Suwannee River Paddle Dec. 17: Day 3: Holton Creek River Camp (rm 140.9) to Dowling Park River Camp (rm 113.2)

Woke up at 6:15 AM. Prepping last night helped us get on the river more quickly this morning. I spoke to my dad last night on the phone and rain is expected today starting around noon or 1 PM. So we wanted to make sure we got an early start today. We were on the river by 8 AM... much better than yesterday.
We paddled quickly and efficiently in the morning. We stopped briefly at a beautiful unnamed spring (approx. rm 130.8) on the edge of Suwannee River State Park. Around 12:15 PM we reached the launch at Suwannee River State Park. We took a bit too long for lunch, but enjoyed the break. My email slowly updated, so that was nice to check. After lunch the kids wanted a turn in the canoe. We obliged, but considering how much we still had to paddle we weren’t super excited about trying to figure out the kayaks. There were a series of shoals/rapids and John and I took the first one in a way that splashed us and the kayaks with lots of water. We stopped a bit later to empty the kayaks. The kids kept getting ahead of us in the canoe (with most of our rain gear) and when it started raining at 2:30 PM they were not near us. John and I got soaked before we caught them. We had a long and drizzly paddle from 2:30 to around 5:30 PM or so when we arrived at Dowling Park River Camp (rm 113.2). There were points when we were paddling into the wind and it was really, really difficult. Kayaking definitely uses different muscles than canoeing. That was surprising to me.
Fortunately, we were the only ones at the river camp tonight. Apparently there were 12 people camping last night. We took over the picnic area to put out all our wet coats and socks, etc. We also cooked up hot food and took turns warming up in the hot shower. I called my dad since I couldn’t access the internet for a weather update. Then, since tomorrow is forecast to be cold with a low of 32 F, I made a room reservation at Suwannee River Rendezvous. We used Hot Hands in our socks to keep our feet warm as we snuggled into our sleeping bags. It is supposed to be 38 F in the morning.
Everyone in bed by 9pm.
10 hrs 17 minutes on the river. 29.14 miles paddled

Suwannee River Paddle Dec. 16: Day 2: Woods Ferry River Camp (rm 159.3) to Holton Creek River Camp (rm 140.9)

Everyone woke up at different times between 7:30 and 9 AM. We had a slow morning and spent time around the fire. Eventually we started packing up. We got on the river much later than expected. 11:30 ish. The weather was warm and gorgeous by the time we got going. We stopped and played at Mattair Springs. John and Ezi swung off a rope swing into the river. Edon just swung on it. Our next stop was at Suwannee Springs. The day was beautiful and fun. The only stress was John being concerned we would end up arriving after dark again to the river camp and a general disappointment that we couldn’t possibly arrive there by 4pm, like he had hoped when he got up at 7:30 AM.
One benefit of the river's low water levels is getting to look at the beautiful and varied limestone rock along the river’s edges.
We paddled around 19 miles and ended up at the river camp around 6 PM. This camp accommodates hikers on the Florida Trail and paddlers from the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail. There was no camp host today, but a nice guy gave up the only non-occupied cabin he had planned to sleep in when he heard we had a reservation. That was so honest of him. Hot showers, for real this time! And much much warmer weather. Low 60s. I think last night was in the upper 30s. The boys hung their hammocks in the screen platform. Each platform has hammock hooks. The camp was completely asleep by 9pm.
18.94 miles paddled.

Suwannee River Paddle Dec. 15: Day 1: Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park (rm 168.3) to Woods Ferry River Camp (rm 159.3)

Today we woke up around 7:15am in Gainesville and started packing up to leave my sister’s house. John realized the Tesla needed charging and he needed coffee, so he went to Butler Plaza to take care of those things. We didn’t really plan for breakfast, but the kids had some Lara Bars in their bags so we ate those for breakfast while we waited for John. Edon and Ezi went and filled my car with gas, John arrived and we set off at 8:45 am. It was 45 minutes later than I would have liked. I (mistakenly) thought we planned to paddle 19 miles today and kept hurrying everyone. It took a little less than an hour to get to Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. We unpacked the cars at the canoe launch and saw a sign saying the Woods Ferry River Camp was just 9 miles away. Relieved that I had got today’s paddle mixed up with tomorrow’s, I calmed down a bit.
John and Edon took both cars and headed to Bill’s Fish Camp near Anderson's Landing (rm 4) to drop the Fit off. They needed to stop and charge the Tesla again, this time in Lake City. Then, they continued to Bill’s Fish Camp. We should be able to leave the car there for $5.50/night.
Next, John and Edon plan to drive to my sister’s in Gainesville again (and charge the car again). My sister, Alee, will drive John and Edon back to Stephen Foster where we will eventually start our trip. Alee will take our car back to Gainesville and we will pick it up at the end of our trip. Most likely, John and Edon will fetch it while Ezi and I watch our stuff at Bill’s Fish Camp.
If time allows this evening, we will paddle the 2.7 miles to the Hwy 41 Bridge/White Springs Wayside Park before heading downstream to the River Camp. It is the official launch site of the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail.
While John and Edon were driving around Central Florida, Ezi and I hauled all of our stuff down to the river‘s edge. We ate some granola. Then, we organized everything as best as we could in the boats. Ezi did parkour and watched 6 Underground, which is a new show on Netflix that features a bunch of the parkour artists he follows. I worked on the blog post.
The weather is nice and warm and sunny. I am enjoying it while I can.
We want to arrive at the River Camp before dark, so we may need to skip the upstream paddle.
Ezi and I were expecting John and Edon back around 2 PM. However, at 1:45 PM I spoke with John. He had gotten caught in standstill traffic on his way to Gainesville from Suwannee. They probably won’t make it back to Ezi and I until closer to 4 PM. So, we will be heading straight to the river camp. There are definitely less beautiful places and days to be left all day waiting.
The river camps are supposed to be amazing, with electricity, hot showers, and raised screen enclosures to sleep in.
We arrived at Woods Ferry River Camp around 7:15 PM after setting off around 4:15 PM. It was a little stressful trying to find the river camp in the dark. The river camp has a gigantic ramp running down to the river, so it actually wasn’t hard to find even though we were nervous it would be. The stars were beautiful as we floundered down the river in the dark. John and Ezi each saw a shooting star.
The screen rooms with lights and electricity are awesome. Each camping platform has a picnic table and fire pit near it. We bought a bunch of firewood for six dollars. We cooked up dinner and went to go shower. John and Ezi had hot showers, but Edon and I only had lukewarm. That was a disappointment for sure. By 10 PM we were all in the tent and most of us were asleep.
9.45 miles paddled.

Suwannee River Paddle Dec. 14: Day Zero: Packing and Driving to Gainesville

My husband used to play Tom Sawyer as a kid. When I met him he dreamed of one day floating down the Mississippi River. Then, about 15 years ago he heard about the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail. Paddling the Suwannee River and staying at the river camps along the way became his new goal. Finally, we are going to do it.
Our original plan had been to try to canoe the entire river from its beginning at Billy’s Island in the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia around river mile (rm) 244 to its mouth (rm 0) in the Gulf of Mexico near the town of Suwannee, FL. However, the upper part of the river is rain fed and is too low at the moment to really paddle. If the river is less than 51ft at White Springs then it is considered too low to paddle anywhere upriver of White Springs. Paddling is possible in some places upriver, but there are numerous places portaging is required.
Our new plan is to set off from Stephen Foster Folk Cultural State Park near White Springs, FL. However, when we tried to reserve a campsite at the park, it was completely booked. So, a couple of weeks ago we decided to stay at my sister’s apartment in Gainesville Saturday night and get on the river Sunday.
We packed for about 8 hours straight today. We had been ordering and buying essential trip items, but have been so busy that we have not had time to organize, much less, begin to pack them.
As we started assembling items to pack it seemed impossible that they would all fit in the canoe and kayaks. To our amazement everything fit easily! I chose to leave behind two pairs of pants and a puffy winter coat. They actually would have fit in the canoe, but I couldn’t fit them in my dry bag. Since we are expecting rain, I decided just to leave them.

We arrived in Gainesville around 8:15pm. My sister had purchased a bunch of food from Trader Joe’s for dinner and we helped her prepare it. By the time we finished eating and cleaning up we were exhausted and all went to bed.

Sea Scouts Summer Trip: Day 6

It was decided that 8am was a reasonable time to wake up. Then we all needed to eat breakfast, unload all of our personal belongings from the boat, finish cleaning up everything, check the boat in, and head home. A few people woke up before 8am, but lots of people made the most of the chance to sleep in a bit. Everyone had breakfast and worked on bringing all of their belongings to their cars. Since we had bought too many provisions, we decided to split the items left among everyone. It was actually highly entertaining seeing which item got snatched up by whom. After that was done it didn't take too long to get the rest of our stuff off the boat. Ezi walked to CVS and bought ice for our cooler. It took a while to tetris our stuff into the Trailblazer, while making sure to leave room for 5 passengers. The kids rinsed and scrubbed the deck and just after 10am Edon took a 12-person selfie of everyone and the boat. Only 11 people showed up in the photos, so that's too bad. Doug and Jeanne kindly offered the stay and check the boat in and let the rest of us head home. So, we said our goodbyes.  A rainy, uneventful drive back to the west coast ended this unique and memorable trip!