go. As the fog began to lift I made my way through numerous snags while several Wood Ducks began flushing from the flooded woods on either side of me.
After a quarter of a mile I reached a spot the there was no easy way around and after trying several different options I decided to head back downstream. A year ago, I had a lot of difficulty going downstream due to all of the fallen trees so with the water level down a bit I wasn't sure if I would be able to go this direction either. I began to see places where someone had obviously been through the area with a chain saw clearing many of the obstructions I had encountered. Not far from the put-in, however, I came to a large, freshly fallen tree and for a moment it looked like I was stuck. I found a narrow path that looked as if someone had hacked through with a hatchet and soon I was on my way. Much like last year, I was amazed by the incredible colors as the giant cypress trees that exist here were fully turned to red along with the sweet gums and red maples. There was no evidence of human habitation save for the constant roar from the many nearby thoroughfares. I didn't see much in the way of wildlife as I made my way downstream on a slack current but the sound of the Wood Ducks flushing and whistling from the flooded woods was almost constant although it was nearly impossible to shoot them. I could also hear the sounds of Pileated Wood Peckers and Red Shouldered Hawks but only rarely glimpsed them.
I passed through the area where the power lines pass over and shortly after that I arrived at the place where a hiking trail comes down from Old St. Augustine Road and I decided to walk up it until I reached an open, upland field with roads going off to the east and west. I headed downstream and soon reached the area where the docks begin to appear on the southern bank and the creek begins to open up and flow toward Julington Creek and eventually the St. Johns River. Since I had got such an early start I decided to keep going to see if I could make all of the way to Julington and soon I began to see my first Alligators on the day.
While the southern banks were lined with docks and, as I approached Julington, actual houses right on the water, the north side was pristine due the fact that it is mostly a hardwood swamp located between the two creeks. The creek gradually got wider and wider and finally I could see the marina and bridge on San Jose off in the distance and I knew I was in Julington Creek. I paddled around the point and started to head upstream but I had reached my pre-set time and decided to head back. The tide was coming in so my first couple of miles upstream were easy with the current. My lack of human sightings changed as I headed back as a boat full of people came up slowly behind me. They asked if I had seen any Gators and told me that they were going back to Ohio. I resisted the urge to tell them they were going the wrong way and pulled over to let them pass. I began to see a few more Gators myself as they began to crawl out to enjoy the warmth of the mid-day sun. I passed the Ohioans an hour or so later - the only other people I had seen that far up Durbin Creek in two trips. We exchanged pleasantries and I headed on. Well past the half-way point I spotted a deer walking through the woods and a few minutes later a Raccoon but for the most part I shot only the butterflies enjoying the Climbing Astor that lined the banks in large clumps. I reached the put-in after about 7 and half hours and 14 miles on the water. See the pictures from this trip
11/8/08
Hope has been trying to work out a meeting with me and one of her friends who has been on my web site as long as anyone - even when she was living in the Pacific Northwest but it has never worked out. This weekend something called the "Public Trust" was holding a "Kayak Race" at the Dutton Island Preserve and so against my better judgment I agreed to participate. After doing 14 miles on Durbin Creek and then getting little sleep the night before I was hoping that Hope would change her mind - especially since her friend had taken ill and the whole reason we were even doing this was no longer valid. It was a beautiful day and since Hope said she was going to do it whether I came along or not I decided to pack the boats and a lunch thinking that we would just launch and kind of fool around the area. After arriving at the island I soon realized that we in amongst people I had little in common with - aside from kayaking and the love of nature. I squeezed my rusty Dodge in between the Obama/Biden stickered SUV's and unloaded our crappy, beat-up kayaks in the middle of all of the nice new ones and proceeded to check-in and get our goodies - a Tee Shirt and a laminated map of the area. We had no intention of "racing" so after making sure it was OK to set out we did so and paddled out to the ICW. The Dutton Island Preserve is lovely but it is situated in a part of the ICW that is nothing like the Timucuan Preserve. The sound of traffic coming from the Wonderwood bridge to the north and the Atlantic Blvd Bridge to the south was almost constant. On either side of the ICW there were houses built on the water including one group that was obviously a bad case of "my house is bigger than yours - oh yeah!?" Anyway - since Hope had been here with her friend before we decided to do what they had done on that day and simply paddle around the island and explore the area while the other paddlers did their race. We paddled to the north end of the island where the fishing pier is located and began looking for a path back to the south. As we entered a stream that looked promising I noticed that another kayakers was coming up behind us paddling very intently. As we realized that we were in a dead-end I turned to the gal and said "I sure hope you weren't following us cause we have no idea where we are going." She looked at us with exasperation and muttered something about looking for the canoe trail signs and turned around to head back the way she came. We continued looking for a path under the bridge but finally concluded that we had either missed it or else it just wasn't there at this tide and decided to head back to the path and follow the signs. According to the map the trail went almost all of the way up to the Wonderwood Bridge before it cut back to the ICW so we headed that way passing another kayaker who asked us if we were racing. We said we "sorta were" and a few minutes later we were passed by the first of the real racers - a guy in a surf ski who was gliding through the water at a high rate of speed. He was soon followed by about two dozen kayakers pounding the water with their paddles as they futilely pursued the leader. They all looked like they were having way too little fun for such a beautiful day and we pulled over to let them pass and then followed them. The racers all took a shortcut which we took as well and soon we were rejoining the actual trail as the rest of the participants came up from the east. We re-entered the ICW and found an island where we decided to pull off and eat our lunch and drink our energy beers. We sat there eating and relaxing while we watched the rest of the kayakers paddle by - some of them giving us odd looks. We ignored them until a young man in a blue kayak came by and stopped to chat. I quickly realized that he was the official "bring up the rear guy" assigned to make sure no one got lost and so we packed up and headed on. We enjoyed chatting with him as we floated with current back toward the preserve as we were rocked by the huge snow bird wakes. Once we got back to the place where we had entered the ICW initially he indicated that he was heading in there but if we wanted to actually do the whole route we had to continue down to the Atlantic Blvd Bridge and follow the signs there back to the preserve. I wanted to cut it short but Hope still wanted to go on so we parted company and headed on. We found the trail - a long man made mosquito control ditch that runs out from another park called Tideview Preserve. We saw some other stragglers ahead of us but when we finally reached the end we saw them coming back toward us announcing that they were lost. I could tell what the problem was since the last two signs marking the trail were confusing - with the one where we should have turned at point at the one coming from the Tideview park. I explored the small canal behind the park thinking that there might be a path through the neighborhood but quickly concluded that it couldn't be the path. When I returned to Hope and the other lost kayakers, I saw that our "bring up the rear guy" was there waiting for us and told us the error of our ways. He agreed that the sign was confusing and soon we were back on track heading to the put-in where we were now actually NOT the last ones back. As we unloaded, I commented to our guide that it must be like herding cats on water but he said that he didn't mind as long as he was on the water - a kindred spirit. As we finished loading up, however, we heard some of the people running the event talking about some people who "were actually out there eating lunch!" and we both realized what a "fly in the ointment" the two of us had been. While all of the "real" kayakers were out there following the rules we were out there doing what we usually do - wandering around and getting lost and having fun doing it. I guess that's the difference between us paddlers on the north side of the river the these south siders - We don't need no stinking signs! Anyway - we had a good time together and that was the point and even though I paddled a lot more than I had planned - nearly 8 miles, I felt better than if I had stayed home watching football and drinking beer. We took the ferry back to the redneck side of the river and decided to sit on the patio of the Sand Dollar and drink beer and eat fried shrimp as we watched the sun set. A great way to end the day. See the pictures from this trip
11/9/08
I really didn't think I would go out for a third straight day but since I'm off for the week I decided that I could take Monday off from paddling and hang out with Hope and paddle today while she was at church. I got going late but was on the water about a quarter till 8 at mid-tide. There were already several people on the water - I guess the recent article about the state possibly closing the park has sparked some interest. I headed over to the small island opposite the put-in to see if anyone was perching there. As I made my way over I spotted the first of what I like to call the Pumpkin Hill Trifecta - an otter. He was exploring the grassy banks but when he spotted me he lifted his head out of the water and began huffing.
He soon disappeared and seeing no one was at the island I headed on toward the trails. I rounded the bend and seeing the trees at the little point full I entered the marsh there and glided under the tree where several Great Egrets and a lone Wood Stork were perching. I shot them until the Egrets flushed but the Stork was content to stay while I ate my breakfast. As I re-entered the main channel I was met by the second of the Pumpkin Hill Trifecta - a pair of Dolphins. I shot them for a while and them paddled down to my shrimping spot and entered the small creek there. As I paddled up toward Black Hammock I spotted a pair of Hooded Mergansers - the first sighting of these birds who winter here. I was heading back out to the main channel when I spotted the final segment of the Trifecta - an immature Bald Eagle. Seeing any of those three critters make a day on Pumpkin Hill worthwhile and seeing all three is especially nice.
I made my way to the point as another pair of Dolphins swam in front of me and then entered Edwards Creek. I had brought my net and some ice with me just in case the shrimp were still running and I had seen a few on the way down. As I approached my new spot I saw nothing and almost made decision to head back but I decided to try my luck anyway. My first cast brought in a single big one and a few casts later I had five or six in my net. I kept at it for the next hour and managed to bring in three dozen or so before I decided to pack it in and head home. I had an easy paddle back against the last of the outgoing tide and passed several more kayakers on the way down. When I arrived at the put-in however I was shocked to find over a dozen vehicles scattered about the area and as I packed up I realized that there were 7 or 8 people scattered about the area doing water color scenes of the marsh. I packed up and headed home to clean some shrimp and watch some football. See the pictures from this trip
11/11/08
I debated for a long time about my destination for today but, ultimately the weather forecast which called for brisk winds on the coast sent me inland to the Okefenokee Swamp to check out Kingfisher Landing and see if the high water levels would make that location a better place to paddle than the last time Hope and I were here a year ago.
I was at the landing and in the water a little after 9. There was a large flock of Robins around the ramp - more than I usually see at this time of the year. I headed west down the canal passing through the area where the damage from the fire of 2007 was still very evident even though signs of new growth were everywhere. There were few signs of wildlife as I headed down to the place where the Red Trail and Green Trail split but as I entered the Red Trail and began paddling in a NW direction I began to flush out several small groups of Wood Ducks from the overhanging small trees that line the trail. There was also a small Warbler type bird flitting in and out from the berry laden trees which I believe may have been a Yellow Rumped.
As I continued on, the air in front of me suddenly was filled with hundreds, if not thousands of Swallows that seemed to be hovering around the bushes and small trees. As I watched the sky was literally obscured by these small black and white birds that flew a few feet above my head and then to the east as they ascended. The path wound its way through many cypress islands that were now completely turned rust red and starting to drop their needles in the water. I came upon a pair of ducks that didn't flush which I assumed were more Wood Ducks. I soon realized that they were Hooded Mergansers but that made their refusal to flush even odder since in this area they never let me get close. They calmly swam in front of me as we rounded a bend and then finally flew off.
Later I idid come upon some Wood Ducks that I was able to shoot for a while and once they flew off I noticed something slithering into the water from the grass. I assumed that it was my first Gator sighting of the day but when I whiskered face surfaced I realized that it was an Otter. It raised it's head out of the water to look at me and then began swimming directly toward my kayak while I shot away. He got within three feet of my boat and then disappeared. I waited to see if he would surface and begin huffing at me but he never did and so I made my way on down the trail.
I finally reached a place where the cypress islands seemed to disappear and the trail started to close in on me. It was still navigable but getting a little more difficult with the increased vegetation in the water so I decided to turn around. After looking at my route later I wish that I had continued on for another mile and come to a pair of lakes called Double Lakes. I headed back just shy of noon and pretty much saw more of the same - no Gators or Sand Hill Cranes but around nearly every bend I could count on at least three or four Wood Ducks and was able to approach them carefully enough to get some good shots.
There were also lot's of Eastern Phoebes in the area and, as always, I enjoy watching them sit above the water and then diving to the surface to snatch insects. At one point, a Phoebe dove to the surface of the water and came out with a strange looking worm which he proceeded to eat as I sat shooting. I arrived back at the ramp and as I paddled up the canal I spotted another pair of Hooded Mergansers and so I carefully approached. Once again, I was able to get quite close until I was just 15 yards away. Suddenly, they both disappeared and I thought they had flown off while they were obscured by a bush. The male suddenly surface from the water a few yards away from my boat and began swimming back and forth in front of me. The reason became evident when his mate suddenly surfaced next to my boat and then flew away to the west in a flurry. The male kept my attention on him and I obliged by getting the best photos of a Merganser that I have ever gotten before. Finally, he flew off over my head and joined his mate down the canal and I paddled over to the ramp and headed home. See the pictures from this trip
11/15/08
Hope had something to do at Camp Weed this weekend so to wrap up our vacation week I decided to join her and spend the night at the Inn and then spend Saturday paddling in the area while she did her work at the camp. Unfortunately, the weather forecast for the weekend called for a 40 to 60 percent chance of thunderstorms just about everywhere in the area so my initial plans to head up to Billy's Lake in the Okefenokee seemed a little much especially if it was going to rain all day. I began looking at my maps and since the radar indicated that the precipitation would be heading slowly north and east I decided to head a few miles west and put-in at Dowling Park and paddle one of the remaining sections of the "C" in the Suwannee River that we had not paddled.
As I pushed away from the shore, a light rain began to fall and I wasn't sure if I would be out on the water for very long. I pulled on my fleece and began paddling upstream against a current that was considerably less than what it was in early September when Hope and I made our 3 day excursion. I paddled around the first bend and spotted a tall walkway coming down from a bluff where the Advent Christian retirement community of Dowling Park is located. A Suwannee River Trail sign was attached to it indicating that it was part of the river camp system and showed that lodging was available. I had read that Dowling Park was a part of the system and the sign confirmed it although I'm not sure what exactly is available or how to make reservations. Since it was raining, I decided to not try to walk up and explore the area and continued on upstream. The first mile of the trip winds around a couple of sharp bends as the river flows around the Dowling Park community with the buildings of the medical center looming above the bluffs but soon I was out of sight of the any buildings and paddling along a stretch of river with limestone formations on one side and a steep sandy bank on the other. The rain soon stopped but the day remained dark and dreary and even though I could see that the fall colors were in full bloom it was hard to really enjoy them. This section of the river is generally very straight with only some very long bends to break it up but about a mile upstream I noticed a creek emptying into the river on the western bank.
I pulled into the creek that had steep limestone walls on one side and a bare flat bank on the other that looked very unnatural. I paddled about a half mile upstream where the creek opened up into a couple of large pools and I began to think that this had the appearance of an old quarry - a fact that I later confirmed. The creek is called Mill creek and seemed to go much further up into the woods but I decided to turn back and continue my trip upstream. After another mile, houses began to appear on each side of the river which lasted for the next couple of miles. I paddled by a couple of small unnamed springs and as I passed what seemed to be the last of the houses I had reached my turn around time and decided to stop at the last and largest of the springs to eat my lunch.
The trip back was, of course, much easier and I was soon back in sight of Dowling Park. There was an incredible number of Black Vultures gathered in the trees and along the banks who seemed to eye me hungrily as I floated past them. I assured them that I was NOT a part of the retirement community and they left me alone. I was going to stop at the walkway to explore what was available above but as I got close a cold wind began blowing down the river and the skies darkened so I decided to head back to my truck and check it out from the road. As I began loading up my truck, a local hunter came down the ramp to train his Golden Lab by tossing a float out in the river. It was fun to watch the exuberance of the young dog as he leaped into the river to retrieve the float. He was very good at retrieving but not so good at actually bringing the prize back to his master as he wanted to run back and forth along the bank before he finally gave it up.
I headed into Dowling Park and did a little more exploring but couldn't really get a good handle on what I was seeing from the river so I guess I will have to call the SRWMD office and ask how to make reservations there. On my way back to Live Oak I saw a sign for Charles Springs and decided to check out the place where Hope and I ate lunch back in July when we paddled from Dowling Park back to Blue Springs. The spring, which was not flowing back then, was now flowing a little and the area was beautiful with the Cypress trees sporting their fall colors. It wasn't exactly the day I had planned but it was still a good day on the water and that beats most things I could do on a Saturday afternoon. See the pictures from this trip
11/19/08
As I headed toward home on this brisk late fall day I debated as to whether or not I should bother to pop my boat in the water for a quick paddle. The temperatures the night before had dropped into the upper 20's and the high today barely got into the 50's while a NE breeze blew all day.
As I crossed the Browns Creek bridge, I had all but decided to head home but as I glanced across the glassy waters toward the big island I could see the trees were full of Egrets and the stack and cooling towers at SJRPP were going straight up in the dark blue winter sky. I hit my brakes and pulled into the empty put-in and was quickly on my way against the outgoing tide. I love the light at this time of the year I just wish I had more time to enjoy it. The crisp cold air made the sky a wonderful shade of pure blue while the already setting sun was bathing an orange glow on the grasses and trees of the marsh.
As I approached the island I could see that in the big oak tree located on the SE corner an Osprey and Great Blue Heron were residing there as they almost always are when I paddle here. I shot them for a while and then when they flushed I headed toward the southern edge of the island toward the trees full of plump white fruit. I was able to shoot a very photogenic Tri-colored Heron with the sun glowing on the Spanish moss behind him. The plumage of the Great Egrets was being turned a light orange as the sun began to disappear behind Northside Generating Station and they began croaking noisily as I passed underneath them. I rounded the bend on the west end of the island briefly but with the sun now at the horizon I turned around and made another pass by the Egrets and cruised the rest of the way home. See the pictures from this trip
11/24/08
Everyone had plans today so I packed up and headed to Pumpkin Hill. I was in the water a few minutes before sunrise and about an hour before peak high tide. It was a chilly, calm day and the water was glassy as I set out from the put-in and paddled through the marsh directly across from the launch point. I cut through the grass and circled around by the island near Black Hammock.
No one was perching there so I headed back to the main channel and began paddling toward the trails. I shot an Osprey for a while and then cut into the marsh just beyond the trails to see who was perching in the trees there. Only a few Egrets were there and they flushed before I could get close but as I sat there I heard a rustling in the grass along the shoreline. Suddenly, three or four young hogs cam walking out of the woods and jumped down to the shoreline where they began rooting around for shellfish. A larger black one came into the clear and stared at me for a couple of seconds before letting loose with a loud grunt or bark. At that. the whole group scampered up the bank and disappeared noisily into the woods. As I returned the main channel I ran across a small flock of Ruddy Ducks whom I followed for quite a while. The Hooded Mergansers were out in force on this day and it seemed as if around every bend and in every little nook were dozens of them. Of course, they always flushed well before I could get any good shots but it didn't stop me from trying. I continued on to the point and after eating breakfast I decided to head up Edwards Creek and paddle around Tiger Point as far as I could up the little creek that runs along the trails on the west side of the park. By the time I reached the stream that empties into the southern bank of Edwards Creek the tide had turned and I had to fight a strong current as I paddled by the homes on Betz Landing. Once beyond the houses, the creek winds its way madly through the marsh cutting back and forth on itself as it heads east toward the road that intersects the park.
I checked out a couple of potential campsites along the way and was amazed at how deep the stream was and how much water was pouring out from the marsh. I wondered if there wasn't a spring located somewhere deep in the marsh or in the woods. It is quite different than the small streams on the south side of Cedar Point road as, normally, one this narrow would eventually become shallow and impassable but this one never did. I finally got to the point where the needle rushes were blocking the path and even though I could have pushed my way further, I decided to turn around while I still had the room. The rushing current carried me swiftly out toward Edwards Creek and then toward Tiger Point. As I floated along with the current about a dozen White Pelicans soared a few feet over my head and landed back in the direction I had just come from. As I got close the point a pair of them came swimming out from the marsh and headed up the creek. The rest of the trip was easy and uneventful as I made my way back against the last of the outgoing tide. Before heading back home, I stopped at the new Preservation Project site across Cedar Point Road from Pumpkin Hill. It has an odd little family cemetery off to the side as well as several miles of hiking trails that lead down to the branch of Cedar Point creek that I like to paddle up to. The following day, Hope and our daughter Hannah took the dogs for a five mile hike down to the end and had a great time. See the pictures from this trip
11/26/08
The long awaited McCharen family excursion into the Okefenokee Swamp finally got under way after a year's delay due to my health. I borrowed a tandem kayak from a co-worker so that we wouldn't have to use the Ocean Kayak in what was sure to be a chilly morning and that turned out to be a good decision when I woke up to temperatures in the low 30's. We got all four boats loaded up and had our food and gear packed into the two vehicles and were on the road a little after 8:30.
We had to pick up our other daughter, Jenny, at the farm she is living at on the west side and so we decided to take the southern route to the Okefenokee taking Florida 121 up to St. George and then Georgia 121 the rest of the way to the park. We were checked in and on the water a little after 10 and after pausing for a rare family photo on the water we decided to head down the canal on our way out. It was peaceful and beautiful and I was especially happy to see that the cypress trees still had their rust colored needles although the water was beginning to become clogged with them. Hannah and Jenny took the tandem while Andrew took my beat up old Poke Boat that had the patch he had applied to it three years earlier. I enjoyed hanging back with Hope and watching the three of them having a good time paddling and gabbing as we headed down toward the split.
As has been the case lately, the high water levels meant that there would be little to see until we reached the path into the prairies. I could hear the distant call of some Sand Hill Cranes but aside from a few Great Blues perching above the water we saw nothing until we turned into the trail to Grand Prairie. Not far down that trail I spotted a six foot Gator laying just off the path and we paused to watch him before heading on. The trumpet of the Cranes suddenly became quite close and we began to see some of them rise from the prairie to the west of us.
We reached the turn and began paddling to the west toward Monkey Lake. As we did, the yodel of the Cranes got closer and closer until when we were about to the turn back to the canal I spotted the heads of a few of them along the path. I stopped and waited for everyone to catch up so that I could point them out and let them know that as soon as we made the turn that we would probably cause them to flush. That happened on schedule as about a dozen of the big birds waited until we got in the clear and then took off in a loud flurry. As we paddled up the path toward the canal we would occasionally see them on either side of us in groups of two or three. We passed by a pair of Red Shouldered Hawks and what may have been a young Eagle who was too far away from us to get a positive ID. As we approached the canal, I spotted a large Gator laying out on a muddy bank and we all paused to have a good look at him before heading on. Once back in the canal we continued on around to the cut and then headed back east through the dark overhanging cypress.
We arrived at the bathroom platform and decided to take a bathroom and picnic break there before heading on. After some discussion, we decided to head back via the Day Use Canoe Trail and once back at the split we turned into it. As soon as I entered the trail I saw a lone Great Blue on one side of it and a lone Crane on the other. The Crane quickly flew off but the Heron simply stood there staring at us as we passed by.
I kept my eyes peeled for activity beneath the flooded bushes that line the path and after a while I spotted the ridged pattern of a tail in the water. At first I thought it was just a branch but soon I spotted a pair of large brown eyes staring at me and I could see a very young Gator in the water. I pointed it out to the family and then moved out of the way and started to head down the path. I heard the kids say that they were seeing a couple of more little Gators in the same area and so I paddled back to shoot the other babies before they plopped into the water. We paddled the rest of the way back to the put-in without seeing much else and then loaded up and headed over to the picnic area to have our lunch. We all agreed it was a great day out on the water - long overdue but well worth the wait. See the pictures from this trip
11/29/08
Our daughter Hannah had an early flight back to LA and with the weather turning nasty later in the weekend I decided to make a rare excursion on the water on a Saturday morning. I considered heading north to the Kingfisher entrance of the Okefenokee Swamp but decided to stay close to home and take advantage of being up well before sunrise.
I was in the water at 6:20 - about 40 minutes before the sun was due to rise with just enough light on the horizon to see where I was going. I paddled out of the big pool and headed toward the old cedar. I could see a Great Blue perching there along with a smaller bird that looked like it might be a Peregrine Falcon but they both flew off before I could get close. I had already eaten, so I bypassed the cedar and continued up the parallel feeder streams to the north.
My destination, of course, was the Pelican Pool since it would be my first chance this winter to check and see if my big buddies had checked in for the season. By 7:30, I had reached the island that lies along the ICW in front of the pool. As soon as I exited my boat, I could tell that the population of the pool had swelled from it's summer occupancy of a dozen or so to what Iater counted from my photos as over 200. As I walked across the mudflat a dozen more Pelicans came soaring in from the east and circled the pool a couple of times as they tried to find a place to land. Most of the Pelicans were standing on the spit of land near the southern shoreline doing their morning routine of grooming themselves as they stood in the bright morning sun. Whether it was the sight of me walking across the flats or the newcomers dropping in, the entire group suddenly began to plop into the water and start swimming across the pool. I continued on until I reached the edge of the water and then sat down on my life jacket that I had brought with me. The huge flock continued swimming back and forth across the pool and they eyed me carefully as I sat shooting them. As I did, more groups of the big birds would occasionally come flying in from different directions to join the flock.
I noticed a new addition to the pool since I had last been here - someone had done what I have wanted to do since I first discovered the pool many years ago and placed palm fronds in several locations along the edge of the pool in what appear to be for blinds. I can't imagine why they would be there otherwise and I wonder if it was someone who visits this web site and read of my intentions to do so. They are all located on the western side of the pool which means they would be difficult to get to so I may still build one on the eastern side of the pool.
As I sat there watching the Pelicans swim back and forth in front of me, I noticed that they were gradually moving closer and closer to the spit of land they had exited earlier. About six of them hopped out of the water and began grooming themselves but some movement from me must have spooked them and they only stayed a few minutes before rejoining their friends back in the water. There were several Hooded Mergansers in the water playing around and since I was partly hidden in the grass and staying relatively still they soon came out from around one of the clumps of grass and were just a few feet away from me. I shot them as they calmly sat there grooming themselves as they swam a few feet away from me and finally disappeared behind the same grass island they had come from. As I sat there, I could tell that the wind was starting to pick up and I knew the Snowbird traffic would soon start to increase on the waterway so I decided to head back home. I managed to dodge the worst of the big wakes from the motor yachts heading south and saw very little on my way back to the put-in. See the pictures from this trip
11/30/08 I thought I was done with paddling in November until I made a trip to Gander Mountain this morning to check out their big Thanksgiving Day sale. I had been alerted by one of my Naturalist classmates that some of their boats were half priced and so I wanted to see if the Old Town Dirigo 120 that I had been eyeing was included. It was and so I left the store $300 poorer but with one more boat to add to the McCharen Armada strapped to my truck. Of course, the huge storm that was moving into the area broke as I was driving away from the store so when I got the boat home I dumped the water out and sat impatiently inside waiting for a break in the weather. Hope pulled up during a lull in the storm as I was outside playing with it and saw me grinning sheepishly as I stood beside my new purchase. I walked over and informed her that I had done all of her Xmas shopping for her and pointed at the kayak which she had not seen. It didn't take much convincing her that I had made a good decision, especially since there was a 30 day return policy on boats but as the rain started to fall again we had to take refuge indoors. I pretty much resigned myself to waiting for another day before I could get it in the water but as the afternoon wore on I noticed a break in the rain bands and since the boat was already strapped on I grabbed my keys and headed up the road to Browns Creek. Incredibly, I wasn't the only nut out on this day although it seemed like I was the only one actually on the water. There were three or four people fishing from the bridge who looked at me as though I was crazy as I paddled under it and headed toward the big island. It was probably a poor test for the tracking abilities of the boat since a strong wind was coming out of the SW against an outgoing tide. The boat is a bit wider than my Montour which made it a little stodgy in its handling but the good side of that is the fact that the cockpit felt a lot roomier and I was able to easily get my legs out. The seat is extremely comfortable with nice adjustment knobs and the foot pegs are easy to adjust. The front and rear decks are flatter than my Montour which should make strapping things to them better. The main thing I was concerned about, of course, was the tracking and the wind and current made it difficult to gage but once I got into some more sheltered waters I tested it out. It's not perfect but I could tell that it is immensely better than the Montour although the real test will come when I bring my gear along and try to float in on some birds. There were plenty of them about feeding at low tide but even if I had brought my camera along I wouldn't have been able to get any shots since it was so dark and a light rain was almost constant while I was out. So far so good. |
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