DK's Yak Adventures

[Dark Knight]

My first solo paddle. My wife is busy taking care of her nephew and after a misserable four days at work I needed a break. So to Wekiwa Springs / Rock Springs Run I went. A short paddle, only 2.5 hours. But did the trick.

The first pic does not make justice to what I saw. The gator was on a log opening and closing the mouth. I have heard they do that to cool down.

This is an Ibis

The classic view from the bow

Gator side view

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

Dood! If I saw a gator while out kayaking I'd probably crap my pants. That's wild.

 

[frazil]

DK - your pictures are so awesome!! I am totally jealous.

 

[Dark Knight]

Here are the pics of my latest kayaking trip. It was at the Econlockhatchee River and I consider this my backyard becuase I live two miles away from the put in place(if you go downstream) or 3 miles away(if you go upstream). The Econ runs thru the Little Econ State Forest and it is an 8 miles paddle from bridge to bridge. There are walking and biking trails inside the forest with a bridge to cross the river. That bridge was our turn around point last Saturday.

We have a wonderful time together(wifey and myself) and saw our first bald eagle in the wild. The Econ has a decent population of eagles, and BIG, as in huge, gators. We did not see the famous big gators of the Econ but saw two eagles. One in a tree and another one(or maybe the same one...who knows) flying over us. We are still in aweeee. The eagle pic is not excellent so zoom it.

View from the yak

Eagle in a tree.

Turtle

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

Now an eagle pic I can come up with.

 

[MA_PE]

DK:

just curious. do you start and stop at the same locations? so you paddle both upsteam and downstream each time. or do you take two cars and park a car where you'll finiish and then drive to the start and enter the river. I'd think that paddling upstream might take some of the realaxing enjoyment out of it.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

Paddling up vs. downstream has a lot to do with the water level and strength of the current. There's a place we like in Concord. Last year, with all the rain we had here, the water was really moving. Paddling upstream was hard work, and going downstream was a challenge too because the current kept turning your boat sideways or toward the shore.

This summer, which has been dry, was different. The water is much lower and moving more slowly. Up vs. down wasn't that much different, you just had a gentle boost on the way down.

 

[Dark Knight]

MA_PE, So far it has been starting and finishing in the same location, going upstream first and taking it easy on the return. Florida rivers are lazy. So far the only one that challenged me was the Weeki Wachee River since it is fed by a first magnitude spring. I think over 100 millions gallons a day are flowing there. The current is pretty strong. It is about six miles from where we put in to the source of the spring and we did not even complete 2 miles in 2 hours. There were other factors for that to happen but it is indeed the hardest paddle I have done.

I plan to do the shuttle thing, car waiting at the take out point, this weekend at the place of my most recent pics(Econlockhatchee River). It is 8+ miles long from put in to take out(two bridges) and it would be too much for my wife come 8 miles upstream. Going downstream is just as easy as floating and correcting the path every now and then. That gives you the best pics chances.

Last Thursday did a short solo paddle in the Wekiva River-Rock Springs Run after work. The Rock Spring Run was very low and the current pretty strong, stronger than usual. I did struggle to take pics on my way upstream. To give you an idea, I paddled 1.5 hours upstream and took me only 25~30 minutes to go downstream the same distance. I was paddling harder on my way down because sunlight concerns.

Note: I confirmed with a friend that 100 million is the number of gallons flowing out of the Weeki Wachee Spring.

 

[Chucktown PE]

I've done some kayaking in the tidal creeks/marshes here. If you time it right with the high or low tides you can ride with the ebbing tide an hour out until low slack tide, then ride the flooding tide back in an hour. Or the reverse. Paddleboarding has become a big thing here, which is basically just a really big stable surfboard that you stand up on and a long paddle. You pretty much have to go with the tides to do that.

 

[Dark Knight]

Paddled the Wekiwa Springs and Rock Springs Run today with my family. We had an awesome day and a lots of first.

Just after paying at the gate my daughter spotted a deer, not just a deer, a young buck. The first time I see one in the wild. It was a great day, an extremely hot day, but an excellent family day.

Here are a few pics to share...

Buck...

The ever present gator...

The synchronized swim team representing the Wekiwa Spring State Park...

 

[Dark Knight]

Another kayak trip yesterday. This one at the Econlockhatchee River (just two miles from home). We had an exciting day. Saw our first monster gator, an eagle, and a Red Shouldered Hawk eating its catch. No gator or eagles pics. The eagle flew over us into the forest and the gator went under as soon as wifey raised the camera.

Econ River scenic view...

Red Shouldered Hawk and its catch...

Red Shouldered Hawk...

 

[Dark Knight]

Pics from todays trip...

Osprey

Reddish Egret

Football team prep...

 

[Dark Knight]

Pics from a trip to Alexander Creek last Saturday...

 

[ElCid03]

That gator looked like it could reach out and touch someone.

 

[Road Guy]

wow dk you are surely getting your moneys worth out of that kayak!

 

[cement]

this is a great example of how to take the best of what is in your own backyard. thank you DK!!