Trip Review - Withlacoochee River 6/16/09

Comments: It was an adventure! Before the trip I was warned that the road I had selected to meet on may not be in very good condition. So, I called everyone and the morning of the event we met at a nearby spot. We discussed the potential challenge and who was and who was not up for the challenge. Then off we drove to the river - or not. Sure enough the road did not look so good. So we opted for an alternate put-in I had previously selected. By the way, I have this fantastic present from my kids, it is a road GPS. It is fantastic, but on the way to the alternate put-in it suffered from that dreaded problem: operator error. I'm really good without the GPS. And, I'm pretty good with it. Yet, when I try to use both the GPS and some common sense, it can be very interesting. So, for those in the caravan, their adventure began by following me. We eventually got to Withlacoochee River Park, our alternate put-in. This section of the river I had paddled before, that is before the drought and the recent rains. It turned out to be placid and serene, quiet and beautiful, a little work to find the best path, and then every once in a while, a blocked path. What had been a mostly open river, occasionally clogged with hydrilla, was now a bunch of twists and turns occasionally choked with sticks, logs, and trees. Well, maybe more that occasionally. Yet, we persevered. We turned around from our first direction and headed the opposite way. Then we went around, over or through several minor obstacles.  I prefer to go through them. Somewhere along the way, we had our usual great lunch. After getting back to our put-in, we said good bye to new and old friends and a few of us went back out to practice some paddling skills.

I had advertised this as an exploration and to bring an adventurous spirit. It was and everyone did.

Original Write Up: This will be an out & back (no shuttle) exploration. It is an exploration because I  have never been there. For this trip I will be a leader, not a guide. If you have a bit of an adventurous spirit inside yourself, and you'd like to paddle where very few groups go, then sign up for this unusual opportunity.  Besides, even if I don't not know where I'm going I will still have a great lunch for you.

Alafia River - Downhill, In-the-shade - June 14, 2009

Comments: The "Quickens" did not disappoint. Seven of us had a great time on the wonderful Alafia River. Yes, it was beautiful. Yes, we had fantastic weather. And, yes, we hit the water level just right. You see, some of the time, the water is so low you must get out and walk the shallow "quickens". And then some of the time the water is quite high, and fast, and you just experience a fast section where the quickens are. But, on this wonderful trip, the water was just right. I felt a little like Goldilocks. The water was not too high, not too low, just right. Which gave us a safe, but fun path down stream. As we approached each quicken, I scouted to find the best path. Paddlers were free to take the way I went or try something else. One quicken finished in a small wave train. That was pretty cool. One quicken has a visible drop, which can be fun. (Actually, a drop is not visible. Most of the time you can see the river in front of you. With a drop, it looks somewhat like the end of the earth.) As you approach it, all you see is the edge of the drop off. You don't have much of an idea how high it is. Of course this is the Alafia, so it can't be too high. Then as you get closer you have a better idea. And, when you finally can see it all, suddenly you have to select which way to go. Whoopee! Or, you relax and just watch me. the trip was a real hoot.

Original Write Up: If there is such a thing in central Florida, this river is fairly swift. It even has small sets of rapids. Okay, okay, okay. Maybe they aren't really rapids. Maybe we should call them "quickens" instead of rapids. At any rate, If the water level is just right, we'll find as many as 10 sets of class 1 whitewater rapids. Don't get too excited, class 1 is the lowest class of white water. Even without any "quickens" this is still a wonderful river to go down. We'll even have some water cannons if you don't bring your own.