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Paddle Bob Travel Bob

Kayaking Florida: Silver Springs

Since my kayak obsession began, I’ve been a hermit paddler. I tend to go out alone as much out of necessity as of desire. Not terribly smart, really. But I just haven’t found anyone yet who shares my passion for kayaks.

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That changed when I paddled Silver Springs with several folks I met via Paddling.net. Phyliss saw my post on the site and invited me along for their paddle, and it turned out to be the best of the three days I spent on the water in Florida. And given how incredible Gum Slough and Juniper Springs were, that’s saying something.

Silver Springs was teeming with wildlife during our paddle, and Phyliss was great at spotting it and identifying it as we went. We had a great encounter with a band of monkeys who wanted to get too close for comfort. Apparently, they like to get in the trees overhead and pee on paddlers, but thanks to Phyliss’ warning, we avoided that unfortunate fate. We watched for a while as a dominant male and several other monkeys come in close hoping for food. We didn’t oblige, but it gave us a great chance to get a close look at them, including a few youngsters.

We also saw a lot of gators, ranging from a few feet to 8 or 10 feet. They were content to let us pass and we kept a safe distance. The avian life at Silver Springs is amazing. We saw blue heron, white heron, ibis, cormorants and anhinga in the trees drying their wings. They reminded me of the scarecrows marking the Forbidden Zone in the Planet of the Apes. Black wings spread, dark and foreboding.

We also saw that most-common of all Florida wildlife, the wily and overpopulating tourist. They were sardined into glass bottom boats to admire the pristine views of the underwater flora and fauna that inhabit the springs. This was my third day of paddling spring-fed waters that are as clear and direct as a Hemmingway sentence. I never grew tired of it, but I couldn’t imagine the experience in the glass bottom boat was anything like seeing it from a kayak.

Our paddling partners included Dan and Carol, both of whom were a lot of fun and knew how to handle their boats. I definitely was the rookie of the bunch. Group paddling is a different dynamic for me. It was interesting to watch how we sometimes clustered, sometimes broke into small groups and occasionally wandered off to stalk the shoreline for interesting finds. It definitely made me eager to seek out other opportunities to paddle in groups. I’m sort of a loner when it comes to nature, and I love hiking or paddling at my own pace, in my own way. But the social aspect of being in a group and sharing knowledge has major benefits.

  • Fees: It cost $5 to launch at Ray Wayside Park, which is a nice facility with a perfect place to put in a kayak. Along the way, we stopped for a break at a state park canoe launch. That was free and afforded us a chance to talk to other people who were there to enjoy a beautiful Sunday afternoon on the water.
  • monkey4.jpgMonkey business: One of the things I’d hoped to catch a glimpse of was the monkeys who inabit Silver Springs. Legend has it they were escapees from Tarzan movies that were filmed here, but Phyliss told me the real story: An enterprising tourist trap operator had brought them in to create “Monkey Island” in the ’30s. For his residents he chose the rhesus monkey, which is the only one that likes to swim. It wasn’t long before they struck out from Monkey Island to colonize the surrounding swamp, cypress groves and live oak. A few of the male monkeys approached us brazenly, hoping for a free meal, but when they didn’t get that, they just sat around a few yards away and watched us as intently as we watched them. There were several youngsters in the group who frolicked nearby. We had to keep our distance for fear they’d leap for the kayaks or gain the branches above us, where they’ve been known to urinate on paddlers below.
  • Trip details: We put in at Ray Wayside Park and paddled up to the springs at a leisurely pace. The trip upstream wasn’t very strenuous but the current made it tricky in a few places. The entire trip was about 10 miles roundtrip, and it took us about five hours to complete, including a few breaks and lots of stops to gawk at wildlife or chat. We got an early start, between 8:30 and 9 a.m., which gave us a big advantage in wildlife viewing. As we returned that afternoon, a group of rowdy tourists were heading out, determined to “see the monkeys.” At first, I was hoping the monkeys were safe and hidden. But then my evil side was thinking it might be good if these tourists got to see their simian friends, and said simians had full bladders …
  • Phyliss told me two sobering tales: Apparently, a gator lunged for a kayak in the Central Florida area, taking a bite out of it and leaving several holes. That definitely gave me pause, but all the gators we encountered were content to bask in the sun and watch us drift past. They’re apparently at their most aggressive in the spring, when they’re in a mating mood. The second story was about someone who was lost in Gum Slough, where I kayaked on Friday, and had to be airlifted out. My caution while paddling there apparently was well-founded.
  • Gear heads: Phyliss and Dan both are multiple kayak owners, and I quickly had gadget envy as we talked about the various paddling paraphernalia everyone had indulged in. It definitely is a sport that fosters obsession.
  • Photos: Here’s a link to the Silver Springs photos and video that I shot.
  • Resources: I found more useful resources online here than I did when researching Gum Slough or Juniper Springs. jackl’s post on Paddling.net was very useful. Green Wave Forum has lots of useful info. This post on Central Florida Kayak Trips was helpful. And finally, Tales from the Delk Side has a nice post about paddling Silver River.
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Paddle Bob Travel Bob

Kayaking Florida: Juniper Springs

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When I posted a note to Paddling.net asking for kayaking suggestions in Central Florida, Juniper Springs was near the top of most lists.

But there was one caution: “Whatever you do, DON’T do Juniper Springs on a weekend. It is a zoo.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t have much choice based on the way my trip was evolving, so I decided to tough it out and deal with the army of tourists careening down the springs in canoes. I was counting on two things to mitigate the crowds: An early start and the fact that this was the weekend before Christmas. As it turns out, I won on both counts.

I launched from the Juniper Springs Recreation Area in Ocala National Forest at 8:45 a.m., and I was the only car in the lot when I arrived. In fact, during the entire 7-mile run the only zoo I encountered was populated by herons, kingfishers, deer, an otter and dozens of turtles. I didn’t see or hear a human until I reached the takeout at Juniper Wayside Park, where I initially had intended to launch. It was another amazing trip. The morning was shrouded in fog, but it had pretty much lifted by the time I launched, leaving a haze that the sun didn’t penetrate until almost 11 o’clock. That was fine by me. It made for a cool, invigorating paddle.

The run was trickier than I’d anticipated. The current runs at about 3 mph, channeling through and around countless obstructions. I can see how you easily could get dumped out of your boat if you’re not playing heads-up, and it didn’t help that I was using a 240cm paddle. Something in the 220 range probably would have been more appropriate. I managed to stay in my boat for the entire run, but I had a few close calls, one of which almost cost me my hat.

I completed the trip in a little over three hours and had to wait about an hour for the shuttle back to the parking lot at the recreation area. Combined with my paddle of Gum Slough the previous day, I was getting a great taste of paddling in central Florida that left me wanting more.

  • Fees: It cost $4 to enter the Juniper Springs Recreation Area and another $12 to have a shuttle pick you up at Juniper Wayside Park and return you to the rec area. One other “fee” to note: They require a $20 cash deposit when you leave to ensure you check in upon returning so they know everyone who sets out returns. After I got back to the recreation area, they refunded the $20. Initially, I was going to put in at the wayside park, paddle upstream and then return. But in researching the trip on the Internet I’d found a few posts saying that launching at the wayside park was now prohibited. That isn’t entirely true. They apparently had problelms there with rowdy crowds of locals partying and swimming, so they had tried to restrict the park to takeout only. But local protests forced them to compromise and allow three parking spots for people who want to put in there. In the end, I’m glad I didn’t do it anyway since it would have been a tough paddle upstream and I’m not sure I could have done it after the trip to Gum Slough the previous day. I definitely was feeling it in my shoulders and arms.
  • “Snatching” mullet: When I arrived at the wayside park, there were a couple of 20 somethings with a small jon boat who were fishing for talapia and mullet. They’d driven in from DeLand to fish and were pretty disappointed when I misinformed them that they couldn’t put in there. Fearing their truck would be towed, they were planning to leave and head to Lake George, but we began talking and they started casting a treble hook to try to “snatch” mullet. They didn’t have much luck, but we had fun talking while they tried. They were great guys. Gene, who clearly was the brains of the operation, boasted a rebel flag belt buckle and a hunting knife on his belt. He was a Florida boy born and bred. When Bill, who drives the shuttle back to the rec area arrived to take my boat back, he corrected my misinformation and told them they could park in one of the three designated spots there and they had to fish downstream of the bridge. No fishing is allowed upstream. That might explain why I saw lots of bass and mullet swimming around as I glided past above them
  • Intermediate paddle: The Forest Service makes it clear this isn’t a trip for beginners. The current is about 3 mph, but it picks up considerably on the last third of the run because of a spring that opened up there a few years ago. Bill, the guy who drives the shuttle, calls it “Bill’s Spring” since he says he was the first to spot it. They thought it was runoff at first, but after a long dry spell it was clear this was a new spring that had opened up. There are a lot of tight passages on the run and many overhanging branches that make it pretty tricky. About an hour after I’d arrived at the pickup point a canoe pulled in with two drenched guys who had failed to navigate one of the obstacles.
  • Wildlife: I saw lots of turtles, an otter, several heron and kingfishers and two doe as I navigated down the run. At the takeout, two raccoons wandered the opposite bank in search of food and a pair of eagles soared overhead while a redtail hawk screeched in protest not far away. It was an incredible sight. Paddling early has its advantages.
  • No disposables: Although there was no one there to enforce it when I launched, there is a rule that prohibits you from taking disposable bottles on the run. I stopped at a Winn Dixie on my way over to get a water bottle for that purpose, but when I got back into my truck I forgot to put my headlights back on, which prompted a sheriff’s officer to pull me over to warn me that you have to have your lights on in the fog. She was very polite and professional, and let me off with a warning. It was foolish to be driving in that fog without lights. Initially I thought she was pulling me over because of the way I’d used the Extend a Truck to haul the kayak, but she said that was fine.
  • Park personnel: The recreation area was pretty deserted when I arrived, and the rangers were milling about in the concession area talking and waiting for people to arrive. By the time I got back to the lot, at about 1:30, there were a lot more cars there, but Bill the shuttle driver said it was much slower than usual because it was the weekend before Christmas. Overall, the park personnel where great, especially Bill the shuttle driver.
  • Photos: Stuff I shot that’s on Flickr.
  • Resources: jackl’s post on Paddling.net was very useful. This post on Seakayak.ws provided a lot of useful detail.

Categories
Paddle Bob Travel Bob

Kayaking Florida: Gum Slough

It’s the night before I’m scheduled to leave for Florida to visit my parents and kayak in the Ocala area, and Lara appears in the Bobatorium. I’m basking in the glow of high definition hockey. She’s bearing gifts a full week before Christmas, which is very unusual. Despite my nagging, Lara never relents when I’m lobbying to open presents early.

It seems I made the mistake of reading her a line from the research I was doing on paddling Gum Slough.

“I have to warn you that this is one of those places where folks have been lost and spent the night in the swamp. I would recommend going with a guide.”

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With images of mosquitos, gators and me wandering the swamp in the middle of the night dancing in her head, she decided to break down and give me one of my gifts early.

And it’s a cool one: A Lowrance iFinder H2Oc. There’s no way I can digest the manual before I’m on the water, but I figure it will be a good backup for that run.

As it turns out, I didn’t have problems with Gum Slough, but I was pretty cautious. I put in a little before 10 a.m. and paddled downstream on the Withlacoochee South River a short distance to the entry to Gum Slough. From there, I paddled up the narrow, shallow, see-through water until I reached a marsh. That’s where I was having a tough time establishing clear reference points, so I turned around after about 45 minutes in the marsh. I wanted to make sure I left myself enough sunlight to get out in case I did get turned around on the way back. But the trip downstream on Gum Slough was much faster, and I was back on the Withlacoochee by 2:30 p.m. I didn’t make it to the source of the spring that feeds Gum Slough, but it still was an amazing way to start three straight days of paddling springs in the Ocala area.

Here are a few more details about the Gum Slough paddle:

  • I saw a few gators, but it was more fleeting glimpses than eyeball-to-eyeball stare downs. They both appeared relatively small. Maybe in the four foot range. I also saw a lot of birds that I couldn’t identify, as well as a group of ducks that stayed several hundred yards ahead of me as I went upstream.
  • The clarity of the water there (and at Juniper Springs and Silver Springs) was outstanding. I took several underwater shots, including this strange self-portrait. Gum Slough was very tight in places, but nothing I couldn’t navigate. I had to get out at one point and portage to get back into the “main channel” when I drifted into a small artery. It became clear I was off course when I kept hitting logs that blocked the entire passage
  • After considering transporting my QCC on my truck for the trip and being told in no uncertain terms that my scheme was seriously flawed, I decided to rent a kayak once I arrived. Soggy Bottom Tours was happy to oblige, and they’re only about a hundred yards from a launch on the Withlacoochee that’s just upstream from Turner’s Fish Camp. They charged me $30/day for a 15-foot Perception Carolina. A plastic boat was perfect for the log-bumping muck-sludging trips I took while I was in Florida. (Soggy Bottom are good folks and I’d definitely rent from them again … maybe next time I’ll tour Gum Slough with them.)
  • While the Extend-A-Truck was a tenuous way to try to transport my QCC, it worked fine for the smaller, plastic boat as I hauled it from stream to stream.
  • After I’d come back down Gum Slough and was tooling around on the Withlacoochee, I heard a godawful noise downstream. The drone increased and a pair of airboats blew into sight. It was cool watching them roar past, and like bass boats, they throw off very little wake so I didn’t get bounced around. They both gave me a wide berth, with one of them waving as he went by.
  • Photos from the trip.
  • Here’s a very useful trip report from the Green Wave Forum.