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Florida Paddling Adventures

Paddling Around Cape Sable

Let's face it the Everglades are a great paddling destination.  And this trip was no exception.  Steve "Devo" Grayson and Johnny left Flamingo and swung out to the Gulf to camp on Cape Sable, paddling a 17 foot Old Town Penobscot.  They first stopped at East Cape on a clear day, and watched the sun set.

             Shell beach on Cape Sable                                 Dusk at Northwest Cape

They worked their way up the cape paddling, fishing and hanging out on the beach, glad to be in South Florida while the Southern Appalachians were freezin'.

Everglades campsite at Highland Beach

They crossed Ponce De Leon Bay and stayed a buggy night at Graveyard Creek, before continuing north to Highland Beach, a great place to camp and enjoy the Everglades, but the skeeters were pretty bad, as the weather was warm and the winds still.  North of Highland Beach they turned inland and bega working their way back south toward Flamingo stopping at the inland chickees, such as Oyster Bay.

Devo Fishing in the Gulf of Mexico

Johnny prepared to depart Gulf beach

They concluded their trip after 10 days, another Glades adventure under their belts.

Want to go on the above adventure, get this book!

A Paddler's Guide to Everglades National Park

ISBN: 0-8130-1787-4

Complete guide to canoeing and kayaking the Everglades, covering 400+ miles of ocean, river, bay, & creek waters along 53 designated routes, including Wilderness Waterway. Itineraries for day trips, week-long excursions, & little-known passages.

Suwannee River Trip

 Four Nighter From Fargo to White Springs

    With my friends Hans and Jeff, the fabulous South Florida firemen, and Denny, we set out on Florida's greatest of rivers.  We were supposed to go to the Everglades but a cold front swooped down with insane winds.  We did the next best thing, and headed north.  But it was COLD here, and wintry looking.  We left about 2 p.m. and found a good campsite, as the sun slanted low.

The crew at the first campsite.  Hans insists on wearing short pants, despite the low temps.

Next day was windy and still cold.  I wore two pairs of socks in the boat all day.  The fishing was killed by the front.  But the day was clear and sunny.

Denny steers Jeff on the river.  Jeff has trouble keeping boats straight.

We found a beautiful campsite on a bluff overlooking a gum swamp, just south of the GA-FL border.  Hans cooked us Philly cheese steak sandwiches before we huddled around the fire on another subfreezing night.

                   Bluffside camp                                          Sun gets low near camp

The cold did not relent, however, the river showed us its high bluffs. We found a sheltered campsite after getting pushed around by the wind all day.  Tonite it went down to 27 degrees.

       Johnny listens to weather radio                           Cold foggy morn on the Suwannee

The last full day finally warmed up and we camped about a half-mile above Big Shoals.  That night we all listened to Tennessee beat Florida in basketball.  The fire seemed extra fine that night. next day we portaged around Big Shoals and took it on in to White Springs.

         Denny hates portaging Big Shoals               Hans steers through the froth below Big Shoals

Want to paddle the Suwannee? Get this book!

A Canoeing & Kayaking
Guide to Florida, 2nd Edition

ISBN: 0-89732-588-5

Blackwater River State Forest Canoe and Backpack

Two for One Florida Adventure 

     Spanning Alligator Creek on bridge                        Trail shelter

            Sometimes you can’t just decide whether to go hiking or paddling.  In that case just do both!  There are many such places where – with careful planning -- you can paddle your boat down a river, then return by foot with your backpack – or in our case, hike upriver then return via boat.  Our adventure took place in Florida’s Blackwater River State Forest, located in the northwest tip of the Sunshine State, near the Alabama line.

            My friend John Cox and I met at Blackwater River State Park, where we headed north on the Juniper Creek Trail, roughly paralleling Juniper Creek, a canoeable feeder stream of the Blackwater, and took it 6.5 miles to a trail shelter located atop a piney bluff.  A front had blown through and the stars were phenomenal, but the mercury went below freezing overnight.

               Taking a break                              Second camp on the river

            We resumed our march, joining the northeast bound Jackson Red Ground Trail.  We rolled over longleaf pine woods on a long day, mostly spent in the Blackwater River State Forest, which adjoins the state park.  The shadows were long by the time we hit the Wiregrass Trail.  This trail, like the others, are part of the greater Florida Trail system, and the north branch of the FT we were following is what long distance hikers use to follow the entire Eastern Continental Divide.  After 20 miles, we tiredly made camp on the banks of the Blackwater River and were soon asleep.

          Jackson Red Ground Trail                                    Sandy Path

        Next day, we walked through lush bottomland woods to reach Kennedy Bridge.  I went up to nearby Hurricane Lake campground and brought the canoe down, then returned my car to the campground.  We loaded the Old Town Penobscot and relievingly let the river do the work for us.  The skies were dark so we shortly made camp in the woods behind a sugar white sandbar and battened down the hatches.  The rains came, but not until long after we were fast asleep.

            Johnny with bass                                        John up front near bluff

            The river hadn’t rose any the following morning.  We packed up the boat and floated those dark waters that resemble tea as they flow over sandy shallows.  John and I each caught a few fish but mostly just enjoyed the wooded and wild scenery.  A tall bluff fronted by a wide sandbar proved too alluring and we stopped for the night.  While gathering firewood I stepped into an ant nest and dashed into the river knocking the biting pests off as fast as I could.  My leg swelled up good.  The night was quite pleasant nonetheless as the fire crackled and the owls hooted in the woods beyond our camp.  

           Nighttime under the tarp                                    Sandbar camp

            A heavy fog covered the river as we pushed off on our final full day.  The river was quite fast here and the banks lowered, giving a swampier appearance, and made finding a campsite quite challenging.  However, we found a camp below Bryant Bridge on a bank barely above the water.  The night was quite mild and a few mosquitoes buzzed us.  We reflected on how we had hiked approximately 30 miles and paddled the same distance on one adventure.  It took some planning but there are many places I have canoe/backpacked, including Black Creek of Southern Mississippi and Big South Fork in Tennessee.  There were more places to engage such a trip in Florida, such as the Suwannee River near Suwannee River State Park.

            Our final morning was sunny and all too soon we were back at our starting point, Deaton Bridge in Blackwater River State Park.  We had completed our adventure and looked forward to more ahead.

Sea Kayaking in the Southern Everglades

Johnny’s latest adventure took place at Everglades National Park, which Johnny visits on a regular basis, having written A Paddler’s Guide to Everglades National Park.  On this particular trip, Johnny was joined by Frank and Mark Carroll, who came down from Nashville to go sea kayaking.  Mark took photographs for an ensuing article that Johnny wrote for Sea Kayaker magazine. The weather started cold and blustery as we left Flamingo and made 7 hard miles to Clubhouse Beach.  A chilly night followed.  Next day, the three of us cut north through Lake Ingraham and up Little Sable Creek, emerging onto the rocking and rolling Gulf, where we camped on Northwest Cape, one of the finest campsites in the Everglades.

Shells on the beach at Cape Sable

Next day, the winds had calmed and we headed south along the cape, enjoying the fine weather and camped beneath some cocoanut palms.  We left the mainland, then headed south into Florida Bay for Carl Ross Key, an island paradise of a campsite.  Bird life was abundant near Carl Ross.  That evening was blustery and we were concerned about crossing so much open water, but it ended up being a mere inconvenience as a headwind slowed our progress back to Flamingo.

Johnny with Frank Carroll at Northwest Cape

We saw a lot of wildlife, sea turtles, dolphins, birds galore, rays, sharks and also the minute beauty of the Glades.  It was a great trip.

Paddling the St. Marys River

John Cox joined me for this latest adventure, paddling 77 miles on the St. Marys River, which forms the border between Georgia and Florida for much of its distance.  We started near Moniac, where the St. Marys leaves the Okefenokee Swamp and started floating the narrow creek-like waterway.  The water was surprisingly swift and adept paddling was required to work around the gum and cypress trees growing in the middle of the stream.  The banks were high and the setting felt remote.  Spring was just beginning to burst forth and it seemed the trees were budding out as we passed them.  The cold of winter wasn’t through however.  The temperature dropped to 35 the first night.  With the inflow of the Middle Prong St. Marys the river widened and we were more able to fish, catching a few bream and bass, rather than constantly navigate the swift river.  A little rain came the second night, but we were prepared.  The chill really came the third night, after a raw and dark day, when the mercury dipped to 31.  A big moon was out that night and shone brightly on the sandbar where we camped.

The St. Marys has sandbars aplenty

By this point we were behind the 8-ball, having floated instead of paddled, and had to make up for lost ground.  Overhead, thick clouds of eerie looking smoke floated our way from a fire in the nearby Osceola National Forest.

Smoke over the St. Marys River

We stroked the blades and made it downriver to an excellent campsite, where a wooded flat rose forth from an easy landing sandbar.  We roamed the nearby woods, stretching our legs.

The final full day was also a paddlefest, as we were still making up for lost time.  The weather was mild and sunny.  Azaleas were blooming in profusion along the banks of the river.  After one last night on the lower river, which feels the force of tides, we headed into St. Marys Fish Camp near US 1.  The 6 day trip was complete.  Our biggest problem had been whether to camp on the Georgia side of the river or the Florida side of the river, since we are big University of Tennessee fans and can’t stand the Gators or the Bulldogs! 

Writing A Guidebook to Everglades National Park

Johnny at Northwest Cape Everglades National Park, Florida

Another adventure was a two month stint in the Everglades National Park, from January 5-March 5, 1999. I was down there writing A Paddler's Guide to Everglades National Park, for the University Press of Florida. In the two month period, I paddled 55 out of 60 days. Needless, to say I was sore at first, but the paddling was made easier by Perception. They provided me with a couple of sea kayaks, allowing me to switch from canoe to sea kayak between trips.

It was certainly an interesting experience writing the book. By day, I paddled, taking notes on a microcassette recorder, and at night I transcribed the notes and typed them up into a laptop computer. The laptop was stored in a dry bag in another dry bag. A portable power source designed to charge car batteries, connected to a power inverter, kept the computer going. Thankfully there were no incidents of flipping the boat. It took a lot of effort gathering the information on that computer! Overall, the weather was good, though a continuous hot period really brought out the salt marsh mosquitoes. I had to wear a headnet at campsites and was in the tent by dusk, watching those fantastic Everglades sunsets through mesh netting. The heat relented toward the end, leaving cool nights and ideal days around 75 degrees, with enough wind to make the swamp angels no problem.

Paddling the Length of Florida

Johnny paddles a spring run on the Suwannee River, Florida

What an adventure, traveling the length of Florida by boat! I just paddled a canoe from the Okefenokee Swamp, headwaters of Florida’s most famous river, the Suwannee, to the Gulf of Mexico. From the Gulf, now in a sea kayak, I paddled south beyond Tampa Bay into the Everglades. From the Everglades I continued south to the Keys to end in the Atlantic Ocean at Long Key.

I met a lot of interesting people during the two-month adventure, which started just after the New Year. The first couple of weeks on the Suwannee were cold, with subfreezing nights and windy days. But this chilly weather made the river my own, as there were deer swimming across the waters, woodpeckers in the woods and quiet, clear springs bubbling up from the ground. Once on the ocean, the Nature Coast did not disappoint. The shallow, clear waters were alive with below me. Shell mounds at the mouths of rivers were my nighttime camps. Below Tarpon Springs, spoil islands became my campsites as the coastlines were heavily settled. Farther down, in warmer weather, I saw the horror and beauty of high rises strung along the coast until the one and only Everglades. We should all be ultra grateful this swath of South Florida was preserved. The jewels of the Keys dotted Florida Bay and its famously colorful waters. It was with a mixture of sadness, disbelief and relief at reaching the Atlantic Ocean and the end of the adventure at Long Key. My second adventure story book, From the Swamp to the Keys: A Paddle Through Florida History, will be a recount of the adventure, to be published in Fall, 2002 by the University Press of Florida. History, both human and natural, is a primary focus of the book, for the story of the Florida is much the story of interaction with the land and the waters around it, and attempts to explore it, conquer it, only ultimately to coexist with and preserve it.

Canoeing the Withlacoochee

Johnny's latest adventure took place in south central Florida where he paddled the Withlacoochee River.  Along with Holly Berman, who took her sea kayak, Johnny started at County Road 575 near Lacoochee, and rolled over the gentle rocky shoals and twists and turns and fallen logs where turtles lay in the sun into the Withlacoochee State Forest.

Johnny admiring large cypress knees that grow amid the rocks on the Withlacoochee River

There they enjoyed the rustic scenery of a cypress swamp and occasional high bluffs.  The weather was warm and the mosquitoes came out that night.  Johnny fished and caught a fair number of bass and bream, especially in the area near Hog Island.

Bream on the With' near Hog Island

The river is becoming increasingly developed, which is why the section through the state forest is preferred.  After taking out in Nobleton, another river was on the agenda, as Johnny is rewriting A Canoeing & Kayaking Guide to the Streams of Florida.  At one point, he had floated 11 rivers in 12 days!

Paddling The Santa Fe River near Gainesville

It was a dark and stormy night … just kidding.  It was actually a cool and windy day when Aaron Marable and I set off from High Springs, Florida on the Santa Fe River, a tributary of the Suwannee River in north central Florida.  Interestingly, the Santa Fe flows for several miles before going underground, only to rise 3 miles above High Springs.  We set out on the dark waters and floated over the occasional limestone shoals, which discouraged motorboats.

Wildflowers on the Santa Fe riverbank
 

The brisk when was at our back, making the paddling easy as spring was busting out all around us.  We found a camp on Suwannee River Water Management District Lands.  Around us were many wildflowers.  That night we stayed near the fire, as it went down to 40 degrees, cold by Florida standards.

Aaron checks out a whirlpool where the Santa Fe loses water to the ground below

Next day warmed up much quicker, the fishing was still subpar, as the river was flooded and backed up even more by the really high Suwannee.  Many houses along the river took away a bit from the wildness of the trip, but the many springs we visited were made the trip worthwhile.  The second night we camped at the confluence of Ichetucknee River, a super clear waterway where you could look into the water and appreciate all the fish and other creatures.  Overall, we had a good time, except Aaron’s lips were so terribly chapped that he used butter to moisten them!

Aaron with his emergency treatment for chapped lips!

The 100 Mile Ocala Trip

Johnny and fellow outdoorsman Aaron Marable engaged in a trip Johnny  had long wanted to do.  They started at Silver River State Park in Florida, portaged their gear .7 mile to the Silver River and canoed to the Ocklawaha River.  From their they traveled through the beautiful swamps and bluffs of the Ocklawaha to Lake Rodman.  Here, they floated to Rodman Dam, portaged Rodman dam and continued down the Ocklawaha.  Below the dam the river breaks into numerous channels and it was challenging to pick the correct channel, and to find a campsite where there was little dry land.

They made it to the St. Johns River  where they paddled south to Lake George.  From here, they paddled up Salt Springs Run to the headspring of Salt Springs.  It was cold but they were glad because it was time to start backpacking.  They donned backpacks and joined the Salt Springs Spur Trail to reach the Florida Trail, and began a 40 mile trek to Clearwater Lake in the Ocala's south end.  The adventure took 8 days.  One hiking day was 20 miles.  

Aaron made it through the long day, however.  That's 'cause he's tough.  The day after the 20 miler seemed longer than the 12 miles they covered but the accomplishment of realizing the "dream" of the 100 mile trip made the aches seem a little less.