St John’s River Kayak Trip: March 4th – March 7th 2019 From: Lake Poinsett To: Lake HarneyDistance: 44 milesTemperature: Low 40’s to mid-70’s Depart Lone Cabbage 10:20 to Possum Bluff 2:00. Possum Bluff to Long Bluff at Tosohatchee Wildlife Management Area 3:35. The first day’s journey was uneventful other than the profound peace and solitude that always beckons. We stopped along the way at Dead Cow Mound an embankment of sorts either from a bridge crossing or just a place to forge the river long before any of the East West corridors. What looks like an old road bed heads east to Sharps and west toward Wewahotee. There were precious few places to cross the Saint John’s in the 1800’s, whether a bridge across or a forge I believe this was one crossing. We set up camp the first night directly across from an old dilapidated shelter (Catfish Hotel) No sooner did we set up camp when a couple, a father and daughter from Taiwan hiked over, from the middle of nowhere, to see us and gain some information on the area. He was a photographer and wanted to get some wildlife shots. Although no gators were to be seen they were a delightful pair. We invited them to stay awhile and Jim played a tune for them on his flute. You never know what a day will bring. Other than hearing and later on that night seeing a Screech Owl the first night was quiet with the exception of a curious range bull who came up to camp to check us out. We left the next morning with threatening clouds overhead and headed toward Lake Cone, about 12 miles. By 9:00 the chilling rains were on us. We put on our rain gear and 3 hours later we paddled our way to the bridge at highway 50. There was nothing dry for a fire so we were damp and cold. By 12:30 the front had passed along with clearer skies and colder weather. I had changed into some dry clothes and we were once again on our way to Lake Cone and ultimately to our second night camp site at Bear Island. With up to a 5 mile wide flood plain and tens of thousands of wild conversation lands along her sides the Saint John’s conceals her high ground and her secrets. By 4:30 we made it to Bear Island a native Indian midden probably from the Tuscana tribe dating back 6 to 10,000 years ago. Words cannot describe the paddle thru or the sacred ground now under our feet. With a roaring fire the wet and cold from just hours before melted into Zen. With clear skies it was our coldest night. The next morning brought us a deafening still until a lone cardinal broke the silence. An orange sun scattered its first light across this magical savannah and day 3 was upon us. After 2 long days paddling our third day would be less to travel. We stayed at Bear most the morning hiking the island looking for exposed pottery pieces. There are a quite a few sour orange trees scattering the island and the Saint John’s from seeds brought hundreds of year’s age by the Spanish. Each Spanish soldier was required to bring 100 orange seeds to the new world. Sour orange was their choice. We left at 10:20 and headed toward our last nights camp at Heifer Mound, about 6 miles. The day was stunningly clear and cold, mid 40’s but with full sun it was perfect. The silence was telling with only the sound of nature and our paddles dipping into the still waters. With time on our hands we decided to check out two of the creeks from the Bronson State Forest that empty into the S.J.’s, Christmas and Buscombe. Although the paddles up both were rewarding, with a cypress forest along both sides of Christmas they both had long ago been diked. Disappointed we headed toward our final night camp at Heifer. We were in for another cold night at Heifer mound and with a north wind we camped on the south side rather than the birds eye view on the top, about 10’. During high water Heifer would be a tiny island. There are no trees on Heifer but Saddle mound a quarter mile west is adorned with large Oaks and Palms. Although we had carried wood with us from Bear Island there was ample wood at Sable for the night’s fire. The water marks on the trees at Sable showed the river another 8’ or more during extreme weather events making it an island as well. We woke to a wet morning as our tents were soaked by the dew but the sunrise over the Saint John’s that morning would have been worth the trip alone. We packed up and by 8:30 we were on our way another 4 hours to Harney and journey’s end. The last day’s paddle was by far the best birding day with scores of Rosetta Spoonbills mostly feeding along with Bald Eagles and Osprey, White Pelicans, Great Blues, Great Egrets, Cormorants, Little Blue and Green Herons, Laughing Gulls, Royal and Least Terns a few Night Herons. The Black Skimmers Snowy Egrets and Limpkins were few to none.The Saint John’s beauty and solitude is uncommon. The weather too hot or too cold, too much rain or not enough, mosquitoes at times where it’s hard to breathe, dangerous lightening, wind generated waves crashing over the bow. All this and more a price the Saint John’s demands to share her ancient secrets and waters. With my good friends Jim Durocher and Ernie Green.This trip is dedicated to Rear Admiral William K. Young. This good man this sailor has answered his last ship’s bell. He has run to his last General Quarters. This good man this sailor can now stand down, another sailor has taken his watch. May you have fair winds and following seas and long may

St John’s Paddle Monday 1-14 2019 From: Hatbill Sand RampTo: Loughman LakeMiles: 6Morning Temp: 54Afternoon: 69Water Level: LowWater Flow: NegligibleWater Surface: Flat to 6 inch chopWind: Slight NorthSky: Mostly Cloudy Internment Partial to Full Sun Today’s paddle on the Saint John’s as always was amazing. Although I had planned to make it into Salt Lake and try and locate the remnants of the old tram road it was not to be. You must realize in the early 1800’s until the railroad came thru in 1884 the only way to travel was the Saint John’s River. The Paddle boats from Jacksonville would travel to Lake Monroe in Larger Steamers and then transfer their cargo into smaller paddle boats with only 2 foot drafts to make the journey South. To Titusville they would follow the river South and West to Salt Lake. There they would transfer their cargo to horse and wagons or on their backs 7 miles to Sand Point in Titusville. We followed the river South into Ruth Lake then into Clark Lake. The river passage into Loughman Lake and ultimately into Salt Lake was impassable due to low water. We saw no gators today and only a scattering of wildlife… but we did hit the lottery with seeing over 200 White Pelicans. With Dan Bryant.

St John’s Paddle 12-18-2018 From: Three ForksTo: Camp HollyMiles: Approx 12 Morning Temperature: 54 DegreesAfternoon Temperature: 68 DegreesWater Level: LowWater Flow: Slight <1mphWater Surface: FlatWind: Slight NorthSky: Clear Mostly Sunny Another great day on the water on one of the last wild places left in Florida. That it will be here tomorrow is no longer a guarantee as human encroachmentis a real threat. Today’s was a perfect day for a perfect paddle. Uneventful Unremarkable.Only a handful of gators. None over 8 feet.Birds to note: Harriers: 4-6 It’s always a privilege to see these agile fliers.Red Shoulder: 2 Osprey: 6Maybe Sharp Shinned Hawk Maybe Red Shoulder Hawk Limpkins: 20+Yellow Crowned Night Herons: 8Great Blue Herons: 6. Green Herons: 10Great Blue Herons: 4Cattle Egrets: 6-10Tri Colored Herons: 4Snowy Egrets: 2. Little Blue Heron: 1Rosetta Spoonbill: 10-12Wood Stork: 1King Fisher: 2Anhinga: 8-10Greater Yellow Legs: 6-8. Lesser Yellow Legs 4-6Black Vultures: 8-10Moore Hens: 6-10. Purple Gallinules: 2Soft Shell Turtles: 2 (Specimens) Painted Turtle: 1 (Specimen)All in all a slow day for wildlife. The water level was too low to attempt Spade Islandor up Jane Green Creek into Jane Green Swamp. Maybe next time?With my good friends Jim Durocher and Vince Lamb.

Saint John’s 5-11-18 9:25-5:30 St John’s River Kayak Trip: May 11, 2018 Another paddle trip on the Saint John’s. Lake Washington. Pull over weir. No water coming over falls low water. Had to pull kayaks a couple times. Drought and too many people using too much water on their exotic lawns. (Lake Washington is Melbourne’s water supply) Less gators this trip most headed north to Lake Winder and deeper water. Many hundreds of Gar were stranded from Irma as the water receded their carcasses still scattering the river banks from the hurricane. Apple snails not as abundant so not as many Limpkins or Night Herons. Still more than usual. Also signs of the evasive armored catfish digging and eroding the river banks for their burrows. First noticed their burrows further south around Three Forks years ago. Midway between Washington and Winder (3 hours) hiked west to find remote ponds? (Goggle Earth) flood plain miles across all looking the same (Willows brambles ect.) very hard going thru deep flora. No trails other than some hog wallows and short broken trails so I’m trail marking as we go. 1 mile in come to first pond very little water Night Heron and some Moor Hens. Not far away locate 2ed pond although bigger in size maybe 100’ across neither one is a Spring as I’d hoped but are both depression marshes. There are 2 ten foot gators in the pond probably stranded from Irma. Unfortunately their fate could very well be like the Gar. I don’t think they can get thru back to the river. We are up to our knees on most steps thru dead vegetation and new growth waist high. With luck they can hold out till next event. 90 degree heat thankfully cloudy. Already a long day decide not to hike another mile north to the next biggest pond. Another day. There is a wonderful chorus of insects singing unabated, not crickets, not cicadas, nothing I’ve heard before. Amazingly secluded remarkably alone… Uncommon the Saint Johns. With Dan Bryant.

St Johns Trip Feb 5-6-7-2018 with Jim Durocher

St John’s Paddle 3-23-2018 It’s been a short 8 days since my last paddle trip. From Lake Washington to Lake Winder was a 9 hour trip well worth the effort. Other than the usual bird life Great Blue Herons, Little Blues, Tri Colored, Snowy Egrets, Green Herons, Great Egrets, Common Egrets, White and Glossy Ibis, Anhinga, Cormorants, Boat tailed Grackles, Red wing blackbirds, Ospreys, Moorhens including 6 Purple Gallinules. The Limpkins and Night Herons were once again in unusual high numbers. We paddled into one remote slough and were privileged to observe a Least Bittern guarding her nest with a single blueish egg. Although they are year round residents in Florida they are not readily spotted. Gators were again in the hundreds with many 12’ and over. With my friend Ernie Green.

St Johns River Kayak Trip: Feb 27&28-2024 If there ever was a perfect day on perfect waters, it was yesterday with my friend Ernie Green. We left Lake Washington one of the connected lakes on the Saint John’s River and paddled the 50 minutes across to the wooden weir to drag our kayaks over to the river proper. The temperature was 45 degrees with a slight north wind. Just out from the weir we passed the only person we’d see that whole day one fisherman in his old wooden boat fishing for river perch. Then we spotted 4 Limpkins feeding on their favorite meal “Apple Snails” The empty shells strewing the shore some almost as big as my fist. We put in at 9:45 and were back at 5:15. In that time we saw an unpresented 50 plus Limpkins and almost as many Night Herons. I’ve been paddling for over 20 years with hundreds of miles on the rivers of Florida and have never encountered such extraordinary numbers of these two species in a same day. With the cool morning the Gators were thick as thieves on shore warming in the sun. We saw well over a hundred Alligators half being from 4 to 8 feet, the other half 8 to 12 feet. There were a few exceptional sized Gators over 12 feet. The Upper Saint John’s is a vast flood plain in some places during flood stage 5 miles across, yet the river itself is tight in many places only 20 to 40 feet in width. As we rounded one tight corner there lying on a high bank was a trio of large Gators one the size I’ve never seen before, and I’ve seen thousands of Gators in my time. To have such an extraordinary encounter, a one on one, in such a remote timeless place with such an amazing creature is beyond words, and then to ponder where you might fit in is a humbling experience. Also on this trip we saw all the usual suspects including, an unprecedented number of Great Blue Herons 30 plus. Ospreys, Sharp Shinned and Red Shoulder Hawks, Turkey and Black Buzzards, King Fishers, Green Herons, Little Blue Herons, Common Egrets, Snowy Egrets with their blazing oversized yellow feet, the noble Great Egret, hundreds of White Ibis many first year birds, the beautiful Roseate Spoonbill, Greater and Lesser Yellow Legs, and a few less seen Black Necked Stilts even a flock of White Pelicans flew overhead miles south from their winter haunts up river at Puzzle Lake. Then Ernie with his “Eagle Eyes” spotted the elusive stunning Purple Gallinule one of only a handful I’ve seen… A remarkable day on the Saint John’s.

Charles H. Bronson State Forest and Wildlife Area Charles H. Bronson State Forest and Wildlife Area:Date 2-23-2019From: North Bronson TrailheadTo: Saint Johns RiverDistance: 12 plus miles/off road trails/bike and hikeTemp low 80’s/light east wind/clear mostly sunny12:25 till 4:30 Amazing bike and hike thru this amazing eco system, covering over 11,000 thousand acres and adjoining The Little Econ State Forest to its north. The Saint Johns River, an American Heritage River forms the eastern boundary of these wildlife forests. There are 3 creeks that flow thru this wildlife ecosystem into the SJR. Joshua creek, Buscombe creek and Christmas creek. This endeavor was prompted by our upcoming 4 days and 3 nights kayak trip. From Lake Poinsett to Lake Harney (40 plus miles) We needed to determine if our choice for our last night camping at Heifer Mound (an indigenous Indian midden) was a good choice. Knowing you have a dry spot to camp is essential. With up to a 5 mile wide flood plain and more tributaries than a spiders web finding a dry spot to camp is always a challenge. No one wants to be on the River with night closing in looking for dry ground. We biked 2.5 hours thru piney flatwoods, open meadows, scrub habit, but mostly thru a striking full canopied mesic forest. Thru sugar sand, trails under water, detouring in a few spots onto the Florida trail (no bikes) We eventually got lucky and found an old road bed that finally got us down to the River. I had researched the area and found there were actually 3 Indian middens in this area. With this many refuge mounds 7 to 10’ in height, it’s a good bet this was a significant Indian settlement dating back 6 to 10,000 years ago, probably the Tuscana Indians. The midden we were interested in was Heifer Mound, the one closet to the river. This high ground would be a good spot to camp unless the water level was to low and the river to far from shore. Hiking thru river bottom is not a good choice. Fortunately the hike to Heifer mound found the river lapping her sandy shore. The bonus was locating and being at these other 2 sacred sites, Saddle mound and Moccasin mound. Saddle mound was spectacular an oasis of big oaks and Sable Palms surrounded by miles of open Savanna. A quarter mile due west of treeless Heifer mound Saddle was dry with the exception of an enchanting moat on its north and south sides. There were water marks on the trees indicating water levels of another 8 feet or more during extreme weather events including hurricanes. Moccasin mound was near- by another quarter mile west and north surrounded by forest on one side and the river savanna on the other. I used an animal trail thru wet and ankle deep water. Appropriately named I saw no Cotton Mouths but the mosquitoes were about. Moccasin is a narrow mound 30’ width by 100’ in length and even though it was further inland there were moats as well on both sides blanketing the still waters in bright green algae. There was a natural earthen bridge halfway over the mound leading across the moat and into this dark lush full canopied forest of towering oaks and palms. I mused in its hushed wonder. “Awesome”. With my good friend Jim Durocher.

Saint John’s at Orange Mound.

Saint Johns Jan 19 2018 Another day on the Saint Johns. Lake Washington down south river . Half dozen Limpkins, 1 Night Heron, 30 lesser yellow legs. Many gators due to high water. 6 or more 12’ plus. Very unusual but thrilling to see so many big gators. Solo paddle. The solitude only tempered by the wind.