Sunday, August 19, 2012

Blue Cypress Paddle

The Kiz had talked about paddling Blue Cypress Lake for sometime and with the opening on a Sunday afternoon in Vero with my Mom, we decided to meet at Middletons Fish Camp. We put in on the concrete ramp and proceeded to enter into the film set for the creature from the black lagoon,

The Seahawks were loud and did not like us near their nests.



The kiz talked about a blue cypress kayak race. I beat him twice in "featured races" the caspia lives.



The creek 1/2 mile north of Middletons was partially blocked so we only got up it a short way. When we got back we found that it goes all the way to the turnpike....




Tuesday, July 10, 2012

FTA and FMNP paddle the Sante Fe River

The Florida Trail Association and the Florida Master Naturalist Program partnered together for this high water paddle down the Sante Fe River

A small gathering made it to this last minute paddle a week after Tropical Storm Debbie had filled up the Sante Fe and Suwanee Rivers
Beautiful day for a paddle
Click Play to view video of Rick Testa and a log in the Sante Fe

The big guy casts a long shadow on the Sante Fe
Happy Jack in his Yak
Karie near the stanchions of the old bridge at 27
Florida Master Naturalist Graduate Rick Testa gives valuable instruction on Kayaking and Karst Geology
Green Heron
Dragonfly with big eyes
Kids by the River
You cant say you were not warned
Naked Ed having Lunch
Typical signage at Lily Springs
No need for a lot of paddling today. The current was running swiftly.
Washed up Picnic Benches from the Tropical Storm Debbie.
Front Row parking for the kayaks
Lunch at Rum Island
Submerged Picnic Table
The bridge that was
Foundation crumbled under Debbie's Flood
Sun Bathers
Cypress Trees along the banks were amazing
Wild Pine
Hey Bill watch out for that stringer

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Lake Panasofkee

The Kiz had heard of this great Lake Panasofkee, and the springs that fed it. We got some bad info from the vendor and ended up hugging the coast of "Lake Pan" and winding up almost stuck in the muck that was Big Jones Creek. The Kiz got the good info from the fisherman and headed to Little Jones Creek, "unike anything you have seen in Florida".


Thursday, January 26, 2012

Etoniah Creek State Forest

One last opportunity to hit the trail with Kyle aka flcracker before he heads back up to Vermont for the foreseeable future. We chose Etoniah, cause we were nearby last week and saw the forest. We were not able to get to the 5 mile point, so we parked at the end of this dirt road and shuttled to the entrance of the forest.
The trail was well maintained save for one downed tree. It followed etoniah creek which formed a ravine as we hiked. There were lookout points along the trail and you could hear the creek below.
We came upon a shelter 2 miles in. Something rarely found on the FT, this shelter looked comfortable and wish we had found it at the end of the hike. We looked at the map to see if we would make it back to the car before dark.
The kiz was amazed at Santas Beard. We saw some great fungi and moss that Sandra Friend had written about.
The hollowed stump and reflections made for good photos.
The signs warned us to be careful....however some of us ignored the signs.
The map was quite clear and we made our way through the a privately owned (GA Pacific) section of the trail. The clear cutting appeared to be to our north however it was not too visable as the trail stayed along the creek. Kim fell in love with a pine tree with a missletoe like growth on it.
I liked the large cypress tree growing out of the ravine.
The flcracker stood lookout at other spots along the trail.
The three amigos saw evidence of hunters, but saw none on this day.

The last 2.5 miles along the road were brutal, with the sandy road leading to the locked gate.