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Post by htmb on Jul 20, 2013 18:55:02 GMT
While I love the quiet calm of the Ichetucknee River and enjoy paddling my kayak during three seasons of the year, I have studiously avoided it during summertime for at least fifteen years. This morning I decided to go take a look and see if I'm missing anything. I also like to walk in the woods at the northern end of the part and thought I'd see if the rest I have been giving my injured foot was indeed paying off. Leaving the house, I drove through the towns of Alachua and High Springs. We've had a lot of rain over the last few months so vegetation is lush and green. I passed many old Crape Myrtles that were huge and more heavily laden with blossoms than I remember seeing in a long time. I decided to stop at River Rise, just the other side of High Springs, to take a look at the Santa Fe River water levels. Though the water was up, it's gone down a bit from a few weeks ago when it was almost at flood stage. During this time of year it's especially important to get out on the water during the morning hours, since we frequently have afternoon thunder showers. At River Rise, so named because it's where the Santa Fe rises back to the surface after traveling a few miles underground, there were fishermen putting their boat into the water. And a party of kayakers was preparing to leave for a trip downstream. Of course, the star of the show was the river. Looks to me like there's an alligator in the shade of the opposite bank, but I was unabe to get a photo. While there is lots of boating, kayaking and fishing on the Santa Fe River, it's not a place where most people tube. The river is broken up in places with rocky shoals, making it difficult to navigate a float. And, there's also the wildlife to look out for - not that anyone's too worried.
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Post by htmb on Jul 20, 2013 19:25:07 GMT
The Ichetucknee River rises up out of the group from spring heads located on the other side of Ft. White. I believe the state park property includes the first four miles, while the banks of last two miles of the river are privately owned lots and acreage that include many homes. Eventually, the river intersects with the Santa Fe before the two flow into the Suwannee and then out into the Gulf Of Mexico. As I got closer to Ft. White I began to see more boats and kayaks. Then I hit the little town which you would hardly know was there except for the speed limit signs requiring you to slow down to 30 miles per hour. There were tubes for sale everywhere! I failed to get pictures of the biggest places - front yards of hikes with temporary pens filled with inner tubes - but here's a couple of examples. Then, after passing through Ft. White, driving by cornfields, And turning a corner.....I came to the biggest tube vendor yet.
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Post by htmb on Jul 20, 2013 19:35:06 GMT
Now, at just under a mile away from the north entrance of the park, I notice cars with tubes strapped on top coming my way. This is not a good sign. Well, not for them anyway...
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Post by htmb on Jul 20, 2013 20:12:33 GMT
Outside the entrance a ranger was directing drivers to pull over to the side and stopping them from entering the park. I made a u-turn and pulled to the end of the line. The river entrance, which is open tubers at the north entrance between late May and early September, closes each day once it reaches its maximum number to help protect the sensitive waterway. So, at 9:15 AM on a Saturday morning, latecomers we're being directed to the lower park entrance where they could tube for 45 minutes rather than two hours plus. As I approaches the very kind ranger he apologized profusely. I showed him my pass, told him I had no intention of tubing and just wanted to hike and take a few photos. The smiling ranger took a quick look inside my car and waved me in through the gate. I could only imagine what I was going to find.
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Post by htmb on Jul 20, 2013 21:42:29 GMT
Easing into the parking lot I see that the space, typically almost empty for most of the year, is filled with cars, trucks, lots of people, and brightly colored plastic tubes. These are the lucky ones; the hordes of people who got in and now don't need to hurry to get started. Because there is no public or paid transportation to take people back to the north end, most will drive in two different vehicles, drop off all but the drivers at the north end, then drive one of the cars to the southern parking lot. While all this driving is taking place, people are relaxing and waiting for their group to be reunited. Only a few were actually swimming in the spring head, but you cannot access the river from here anyway. To protect the sensitive spring head and surrounding flora, tubers must walk down a trail until they come to the dock area.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2013 21:46:29 GMT
Everything you've written is fascinating, but I have to admit that I am most enthralled by the tube vendor's tree display.
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Post by htmb on Jul 20, 2013 21:57:48 GMT
Those people seem to do one heck of a business judging by how many tubes I saw on the river with their name stenciled on the side. However, there is actually a vendor who is located even closer to the spring entrance. The key is being able to attach the inflated tubes to your car and keep them attached before reaching the park (where there are no tube vendors). Another key is finding a vendor who will pick up their tubes at the end of the park so you don't have to go to the trouble of lashing them to your car when you are already exhausted from the "strenuous" float down the river.
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Post by htmb on Jul 20, 2013 23:42:55 GMT
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Post by htmb on Jul 20, 2013 23:51:33 GMT
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Post by htmb on Jul 21, 2013 0:02:45 GMT
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Post by mossie on Jul 21, 2013 8:00:06 GMT
It looks like fun, how many fall in? Either accidentally or on purpose. Your tubes remind me of the little dinghies we used to have in a pack strapped to our backsides, for use if we came down in water. They were inflated with a little gas bottle which had to be located and unscrewed. Most of our flying was over the North Sea. We were told that if we came down there in winter we had 15 seconds to get into the dinghy before we were too numb to do anything At this time I could not swim. We were taken to a local baths, and dressed as if we were flying, had to jump in off the low board and inflate and get into our dinghy. When it was my turn the screw operating the gas bottle was stuck, and I freed it by banging it on the bottom of the pool Just hoped if I had to do it for real there was a handy rock
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Post by htmb on Jul 21, 2013 14:54:33 GMT
These tubes have certainly evolved since the days when we used the inner tube of an auto or tractor tire for a float. I decided to walk around to the other side of the river and see what Blue Hole, one of the other major springs feeding the Ichetucknee, looks like this time of year. I passed more tubers heading for the entry ramp. Various shades of orange and blue could be seen through the trees. Finally, at the boardwalk to blue hole, I escaped the masses of people - but not the mosquitoes. Off the boardwalk the path was cool and dim and I saw my first, and basically only, sign of wildlife in the woods; a tiny little bird. The deer, otters and other animals who usually inhabit the area were deep into the woods, for sure. And, through the trees I could still see the tubers.
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Post by htmb on Jul 21, 2013 15:03:37 GMT
The Blue Hole area was fairly calm and peaceful, though the various voices and lots of laughter from the river continued to carry through the air. Just as I thought, the area around the hole is not as pretty in the summer compared to fall where the trees and flowers put on a show of beautiful colors that reflect off the water. But it appeared to me there was more water flowing out of the spring. I don't remember seeing ripples last fall.
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Post by htmb on Jul 21, 2013 15:08:16 GMT
Mossie, most people start out trying to stay as dry as possible because the water is so cold. But as they float along they begin to get hot as the intensity of the sun increases and the day warms. Plunging into the water over and over is usually a relief. After all, this is not only fun, it's also how we stay cool in the summertime when temperatures creep up towards 100 degrees F during the day with high humidity, and don't go below the low seventies at night.
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Post by htmb on Jul 21, 2013 15:21:11 GMT
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Post by htmb on Jul 21, 2013 15:30:32 GMT
Tired of the marauding mosquitoes, and not really wishing to apply the insect repellent tucked inside my bag, I headed back towards the parking lot. And, you know what......the masses of tubers were gone! Almost all 750 of them, headed down the river, laughing, smiling, and having a memorable time.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2013 18:23:17 GMT
It was a relief when you got away from the tubers. Fun or not, it looked like an annoyingly large and loud group. I see it more as an activity that would be pleasurable for a group of 4 to 6 people.
Those nature boardwalks are always fantastic. I wonder why they always seem to be so empty.
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Post by lugg on Jul 21, 2013 18:38:48 GMT
Tubing is not really done in the UK ( I don't think ?) My first experiences of this were in America and I have to admit it was great fun.
Despite that I think I would opt to be with the snorkelers ; that looks like it might be really interesting.
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Post by htmb on Jul 21, 2013 19:58:25 GMT
Lugg, I figured you'd want to join the snorklelers. Kerouac, make sure to take your small group of friends on a weekday. If you get there right as they open the gates, and head straight to the water, you have a good chance of dodging the crowds. Going in early June before the summer heat becomes severe might help, too.
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Post by htmb on Jul 22, 2013 14:46:45 GMT
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Post by mossie on Jul 22, 2013 16:04:03 GMT
That is wonderful gunge that person is holding in your penultimate photo, hope it doesn't smell as bad as it looks Is that the result of rotting vegetation? I presume too many people using the river are upsetting the natural cycle.
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Post by htmb on Jul 22, 2013 16:14:41 GMT
It's algae.
Actually, since the number of people has been drastically controlled the direct damage from tubers is much less than in the past.
Most of the problems seen on the Ichetucknee are results of the drainage of a large area to the north of the springs around the town of Lake City. Storm run off sweeps all different types of debris, fertilizer, and pesticides into the aquifer and it comes up several miles later in the Ichetucknee. Damage has also been caused by the lowering of the water supply due to overuse. Doesn't sound very appealing, does it?
While the water appears to be very clear and clean, it certainly isn't what it was just a few years ago. That's what the photographers who are featured in the exhibition wanted to convey. Unfortunately, our governor is a businessman and not keen to hear the environmental problems developing under our very noses.
When I was a kid I used to think environmentalists were strange to say we were going to run out of water. Now I see that what they really meant was we are going to run out of "clean" water.
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Post by htmb on Jul 23, 2013 15:41:17 GMT
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Post by htmb on Jul 27, 2013 16:45:58 GMT
Here's the way John Jopling, president of the Itchetucknee Springs Alliance, describes getting into the cold Ichetucknee water: There were always two schools of thought: the headfirst, full-body immersion folks, and the more timid, one-baby-step-at-a-time, fists-clinched-tight-under-the-chin crowd. The former group could be relied upon to emerge from that first, breath-taking dive—into what we all knew was the coldest, clearest, cleanest, bluest water the world had ever known—laughing and splashing their more timid friends, assuring them, “Really, it’s not so cold once you get used to it.” What frequently followed was a forced conversion of the go-slow crowd by the head-firsters.Ichetucknee Alliance
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Post by htmb on Oct 26, 2013 13:30:40 GMT
I've changed the title of this thread and plan to feature reports from each of the four seasons. Leaving summer on the Ichetucknee, we now move on to fall.
While I don't particularly enjoy summer on the Ichetucknee, fall is the beginning of my time of year. You will see from my photos that it doesn't really look like fall in North Central Florida, even though it's late October. There's just a tinge of color in the leaves as the days shorten and the weather finally begins to change.
Thinking a Friday would be a good day to get out and photograph some wildlife, I planned to spend my entire day off in the Ichetucknee River park. Only one small section of the river would be available to tubers, so the river should be fairly quiet. Having stayed up way too late Thursday night reading and planning a future trip, I got off to a late start. Since, for me, getting out on the river requires loading up a 14 foot long, way too heavy kayak, then driving an hour to the park, a lot of initial energy is required. Broken nails, sore shoulders, and a bruised cheekbone from where the new bungy cord walloped me in the face were the order of the late morning.
Finally, I arrived at the bottom end of the park where I would leave my car and set out up-river. The air was cool, the sky crystal clear, and it was a beautiful day to get outside for a paddle. I suppose I shouldn't have been too surprised at the other folks who had the same idea. All told, I encountered about fifty people on the river. Enough to dim the chances of seeing much in the way of wildlife.
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Post by htmb on Oct 26, 2013 13:54:53 GMT
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Post by htmb on Oct 26, 2013 14:31:41 GMT
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Post by htmb on Oct 26, 2013 15:03:20 GMT
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Post by htmb on Oct 26, 2013 15:13:26 GMT
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Post by htmb on Oct 26, 2013 16:18:26 GMT
I don't use waterproof cameras when I'm on the river, so I must be very careful not to get them wet. I protect my equipment by enclosing inside waterproof bags. Once I'm out on the river I take out a camera, hang it by a strap around my neck, and tuck it inside the top of my life jacket. It's fairly easy to pull out my small camera when I'm ready to take a photograph. This works fine in calm water, but I certainly don't recommend it for paddling under rougher conditions. Once I reached the upper landing, the place where tubers put in during the summer, I got out for a bit, stretched my legs, wandered around and ate an overripe apple. It had been about two hours since I'd first gotten on the water. There was only one family picnicking at the upper park, and I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the headwaters of the river. Just a reminder of how this place looks in the summertime. Wall to wall people! And here are pictures of the same spot taken yesterday:
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