Date: 2/15/2000 Location: Oklawaha River Length: ~20 miles about 5 hours Skill Level: Intermediate to Expert (due to remote location, limited take outs and length) Directions: Put in at public ramp SW corner of SR40 bridge 5 miles east of Ocala, Fl Fee: $2.00 per car (County fee) The Trip It was a fine Florida February morning, skies were clear, winds were negligible and air temps were to top out in the mid to upper 70's. Water temp on this trip would be about F 72. The St. Augustine Paddler's Society (hereafter referred to as the SAPS) met the mystery guest paddler (a P/W member) at Hardee's in East Palatka for a biscuit. After biscuits, the SAPS headed to the Oklawaha with the honorary SAP in tow. A shuttle would need to be set up. We dropped a vehicle at one of the public boat ramps in Eureka, Fl. There are two free public ramps in the area. One is located on the SE of the SR316 bridge. The second (the one that we used) is located on the NW side of the SR316 bridge. At the second location there is also a private ramp with a parking fee, they also offer a shuttle service. After dropping off the shuttle vehicle, we finally proceeded to the put in. The put in is at a small basin located inside a small Marion County park. Upon launching you head southerly (only choice) for about 1/10 mile. At this point you are afforded the option of left or right on the Silver River. Right goes to the world famous Silver Spring (about four miles one way), possibly the largest Artesian spring in the world (I don't know as I haven't been to all of them yet). This spring, the resulting river and lesser springs are the primary source of water for the Oklawaha River. Water clarity on this day was exceptional. We went left towards the confluence of the Silver and Oklawaha rivers (about 1/3 mile). Oklawaha means long and winding river and thats what it does. This section winds it's way north forming the western boundary of the Ocala National Forest. Each sharp bend affords the paddler a fresh chance at viewing abundant wildlife in the form of schooling fish from three inches to three feet in length, turtles piled on logs (sometimes as many as ten per log), Gators from two to ten feet in length. Ibis, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Woodstork, Cormorant, Anhinga, Gallinule, Limpkin, Great Egret, Lesser Egret, Kingfisher, Pileated Woodpecker, Bald Eagle, Red Tail Hawks are some of the birds that we experienced. Boat traffic was minimal as this was a weekday. We encountered about 15 boats without incident. Most of these were met in the first three miles and were sightseers. The river is normally 50-60 feet wide in this section. Access is very limited and the shore is state and federal land so that homes are non existent (YAHOO!). Shortly before our lunch break at Gore's Landing, a small Marion County campground, we encountered a troop of Rhesus Monkeys. The mystery guest whipped out his camera and shot a few monkeys before dropping his camera in the river. He had the camera on a leash and retrieved it post haste. I hope the pictures turn out. I never bring a camera. We had a quiet lunch at Gore's Landing and continued north for the second half of our trip. The second leg was every bit as wonderful as the first leg. We had even less boat traffic. Trip was without incident. We took out at Eureka and made a quick run down to our vehicles at the put in. Winter sure is great. The last we saw of the mystery guest, he was headed out of the park. Going the wrong way down a one way. What a SAP. Bruce McCutcheon WEO St. Augustine, Fl *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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