A few pictures of my ride and hike on the St. Johns River Friday January 17th 2020. While talking to my friends at the brevard historical society – Bob an archiecolgist told me he had left his favorite probe on one of the Indian Middens a couple of years back. Since this is such a remote area chances were good it was still there.
I had paddled Ruth Lake last year into Lake Clark to see the white pelicans. But time didn’t allow me to stop and check out Indian fields mound and that is was across to the other side. So Friday I decided to bike and hike between Loughman
and Lake Clark then hike my way around the backside of Ruth Lake through piney flat woods and oak hammock. An old delapated observation tower built years ago sits just east of Loughman on the river. There was no way to ford the river here.
It was sixty feet across, too deep and moving at a pretty good clip. So I climbed up the towers two flights of steps with my bike, across the gang plank, over the river and down the other side. I biked another clip or two to another river
Channel. There was a 10 foot gator laying at the mouth. I really wasn’t too worried as I started to cross but in just 10 feet, I was already up to my knees and my front tire had disappeared. The bottom was rocky and sandy which was good
but my real concern was my iphone without its waterproof case and my wife Kathy. I had already crushed one phone and drowned two more. No way could I afford a forth. So I headed back across the tower over the river and thru the woods back to my truck. I was probably less then two
miles to my destination. By now it was after 1 oclock. There was still some good daylight left so I drove over to Salt lake wildlife area to find my way around on the trails on this side to Ruth Lake and Indian Fields Mound. I guessed about 10 trail miles. Salt Lake is 8000 amazing acres of piney flatwoods with an impenetrable understory of saw palmetto, salt marsh, loblolly bays and some cypress stands. I went thru a heart of pine savanna with patches of sand live oaks, a perfect habitat for the Florida scrub-jay which I saw none. The trails were overall pretty good going thru a foot or more of water in some of the low lying areas. The trees are starting to steal the light as the sun is closing out the day. I’m still about that same two miles from Ruth, now from the other side… Another day. Saw no one all day. Just me.
