Eight hardies from the Marsh Creek Kayakers braved the cool weather to paddle a truly unique stream – three (Alan, John and Ellis) for the first time. Once again Juniper treated us to a special day which started with late arrivals and surprising fees.
I underestimated the travel time to our pull-out on US 19, arriving 45 minutes late, and confirmed my technical ineptitude by forgetting to turn on my cell phone thus missing the “where the hell are you” calls. But the pre-launch toasts were duly enjoyed before heading to Juniper/Ocala National Forest.
Effective Jan, 1st, fees had increased by multiples – there is a new $10 per boat launch fee and $2 per car passenger fee – our National Park card saved us a fraction of the park entrance fee. In addition to raising usage fees, it would appear that privatizing key usage areas hadn’t generated any improvements – quite the opposite. The boardwalk where we used to trundle the boats to the launch was closed for repairs. More frustrating, there was no “cooler checker” at the launch so beer could have been brought along.
By 11:30, we were in the water – 90 minutes past schedule but with warmer temps. From the get-go we encountered more obstacles than any previous outing – a wicked combination of overhanging trees requiring an assortment of “limbo moves”, dead falls (limbs and tree trunks) and dead underbrush along the banks ready to snarl your paddle or dead palm frond stalks to impale you. Good teamwork and careful navigating prevented any serious problems although we did have one tip-over – however we averaged only 1mph for the first couple of hours.
We took a rest break at mile 4.5, experiencing muck which tried to take our foot gear but at least a chance to stand up (and relieve ourselves). At mile 5.0 we shot the lone shoal on Juniper which has further developed thus giving you a brief white-water experience and more water in your boat. While the more treacherous sections seemed behind us, there were still strong currents and those obstacles to deal with resulting in two more tip-overs. But at last we reached the pull-out – 7.2 miles in total.
During the first section of the paddle a doe deer was chewing some greenery about 6-8′ from the bank – didn’t pay us the slightest attention. Later we passed a nice sized gator (8-9′) sunning itself at the stream’s edge. Other than that not much wildlife sightings – too busy avoiding problems!!! For the first time in memory we passed on lunch as a couple needed to change clothes and it was already 4:30 by the time cars were retrieved and boats loaded. Many thanks to all who participated – it was a challenge but an unforgettable day.
