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Sometimes you have an adventure |
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and sometimes the adventure has you. My adventure on the Suwannee river had me. At the outset I learned "Let the buyer beware" is sometimes the case with outfitters. I was told the the upper part of the river was low, and "just read the river and you'll be alright". The rest of the story was that it was too low for the boat I had, (Pygmy wooden kit), and the type of fast trip I was attempting to complete. Also my outfitter assured me there was no open water on the last leg of my trip to Suwannee, FL. I was concerned about this since I didn't bring a spray skirt or have anyone with me. (Yes I know the rules, but I ask are there any of you reading this that would have gone with me for a 7 day trip on this river?). On the second day I thought that maybe I should check the width of the river around Suwannee,FL for myself on my GPS. As I did, I found that the river looked to be more than 1/4 miles wide in places in an area which looked to be surrounded by marsh. I consider this to be open water. Therefore, I ruled out going on that part of the river. My original plan was to start at White Springs and take out in Suwannee, FL, a distance of about 180 mi. At the put in I realized that it was going to be difficult to make my goal since the leaves on the river were not moving downriver. The river looked deep enough, however. The first morning was very slow (1 1/2MPH average). I started getting out of the boat early and often to bypass rocks and sand. Still it took a toll on the hull of my kayak. Several people told me how nice my kayak was. I told them things like "I should revarnish the hull when I get home since it had already been scraped and sanded". I did better in the afternoon. My property, (campsite), for the first night was beautiful. I camped on a sandbar that had a 20-25ft. high limestone wall on the other side of the river which had Cypress, Live Oak and other trees growing on and through the rock. The second day was much better for paddling. After around the 20 total mi. mark, there were no significant rocks or sandbars. However, I monitored a NOAA weather station from Jacksonville said that a storm was coming to the area with rain, high winds and lightening. I called my outfitter to ask his advice about the weather that was coming in that night. His first responce was "what weather". The conservation was unhelpful and brief. Paddle conditions continued to be good the remainder of the afternoon. My mileage for day 2 was over 21 mi. Late in the afternoon, the wind started. While I was relaxing on my sandbar campsite with dinner time near. I glanced to my right and immediately noticed that my tent was on it's side and about 10 ft. from where I staked it down. I moved it back into position with logs and a rock to hold it where it stayed for 2 nights. I decided to lay over the next day because of the weather. During the next day, there was only high wind to contend with. I had a lot of time to work on Sudoku puzzles. By early morning on the following morning I had decided that I was not having fun since I had a blister on my right thumb, more wind and rain fore-casted ahead and most importantly, my down sleeping bag got wet during the night (my bad, very bad). I called the outfitter to tell him where I was and where I wanted to be picked up. He met me at the Suwanee River State Park in Ellaville, FL. (Doesn't that sound more like a medication.) The van driver was prompt and in about 45 min. I was back in White Springs and ready to go to the Suwannee River Diner which is a must see you are if in White Springs since it has a great mural around 3 walls showing scenery along the river from the Okefenokee Swamp to the Gulf, including wild life. Wildlife viewing on the river was good. I'd like to try this trip again sometime in the future.
Belton Dykes |
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