Paddle Post 2/19/12

Otter enjoying a fish on Billys Lake in the Okefenokee

 

What’s Up?
I forgot to mention that we were going to spend last weekend at Stephen Foster on Billys Lake in the Okefenokee Swamp so I wasn’t able to get a Paddle Post out.

We had a great time in spite of the frigid conditions including a couple of pretty incredible Otter encounters. The fire really changed the landscape up there much like it did on the eastern entrance to the park. The main part of the lake is open but the Sill, the Narrows and the run to Billys Island are closed (except to scofflaws like us).

We came home to find that the big freeze had once again killed off our wonderful winter tomatoes. I think that is like four years in a row now. Winter tomatoes in Florida are by far the best but – they are a fleeting treat. But as the old saying goes – when life gives you lemons – you make fried green tomatoes – Yummmm!

Altogether, I’ve had six trips since the last post including my annual Super Bowl trip to the swamp and the Shack By the Track in St. George. Great game BTW – way to go TC!

Paddle Forecast:
High tides will be morning to mid-day.

The weather forecast calls for cool weather to start the week but warming up quickly to the low 70′s. A good chance of rain on Wednesday but dry the rest of the week.

This week’s forecast gets a “Pretty Darn Good” rating.

Latest Trips:
Six trips – three in the Okefenokee and one each on FGR, Guana and  Pumpkin Hill

Okefenokee 2/5/12 -Slideshow

Ft. George River 2/10/12 – Slideshow

Okefenokee 2/11/12 – Slideshow

Okefenokee 2/12/12 – Slideshow

Latest News and Rants:
Six Mile Landing at Guana is finally reopened and I made a trip down there this week to visit with the Eagles. I’m happy to report that the nest that blew down last spring is fully rebuilt and all indications are that there are at least eggs in the nest if not the chicks themselves. Won’t be long before we see dark little heads above the rim.

And speaking of that – I’m seeing more and more signs of spring – pin feathers popping out, breeding humps (White Pelicans) appearing and the occasional carrying of nesting material about the marsh.

The cycle begins once again – of course, for us hoomins, it means another year older and another year closet to the big sleep but – ah well…….

Paddle Post 2/5/12

Young Eagle at Tiger Point

What’s Up?
A couple of good trips out last week – one on Pumpkin Hill and the other on Horseshoe Creek. I had some injections in my SI joint on Wednesday and took it easy the rest of the week. I finished the month with 9 trips and 62 miles so not a bad start to 2012. Hoepfully, the injections will have the desired effect on my back/SI joint and allow me a little more freedom to paddle.

Happy Birthday Hannah Bannana!

Paddle Forecast:
High tides will be morning to mid-day.

The weather forecast calls for more great weather with highs in the upper 60′s with only a slight chance of rain.

This week’s forecast gets a “Pretty Darn Good” rating.

Latest Trips:
Two trips – one each on Pumpkin Hill  and Horseshoe Creek

Pumpkin Hill 1/29/12 – Slideshow

Horseshoe Creek 1/31/12 – Slideshow

Latest News and Rants:
I finally got the tide charts up for 2012. At first, I didn’t like the new format that NOAA was using but after I started working with it I like it much better than the old. It was a lot easier to import into the site and the home page for each tidal station on NOAA is awesome – tons of info.

Paddle Post 1/29/12

Great Blue Herons on Shad Creek

 

What’s Up?
I had a couple of good trip out in the fog early in the week and then kind of cruised the rest of the week. As you can see from the photo above – spring is not far off. Any time you see more than one Great Blue Heron together there are only two possibile things on their minds – nesting or migration. Since they were perched only a few feet away from the rookery I found last spring, I’m thinking the former is a pretty good bet. At any rate – I’ll be keeping an eye things. The other rookery up near Horseshoe Creek had several Herons hanging out the day before so it won’t be long.

Paddle Forecast:
High tides will be mid-day to evening.

The weather forecast calls for more great weather with highs ranging from the mid-60′s to mid-70′s with little chance of rain.

This week’s forecast gets a “Pretty Darn Good” rating.

Latest Trips:
Two trips – one each on Horseshoe Creek  and Hannah Mills

Horseshoe Creek 1/22/12 – Slideshow

Hannah Mills 1/23/12 – Slideshow

Latest News and Rants:
Not much.

Paddle Post 1/22/12

Otters subduing a fish on Pumpkin Hill

 

What’s Up?
I took the week off and we were happy to have a surprise visit from our son, Andrew. We had already planned to spend part of the week up on Tybee Island but it was good to see the boy even for a little bit.

I had a couple of great trips. The first one on Pumpkin Hill was pretty incredible and I got to see three things I’ve never seen before – an Otter catch a fish, an Eagle try to steal that fish and later that same Eagle actually catch a fish. Well, OK – said fish was either already dead or stranded in the mud but at least the Eagle, for a change, wasn’t commiting a crime.

My other trip was with Hope up on Tybee Island in Tybee Creek over to Little Tybee Island. It was our first visit to Tybee and we really fell in love with it. After meeting Andrew on his way back up to PA, we took off down US-17 and drove the whole way back along the old coastal highway. We really enjoyed that and found a ton of places that we plan on going back to explore. That whole section of the Georgia coastline is really beautiful and there area a ton of places to put-in, paddle out to the barrier islands and camp. What’s even better, is that it’s all within a couple of hours drive.

Paddle Forecast:
High tides will be morning to mid-day.

The weather forecast calls for near perfect winter weather with highs in the mid-70′s and very little chance of rain

This week’s forecast gets a “Pretty Darn Good” rating.

Latest Trips:
Two trips – one each on Pumpkin Hill and Tybee Creek

Hannah Mills 1/10/12 – Slideshow

Pumpkin Hill 1/15/12 – Slideshow

Tybee Creek 1/19/12 – Slideshow

Latest News and Rants:
Still time to order your calendars : http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/timucuanpaddlepagestore

Paddle Post 1/15/12

Young Bald Eagle on Cedar Point Creek

 

What’s Up?
A good week – great weather and a couple of nice trips out. Last Sunday, I took a trip from Horseshoe down to Cedar Point and up Pumpkin Hill. My original intent was to check out the Pelican Pool but some duck hunters were camped out on the edge so I redirected into Cedar Point Creek. Serendipity! I spent the next three hours in the company of at least three and perhaps as many as five Bald Eagles. I took over 600 photos and about 500 of those were of Eagles including some of the best I’ve ever taken.

My other trip was from the other direction – Hannah Mills up to the Pelican Pool just to see how they had survived the noisy interlopers. They seemed to have made it through unscathed but, not surprisngly, not too many ducks around.

Next week, Hope and I will be spending a couple of days in the Savannah/Tybee Island area and, depending on the weather, we hope to get a trip in.

Paddle Forecast:
High tides will be early afternoon to early evening.

The weather forecast calls for temperatures ranging from the low 60′s to low 70′s. A slight chance of rain around midweek but otherwise calm and dry.

This week’s forecast gets a “Pretty Darn Good” rating.

Latest Trips:
Two trips – one each on Horseshoe Creek and Hannah Mills

Horseshoe Creek 1/8/12 – Slideshow

Latest News and Rants:
Still time to order your calendars : http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/timucuanpaddlepagestore

Paddle Post 1/8/11

American Bittern in the Okefenokee Swamp

 

What’s Up?
A chilly start to the new year! Actually, after the last two or three winters we’ve had here, this was no big deal. I lost a few tomato plants but saved most of them and we’re having a fried green tomato and turnip green feast this weekend as a result.

It was a slow start to the paddling year for me but not because of the weather. I love the cold and was up in the swamp on the first day of the freeze to get my annual ice crunching trip in. It was frikin’ cold and the wind was howling but I had some great photo ops. I stayed home the next couple of days to deal with the freeze in the garden and then had to cancel a trip later due to an all nighter at work.

Next week, the weather returns to the terrific category and should be great for paddling. As much as I love the cold weather paddling – it’s always nice when it warms back up again.

Paddle Forecast:
High tides will be morning to mid-day.

The weather forecast calls for a return to warm weather with highs ranging from the upper 60′s to low 70′s. There’s a 50% chance of rain at midweek – otherwise little chance of rain and calm winds.

This week’s forecast gets a “Pretty Darn Good” rating.

Latest Trips:
One trip – in the Okefenokee Swamp

Horseshoe Creek 12/29/11 – Slideshow

St. Marys River 12/30/11 – Slideshow

Okefenokee Swamp 1/3/12 – Slideshow

Latest News and Rants:
On my trip to the Okefenokee last week I was able to chat with one of the owners of the outfitters who is always full of good information. I asked her about the closed signs along the canal and she told me that they should be down (they were) and that the reason was just the park service being super cautious after the fire. Anway – the only thing keeping you from paddling now are the clogged trails and it may be a long time before that is resloved. The water level is up a bit but not enough for the trail cutter to get out and they don’t operate it in the winter due to the fact that the Gators can’t move fast enough to get out of the way. Hopefully, next summer we will get a very isolated Hurricane that bypasses Jacksonville and sits over the swamp for a few days and fills that sucker back up!

Still time to order your calendars : http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/timucuanpaddlepagestore

Paddle Post 1/1/12 – Happy New Year!

Deer at Elbow Landing along the St. Marys River

 

What’s Up?
Happy New Year! We had a great holiday and I managed to get out 5 times over the last couple of weeks to wrap up the year. After our first kidless Christmas last year we were especially happy to have a week with the our two California girls.

It was another good year for me finishing with 120 trips (tied for the most) and 655 miles (third most). As always, everything kind of centered around my back and SI joint which continued to give me trouble. There were times that I had to completely shut things down for a few days but my back always recovered and I was soon back on the water. It kind of put a damper on my urge to get out and explore new areas. My back, my truck acting up and the huge wildfire in the Okefenokee had me kind of hunkering down during the summer.

I passed a major milestone back in August when I made my 1000th trip. I figure that with my average trip averaging around 5-6 miles, I have logged enough miles to cross the country and come back again. When I started this web site 12 years ago, I had no idea that 1000 trips were a possibility – especially considering where my back was back then. I have no idea if 2000 is realistic and I don’t plan on making that a goal. My body feels the trips more and more each year and there’s no doubt that I will eventually have to slow down.

Looking back on last year, I realize that for the first time in a while, I didn’t add any new places to my list. I did explore some more of the Satilla River and hope to continue poking around on that wonderful river. Hope and I made three more trips on the Suwannee going from Branford down to the Santa Fe back in February and then from there to 12 miles north of Fanning Springs in November. We’re just 45 miles away from the gulf so we may complete that in ’12.

So what’s in store for 2012? Well according to the Mayans we won’t have to worry beyond that but, in the mean time, I may be looking at some major changes in my life. I may be retired, I may be working somewhere new and travelling a lot or I might be doing the same old thing. I am taking some steps toward getting on top of my back again and have some things scheduled at the Mayo early in the year which might get me back on track. Hopefully, regardless, I plan to spend another year on the water.

Paddle Forecast:
High tides will be mid-afternoon to early evening and also early morning.

The weather forecast calls for cold, breezy weather early in the week with lows dropping into the low 20′s and highs in the low 50′s. Things will gradually warm up by weeks end with highs in the mid 60′s. Little to no chance of rain all week.

This week’s forecast gets a “Just OK” rating.

Latest Trips:
Five trips- two each on the St Marys River and Horseshoe Creek and one on Pumpkin Hill

St. Marys River 12/18/11 – Slideshow

Horseshoe Creek 12/19/11 – Slideshow

Pumpkin Hill 12/22/11 – Slideshow

Latest News and Rants:
NOAA has decided to no longer maintain the tide charts that I have been using for years and years to post on this site. When I started the site it wasn’t nearly as easy to find that info so it may be redundant for me to keep going through the process of customizing it. I even have a couple of great apps on my phone that I use a lot. Anyway – I may still play around with it but I’m more likely to just put the links up.

Still time to order your calendars : http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/timucuanpaddlepagestore

Paddle Post 12/18/11

Great Blue Heron on Hannah Mills

What’s Up?
A tender back and windy conditons limited my time on the water and I only got out a couple of times for some short trips on Hannah Mills and Pumpkin Hill.

Paddle Forecast:
High tides will be mid-afternoon to early evening and also early morning.

The weather forecast calls for the week starting off cool with highs in the mid 60′s and then gradually warming up to the mid 70′s. A slight chance of rain all week.

This week’s forecast gets a “Pretty Darn Good” rating.

Latest Trips:
Two trips one each on Hannah Mills and Pumpkin Hill

Hannah Mills 12/14/11 – Slideshow

Pumpkin Hill 12/16/11 – Slideshow

Latest News and Rants:
Still time to order your calendars : http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/timucuanpaddlepagestore

Paddle Post 12/11/11

Reddish Egret along the ICW

Picture of the Week:

What’s Up?
A couple of nice trips this week – one in the Okefenokee and the other on Horseshoe Creek. The winds are making it hard to get out consistently – still having to pick my spots.

Paddle Forecast:
High tides will be mid-morning to early afternoon.

The weather forecast calls for the week starting off cold, wet and windy with highs in the low 60′s and a 40-50% chance of rain. By Tuesday, things will start warming up and the rest of the week will be beautiful with highs in the mid 70′s.

This week’s forecast gets a “Pretty Darn Good” rating.

Latest Trips:
Two trips one each in the Okefenokee and Horseshoe Creek

Okefenokee 12/4/11 – Slideshow

Horseshoe Creek 12/5/11 – Slideshow

Latest News and Rants:
I’ve completed two versions of this year’s calendar. Not sure if I’ll have time to do more but here’s the link if you want to order them before Christmas : http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/timucuanpaddlepagestore

Paddle Post 12/4/11

King Fisher on the Intracoastal

Picture of the Week:

What’s Up?
Kind of a quiet week as I had to pick my spots when it wasn’t too windy. I stayed close to home paddling on either end of the island in Browns Creek and Hannah Mills.

Aside from the breezy conditions that are normal for this time of the year we couldn’t ask for better weather and that will continue this week with temperatures in the mid-70′s. The last of the winter birds showed up this week – the shy little Hooded Mergansers. The Pelican Pool is getting crowded now with the big guys sharing the space with an increasing number of waterfowl like the Shovelor Ducks, Mergansers and Grebes.

Paddle Forecast:
High tides will be early morning to mid-morning and also early afternoon.

The weather forecast calls for beautiful fall weather with highs in the mid-70′s through Wednesday when a front comes through. There will be a good chance of rain at mid-week and things will cool off to a more seasonable mid-60′s.

This week’s forecast gets a “Pretty Darn Good” rating.

Latest Trips:
Two trips one each on  Browns Creek and the Hannah Mills

Browns Creek 11/30/11 – Slideshow

Hannah Mills 12/2/11 – Slideshow

Latest News and Rants:
I’m still working on this year’s calendars and hope to have at least one ready by the end of the week. If so, I’ll send out another e-mail and let you know where to get them.