Epic-logue
Editor's note. I am going to post this but will revise it later by adding graphics and pictures.....
While sitting down at Little River Springs, Maria mentioned that she wasn't ready to stop paddling. She didn't want to see her kayak on a trailer. It should be free, and in the water. Then she teared up.
Maria was the one who struggled the most on this trip. She also cheered on the kids through their physical challenges and mechanical breakdowns. She worked hard, carrying gear and waking up early with me. Washing clothes in the tub wasn't in the plan but had to be done because the washing machine wasn't working at the same times her legs had failed her. Even though there was a learning curve, she slept in a hammock for the first time.
Maria dove head first going under the land bridge of Perry Springs??? and watched her kids try a rope swing or jump off a high platform into the water of Royal Springs. She floated out to the sunken boat at Troy Springs seeing way more detail than I noticed.
She suffered greatly but still wanted to go further. I admire her for that.
My Kids? Well, they are 13 and 11 young ladies and would have preferred to have a vacation somewhere else, actually, anywhere else. They worked hard, and played even harder. They made a lot of memories that I am sure, when they look back on this trip and tell their kids about it, will have gained a respect for what they had accomplished. Anytime they travel Interstate 75 and cross the Suwannee River, they will have a smile on their face. They will turn to ever is in the car with them and say, "Did I ever tell you when I was on a kayak below this bridge...?". Currently, they are both telling me that this was not a vacation though. Only time will tell if/when they feel different later.
For Angelia, her first priority was to get a shower when ever we got to camp. Of course, the camps with the portable bathrooms were not to her liking. She had a tough day in the sun but gutted it out and recovered in a days time. Her run ins with the bugs were funny to us but stressful to her. I am proud of how she was able to keep up with the group. And to see her jump into Royal Springs, TWICE, well, I stand in awe of her courage.
Savannah kept it lively throughout the trip. She was all over the place as far as order in line goes. Blowing bubbles has got to be an everlasting memory for me on this trip. Never will I look at bubbles the same. They floated and fluttered in the wind. Sometimes bouncing off of the water. Such a magical moment. Speaking of magical, she conquered the rope swing. Rope swings take tenacity since you have to jump from the ground, hold on to the rope, and then the hardest part...letting go.
For me? Well, it was a lot of work but there were so many great, unforgettable moments. Starting the trip early that morning with nothing but anticipation knowing that you are finally there, floating down the historical Suwannee River. With every stop at a river camp, they were new to us but familiar, and we knew that they would be a great place for our overnight home. The cabins at the state parks were awesome as well but, due to scheduling, I would have loved to stay there much, much longer.
Besides spending an extended amount of time with my brother and sister-in-law, the springs were the things that kept our interest. There were ??? in all, and they were unique in many ways. Small and big; deep and shallow; opaque green and deep blue. Swimming all of them produced that first shock at how cold the water was but I was able to adapt pretty fast.
I had some disappointments too but that was centered around my gadgets like the video camera setup issues and depth finder. It all worked out in the end though since I left it all at the bottom of the river...kidding.
To get some video of the scenery, I had anticipated at being up near the front of the line so I could get clear shots of the scenery. I ended up being in the back though, mostly as a back stop to keep my kids moving forward and other times dealing with gear. I wouldn't trade that for anything though. I was able to see everyone do there own thing (Shawn and Debi sprinting; Savannah speeding around and blowing bubbles; Maria paddling and enjoying it all, then watch as the came together for something else like help others or to have a water fight.
When I went camping in Boy Scouts, it seems that the first thing I would tell my mom was about the food. Good food = great trip apparently, at least to a growing boy. Gong by that dynamic??? alone, then this would have been a great trip. We ate like kings, when I remembered the food that is. And still had plenty left over. I equated the snacks we had to stocking stuffers since the kids didn't know what we had until the final days up to the trip.
That shows how much of an impact a trip like this makes on you. There may be days you will struggle but others will be there to help you. There will also be days where you help others. You can anticipate this trip for months, but there is nothing like actually being there...and doing it.
On our last night, we were asked to rate this trip on a scale of 10. There were several 9s (Maria and Debi), Casey said an 8, while Shawn said 8.5. I gave it a 7 for various reasons. Looking back on that moment, I was being a little harsh and probably suffering from last night blues. I would have to give it an 8.5 as well.
Prior to the trip, Shawn told me he wanted this trip to be epic. I think we met that expectation and then some.
Hidden Spring
[name]??? was a small spring that had a short, maybe 1/4 mile run to go up. When first looking at the [convergence]??? with the river, it looked over grown. After a little discussion, I decided to go into it and see what it was like.
I squeezed through the small opening and, surprisingly, the water way appeared to open up. I had plenty of room to peddle to the spring opening. While there, I shot some video to allow the others to see it. I made my way back while constantly staying in radio contact with everyone.
This spring was a good one for the group to miss though.
My Lists – Thoughts and Ideas
De Ja Vu (If I was to this trip again)
- Have an off day. Not sure where though but probably a state park.
- Have video gear running correctly by testing it out weeks before the trip. Not while on the trip.
- Find [walk to no where] spring ???
- See Peacock Spring
- *Alligators (2)
- Multiple birds (king fisher, hawks, herons, ???)
- Armadillo (2)
- *Sturgeon (6)??? *not seen by me
Miles (Do I really need to post this again? Okay, I will):
- Day 1: 6
- Day 2: 6
- Day 3:
- Day 4:
- Day 5:
- Day 6:
- Day 7:
- Day 8:
- Total River Miles:
- None that I can recall since I got to have an ice cream sandwich
- Maria - Sore legs, bruising and blister due to seat support, pulled "something" in her back on the last day
- Angelia - sunburn on 3rd??? day
- Savannah - legs cut up from walk to ??? Spring that we didn't find
- Ken - feet were messed up due to being in water shoes the entire week. Blisters were the norm.
- Easy, less stuff! Not that hard really, just some honest whittling down of gear would make things much less tiring.
- Better organization of gear. It would save a lot of hassle knowing where the little things were. All part of planning.
Links:
Trail names - names are given, and earned, from other members of the group. You cannot give yourself a trail name.
- Debi - Pocohantas: due to her sitting pose in the front seat of the canoe. She did paddle a lot, and likes going fast at times.
- Shawn - John Smith: Pocohontas' rear seat escort in the canoe. DUH.
- Angelia - Survivor: she survived many trials on the trip and we are all proud of her for doing so. She even went outside of her comfort zone on more than one occasion.
- Savannah - BubbleBee: she would race around in her kayak blowing bubbles. This lifted our spirits on long days.
- Maria - Pooter: because she made a lot of gas noises due to the pads she was using for protection on her hips. At first, several of us thought it was real and were very concerned. This lead to A LOT of laughter.
- Ken - Gadget: he had all kinds of toys on the trip which seemed to give him fits for the majority of the trip.
- Casey - Expert: has a lot of experience and confidence on the river. Willing to attempt almost anything.
Definitions -
- Boat - used here to describe both canoes and kayaks and, of course, regular boats.
- Eddies - swirling action in the water usually where there is a sudden bend in the river. Causes momentum loss as well as a sudden change in course. It affect boats differently depending on the type of craft and where the boat enters the eddie.
- Mile...Mile & a Half - the estimated distance to a destination. The term was taken from the movie Mile...Mile & a Half. If you haven't seen this backpacking movie do yourself a favor and see it. Even if you aren't into backpacking, it has a great story and incredible scenery. It is available on demand and Netflix.
- Professional Canoer/Kayaker - someone who spends so much time in their boat that they pee in it rather than stopping. Not aware of anyone on this trip earning this title though.
- Rivermortis - being stiff or soar in spots while traveling on the river, see rigarmortis???.
- Salmon - boat going upstream.
- Shoals -
- Slough -
- Sturgeon -
- Towmotion - being pulled by another boat but still making progress forward.
- Trail Magic - an item left behind on the trail that someone else can use.
- Vacation
- Vitamin I - name for pain medication Ibuprofen
- Widowmaker - a large object located in a way that it could fall without notice. If it falls, it could potentially kill someone. Some examples are large branches stuck high up in a tree or bridge structure..
- Yoga Turtles - turtles with their feet stretched out on an object like a log or rock sunning themselves
Equipment - just major equipment used on trip
- kayaks
- 2006 Hobie Mirage Adventure (16', papaya, Ken)
- 2012 Hobie Mirage Outback (12', red, Maria)
- 2012 Hobie Mirage Outback (12', red, Angelia)
- 2013 Hobie Mirage Revolution (11', papaya, Savannah)
- Cameras
- Fugifilm X ??? (Maria)
- Fugifilm X ??? (Angelia)
- Fugifilm X ??? (Savannah)
- Gopro Hero 4 Black (Ken)
- Gopro Hero (Ken)
- Stove - Biolite, we brought two buckets of kindling for the stove and fires
- Hammocks - 2 ENO doublenest
- GPS - Lowrance Elite 5
Resources
- Paddle boarding girls
- videos
- blog
- SWRT
- Water Levels
- Guys old blog
- Shawn's telephone App
- Google Earth
- Google Maps
- Conversion of Google Earth to GPS
Misc
- "access for all" - handicapped shelters and RR but how do they go up the stairs from the river? not sure how many wheelchair bound people are out kayaking and staying overnight at these places. common sense is dead.
- Ice experience before we stopped. Machine had no bags.
- When choosing a shelter check for:
- working lights
- working fans (if important)
- screens in place
- usable metal eyelets/hooks if hammock hanging. We found some very random locations. Sometimes, you would have to use the same
- One GIANT circle
- Our second, unintended, adventure - the quest for the lost video card. Remember back at Holton Creek River Camp when I dried out my Gopro gear? Well several days later, I realized that the camera card that was with the gear was missing. It must have dropped to the floor and I didn't notice. I used micro SD cards and they are smaller than a fingernail. Well, at first, I wasn't too concerned about the footage on that card but the more I thought about it, I wanted that card just encase it had something of importance. We had some extra time on the way home since we were waiting for a library to open up at 2. After looking at the GPS and phone, we hatched a plan to get to the camp. The problem is that this camp isn't on any maps. I did find a set of GPS coordinates to go by. So I entered those into the Garmin and off we went.
- With the depthfinder on his boat, Ken was often asked how deep is the water. I gladly would yell out the depth, or say it over the radio. What I kept forgetting was that Debi doesn't like the dark water so knowing how deep it was, just gave her more to be concerned with.
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