Silver River

I had a very interesting trip the first time I kayaked the Silver River in Ocala, Florida. The trip was made in my old inflatable kayak, which made for a less than enjoyable ride on the river's swift current.

The last time I made this trip, however, was in September in my nice Pelican Apex II kayak. The combination of the extraordiarily beautiful scenery and the swift current made for one of the easiest and most enjoyable kayak trips I have ever taken.

My parents and I woke up early in the morning to embark on the two-hour drive to Silver River State Park outside of the city of Ocala. This is one of my favorite drives to take because it goes straight through the rolling farm country in the center part of the state. It is always nice to remind myself that most of Florida is still rural, a fact that even a Floridaphile like me forgets sometimes.

As usual, we were the first ones to arrive at the park that morning, and, as usual, my dad needed to stop at the bathroom. While my father...um...took care of his business, I wandered over to the little "cracker village" that they have set up in the woods behind the bathroom building.

And they say Florida doesn't have culture!!

The village they had set up was nice, and it consisted of little houses, a blacksmith shop, and I believe even a schoolhouse. But it just struck me as weird, though...whenever I think of Florida Crackers, I do not think of villages. Maybe I'm mistaken......but back to the story.

We parked at the head of the "River Trail," a dirt path that leads through the woods down to the river. We carried our kayak a half-mile to the river, walked back a half-mile, retrieved our gear and said goodbye to my mom, and walked back down to the river with our arms loaded down with assorted kayak accessories. So before we even set foot in a kayak, we had walked one-and-a-half miles, already more exercise than most people get in a full day.

The weather was absolutely perfect for paddling, temperatures in the mid 60s and clear blue skies. We could not have asked for a better day in a Florida September.

Because this is a spring run (a HUGE one at that), the water is crystal clear and very swift (for a Florida river, at least.) We shoved the kayak into the water, and as I climbed in I got the strange feeling that I was floating in mid-air. The water is so clear (and with no reflections because we were in the shade,) that you actually get the sensation you are floating in the air when you first set off. This is a very strange feeling that can last for a while after shoving off. Welcome to Silver River and Silver Springs, Florida.

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This boy (girl?) is a Cormorant. You'll find these guys dive into the water chasing after fish, and then pop up a few moments later to breathe. They're fun to watch. There were 4 others on the branch that this guy was resting on, and one of them promptly tried to shoot excrement at us while we snapped pictures. We took the warning and headed on downstream.

Beautiful clear-blue water. The riverbottom in the shallow areas sparkled as if little pieces of silver were scattered about...I would assume that this is what the river is named for.

The reptile action on the river was pretty good. We saw a few turtles resting on logs like this and could see many swimming underwater. We also heard a gator splash into the water at one point on the river. I love the way turtles rest on their bellies and hold their feet straight out like this.

I want to say this is a kind of Water Hyacinth flower, but I am not sure. I am terrible at classifying plants. But the flower is not the main attraction here, it's the rather intersting-looking spider on the stem. I did not notice it until I uploaded the photos on the computer.

This is my favorite picture from the entire trip. The water all the way out to about 50 feet from the bank was perfectly clear and only inches deep. There's just a lot of beauty in this picture. I will leave you to comprehend it.

Sixmile Creek

I only took one picture at Sixmile Creek today (well, the picture's really of a part of Palmo Cove on the St. Johns River) because of the bad lighting conditions, but I thought I would post it tonight while Blogger was actually letting my post pictures. I have a story about this coming soon, but right now I need to finish up my studying and go to bed.

More Pictures of Julington Creek

These are some more pictures from my Julington Creek trip a week or two ago.

This is the log that used to harbor a rope swing that everone who paddles this creek used to take a picture of. Apparently somebody thought it was too much of a hazard to boaters, so they took the liberty to cut it out.

It was a great day for paddling and the clear skies and calm water made for perfect reflections.

They've ripped out some trees at the St. Augustine Road bridge to widen the road in order to accomodate all the snowbirds relocating to paradise.

"Progress"

Dark and mysterious...This picture represents what most backwater creeks of north Florida look like.

Pictures that Blogger Wouldn't Let Me Post

These are a few pictures that I was not able to post on my Julington and Juniper Creek trip reports for a number or reasons (mainly because Blogger is stubborn.) These were supposed to go on here yesterday, but, you guessed it...It decided not to work again. Oh well, here they are. (Photos taken by my dad, by the way.)





This run is filled to the brim with turtles.
Around every bend, you are likely to see a
turtle sitting on a log or swimming in the
crystal clear water. We managed to snap a
picture of these three before two of them
rolled off the log with a splash.

This one tried to be Mr. Tough Turtle, but

when we got too close, he too splashed into

the water and glided underneath us.

This is a little 6- or 7-foot gator that was

nice enough to pose for a few pictures. For

some reason, my dad aligned the frame wrong

and cut off his snout. Probably because of his

shaky hands due to his irrational fear of gators.

Still a nice picture nonetheless.

Julington Creek: "This ain't gonna last long"

I've posted so much about kayaking on this blog that it would probably be more accurate to title it with a name pertaining to paddling rather than my heritage. However, I believe it is in part my heritage that makes me enjoy kayaking and nature so much. Therefore, HurricaneTeen's blog will still be called "The Minorcan Factor" :-D

I've written about Julington Creek briefly in my previous posts about Durbin Creek. It is similar to Durbin Creek, but has more development (you can thank Duval County for that) on its banks. It remains a very beautiful and relaxing trip, though, and I always look forward to wetting a paddle in its dark brown, tannin-stained water. We set off from the Hood Landing Boat Ramp near Clark's Fish Camp (I referred to the alligator feed vending machines here, and they still remain. I need to get in contact with the game department and ask some questions.) It was early in the morning (about 7:15, I think) and it was relatively cool for the Florida summer, which made for some nice steam wafting from the glassy surface of the water.

Paddling downstream, the creek narrowed out and the houses on the noth bank gradually disappeared.

After a while, we came upon a house that caught my eye. This was a beautiful house that I thought looked like an old fish camp from the looks of the architecture and layout. A man was feeding some fish in the creek and we stopped and talked for about 5 minutes. As we spoke, the distinctive rapping of a Pileated Woodpecker echoed through the swamp. He told us that he had just retired from the military and was getting his life back together back at home. He spoke of how much the area has changed in the time he was gone (trust me, I noticed) and about his website, FishPile.com When I commented on how nice his house was, he informed me that it was in fact an old fish camp that he had bought for a very low price a while back. He said that he loved it, too, but unfortunately he was going to take it out and build something higher off the creek, because if a flood were to come, he would suffer great losses. I can understand his concern and can't blame him for protecting his property, but I view it as yet another sign of old Florida being destroyed. As we said our goodbyes, he invited us to come back and visit him again. Next time I make this paddle I will be sure to do so, and also to get some pictures of his beautiful house.
As we passed by some other nice backwoods-looking homes (a rarity in this part of town) a couple of men sat and played banjo and fiddle in a bluegrass tune I could listen to for hours. Soon after, we passed under the St. Augustine Road bridge and continued on until a log blocked our path.
Here's some more pictures of this beautiful creek:

Blogger's being stubborn again and it won't let me post pictures. I'll post the rest of the pictures tomorrow.

Juniper Creek: "Now that was unexpected"

Due to fact that I have not posted in a while and that I have recently made FC's front page, I feel obligated to begin posting more often. We'll see how that goes.

I recently turned 16-years-old - apparently one of the most significant birthdays up there with 18, 21, and the over the hill 40 - and I was pestered constantly (by my older sister mainly) about what I wanted to do on that special day. Being the simple person I am, I told her "The family and a cake." And, due to the fact that I am one of the few people in the modern world who prefers peacefulness and solitude over large social gatherings, I tend to shy away from big parties.

I woke up Saturday the 26th, a couple days before my birthday, expecting a simple kayak trip down Juniper Creek that I had planned with my dad. This honestly would have been enough of a birthday "party" for me...especially considering how much of an experience it turned out to be.......

Driving down to the Ocala National Forest and to the Juniper Springs Recreation Area, we were both looking forward to what we thought would be a nice enjoyable paddle down Juniper Creek. The creek starts at Juniper Springs and snakes through the Juniper Prairie Wilderness, an area largely untouched by man. It is a perfect place to spot many different kinds of subtropical flora and fauna, and to "get in touch" with much of it. We had thought that since this is a fairly large tourist attraction that the trip should be a simple drift for us without any significant obstacles. We were the first ones in the park, and looked forward to a day of relaxation........

We set off from the very nice canoe/kayak launch just a little downstream of the main spring. The water is only a few inches deep, scarcely deep enough to float a boat. The white sandy bottom is speckled by little boiling circles of sand, from which water bubbles up from the Floridian Aquifer. We ducked under some palm fronds and into a vast subtropical jungle, floating down a clear stream so narrow that the kayak would not be able to turn around if necessary......
This is the very nice launch at Juniper Springs Recreational Area. You can see how shallow and narrow the creek is when it enters the jungle toward the left of the picture.


Our kayak and soaked gear after pulling out. Notice the palm tree in the background to the left. This is the only place I've seen palm trees grow in such a wet place, and I actually saw one growing in the MIDDLE of the creek farther downstream. Palms usually like high, dry land areas. It's unusual seeing them right against the water like this.


This is a water hyacinth. Though non-native to the area, it is still a nice looking flower nonetheless.


This is Cardinal Flower. This stuff can grow in big clumps in swamps and I have heard that it can grow up to 5 feet in height. Notice how thick the jungle is in the background...There was a constant sound of wild animals moving about back there. One quite loud and powerful we assumed to be a black bear.

Let me tell you that every single part of this creek is worth a picture. If I took a picture of everything I thought was outstandingly beautiful I would have to upload 1000 pictures onto here. However, the trip was not a easy as we had expected...3 things on the way downstream combined to make our day quite a challenge:

1. The stream for the first mile or so if only about 10-20 feet wide. Our kayak is 13 feet long. It's hard to maneuver with that little room.
2. The current is quite strong (I'd say around 3 knots), and it wants to push you into obstacles and overhanging branches.
3. The branches and brush. We are used to dealing with branches and brush because of our extensive experience with swamp kayaking. However, the current and the fact that there were palm fronds EVERYWHERE did not help us much. We really got up close and personal with the trees and the wildlife that lives in them (i.e. spiders, ticks, and maybe even some snakes)

I regret the fact that I did not take more pictues, but I was so focused on not ramming into the next log that I did not have enough time to pull out the camera and snap pictures for you. However, I did manage to get these:

After heading downstream about 4 miles, we came to a screeching halt. A log, freshly fallen, blocked the ENTIRE stream, and a plethora of brush and trees blocked off any portage route. We had 3 options:

1. Get out of the kayak onto the log and pull it over while sitting on the log, and get back into the kayak and continue downstream.
2. Get out of the kayaking into the fast-flowing waist-deep water and attempt the pull the kayak over.
3. Turn around and go back against the current, and make it all the way back or make friends with a man who happened to have a chainsaw.

While trying option 1, we got rammed into the brush that was piled against the log and turned sideways to the current. Spiders crawled all over us and the current began to spill water into the kayak...a very bad situation. After what seemed like an eternity of maneuvering, untangling branches, and swatting huge spiders, we paddled upstream about 20 or 30 feet and held onto a branch as we considered the next 2 options. The fear of losing our footing in the swift water and getting sucked under the log eliminated option 2. And for all we knew there could be another obstacle like this one farther downsteam. We opted to turn back.

On the way back, we had a few more worries on our hands:

1. Paddling against the current was not an easy task.
2. Breaking the bad news to all the other paddlers.
3. Having no way of contacting my mother, she would be worried sick about us returning a couple hours late from the wildnerness.
4. I knew t-storms would develop later in the afternoon.

The first problem was un-avoidable; we just did what we had to do. The second was the same as the first; we just told them plain out that we could not pass and that we recommended them turn around unless they had a chainsaw. Some of these people were families who had never experienced this before. God bless them. We were lucky in the 3rd regard in that, somehow, we managed to get a cell phone signal in a wilderness area where there was no cell phone tower to be seen. We called my mom and told her "uh...we're gonna be a couple hours late" just before I lost signal. And as for the 4th problem.....It rained on us once....and absolutely POURED on us twice...buy you know what? Not a single rumble of thunder could be heard. And we were very lucky.....And a good thing happened on the way back: We passed by a good 7-8 foot alligator who was nice enough to allow us to get close enough for a couple good pictures before slipping into the water and swimming by us. I'll upload those later.

We arrived back at the canoe launch cold, wet, tired, carrying a few ticks, and ready to go home. On the drive home I looked forward to getting a nice warm shower and taking a nap. We pulled into a driveway full of cars. I walked into the house to a call of "surprise" by my family and friends. My response: "Ugh, it's so nice to see you all...but...I need a shower." The rest of my night consisted of food, friends, and laughs. Wow, what a day. I loved it.

I would like you to meet my friend Chris: