Wacissa River, Florida
October 2004
by Gary Worob
I recently came back from "trippin" around the U.S. and thought I would sit still and just paddle locally until a phone call came asking if I wanted to join the Georgia Canoe Club on their Wacissa River trip. It is a paddle that is nearly impossible to miss and one of my five favorite places to paddle, so far.
The Wacissa is located south of Talahassee, just off of Hwy. 59, and is a fairly swift moving river, fed by no less than 12 magnitude springs. This means it is crystal clear even when other rivers have been overrun with rain and runoff and turned dark. The river is full of fish and thousands of wading birds, eagles, hawks and alligators. If you are a diver, there are several springs to explore and many other dive caves in the vicinity.
The river is almost entirely free of development and with a group of 36 paddlers, we were able to spread out enough on the five hour paddle so that congestion was never an issue. Many people chose to explore the banks for most of the trip, as there were lots of visuals to appreciate, including the beautiful plants and flowers in bloom. My favorite was the lobelia cardinalis.
There were four of us from the Mobile Bay Canoe & Kayak Club and we knew only a couple of the Georgia people but it was a great group to explore with. Camping was free and wonderful at Goose Pastures which was the take out point. It was also the part way point, if you intended to paddle the lower section through the slave canal, which is another 3-4 hour paddle and best done with someone who knows the way.
On the way home, we stopped for a tour at Wakula State Park, only a half hour from the take out at Goose Pastures. We were amazed to see the facilities and history. Several old movies were filmed there, including "Creature from the Black Lagoon" and the original Johnny Weismuller "Tarzan" movies. The hotel there is beautiful and worth the thought for a getaway vacation. We also stopped at one of my favorite springs on the way back...Blue Springs on the Econfina River, above Panama City on Hwy. 20. I have reserved the campgrounds there several times before(which holds 24 campers and is right on a spring), through the Northwest Florida Water Management. It costs about $20 for the whole weekend for everyone. Reservations are from January 1 and can only be for a friday afternoon through monday morning. They are difficult to obtain for a weekend, but are well worth it.
You can go online to see Wacissa Springs stories and photos and then think about a great getaway. If you don't have enough people to shuttle, then look at www.seakayakflorida.com and think about a round trip of about seven miles from the put-in at Wacissa.
There is a group campsite with locked gate available at Goose Pastures. It comes with a pavilion, lots of tables and great campsites for plenty of people. There is no electric or water service available, just great camping next to the river.
If you take Hwy. 20 east, which is a very mellow drive compared to I-10, stop at RJ's Fishhouse, a few miles east of Hosford and just a couple hundred yards off 20 on 0120. Have some fried pickles, great fish and good service.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
McVoys Lake from Cloverleaf Landing
Saturday, October 23, 2004
by Brint Adams brint.adams@us.army.mil
We drove up Hwy. 225 past Blakeley State Park and turned left on Cloverleaf Landing Lane to the Tensaw River. At 9:00 AM, it was partly cloudy, 73 degrees with a slight southerly breeze. The tide was high and just starting to fall.
We paddled north up the Tensaw and quickly turned right between the grassy islands as we headed into McVoy's Lake. There were splashes of color along the way as we saw burr marigold, water hyacinth and cardinal flower. There were also some very tiny blue flowers, and some lavendar and white flowers.
When we left McVoys, we paddled down the Tensaw past the Cloverleaf and the bluff at the turn in the river towards Blakeley State Park. At a point about 50 meters north of the boat dock where the Delta Explorer ties up, we turned into a tiny passage into the thick woods. On the USGS map, it looks like this is called Baptizing Branch. It is a beautiful, quiet meandering creek that goes deep into the woods in Blakeley. Although we did not realize it until we were right next to him, we snuck up on a large gator, who quietly dropped below the surface within one foot of the side of our canoe. I was thankful Linda did not see him at all.
After leaving this hidden paradise, we stopped at the Blakeley covered shelter along the wooden walkway overlooking the Tensaw. We ate lunch and then took a leisurely walk around the nature trail looping back to the river.
On our way back upriver along the bluff, we experienced our first bald eagle sighting. He was absolutely magnificent as he circled around us at a relatively low altitude of no more than fifty feet. We just stopped paddling and watched him for about five minutes. It was a great way to finish off the paddle on a beautiful morning.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
by Brint Adams brint.adams@us.army.mil
We drove up Hwy. 225 past Blakeley State Park and turned left on Cloverleaf Landing Lane to the Tensaw River. At 9:00 AM, it was partly cloudy, 73 degrees with a slight southerly breeze. The tide was high and just starting to fall.
We paddled north up the Tensaw and quickly turned right between the grassy islands as we headed into McVoy's Lake. There were splashes of color along the way as we saw burr marigold, water hyacinth and cardinal flower. There were also some very tiny blue flowers, and some lavendar and white flowers.
When we left McVoys, we paddled down the Tensaw past the Cloverleaf and the bluff at the turn in the river towards Blakeley State Park. At a point about 50 meters north of the boat dock where the Delta Explorer ties up, we turned into a tiny passage into the thick woods. On the USGS map, it looks like this is called Baptizing Branch. It is a beautiful, quiet meandering creek that goes deep into the woods in Blakeley. Although we did not realize it until we were right next to him, we snuck up on a large gator, who quietly dropped below the surface within one foot of the side of our canoe. I was thankful Linda did not see him at all.
After leaving this hidden paradise, we stopped at the Blakeley covered shelter along the wooden walkway overlooking the Tensaw. We ate lunch and then took a leisurely walk around the nature trail looping back to the river.
On our way back upriver along the bluff, we experienced our first bald eagle sighting. He was absolutely magnificent as he circled around us at a relatively low altitude of no more than fifty feet. We just stopped paddling and watched him for about five minutes. It was a great way to finish off the paddle on a beautiful morning.
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Whiskey Ditch
Saturday, October 16, 2004
By Brint Adams brint.adams@us.army.mil
This trip brought out both old experienced paddlers as well as newbies on a magnificent morning in the delta. We had a total of nine boats and eleven paddlers take advantage of the perfect weather. The temperature started out at about 68 degrees and when we returned was about 75 degrees with a slight southerly breeze and absolutely clear sky.
After our put-in at the old Riverdoc's parking lot, and with a low tide, we paddled lazily eastward down Pass Picada past the restaurants and turned north up the Apalachee River. The tide was low and still dropping as we entered Whiskey Ditch along the west side of the Apalachee about 0.75 miles north of the turn. Along the way we saw Blue Herons, White Egrets, White Ibis, Cormorants, various terns, gulls and ducks.
Once we turned into Whiskey Ditch, we also saw about ten White Pelicans in migratory formation as well as a Red Tailed Hawk circling overhead. As for foliage, the burr marigolds were everywhere in full bloom and glorious. There were also water hyacinth blooming as well as a plant with groupings of white petals along a straight vertical stalk which I believe is duck potato.
With the water low and still flowing out, we paddled to the small lake at the end where we stopped for a few minutes before our return. On the way back, a 4" bass jumped into our canoe in order to get his picture taken. Once back on the Apalachee, a larger mullet jumped over the middle of our canoe right in front of my face.
This was just a great time to be alive and enjoy the outdoors in the lower Alabama river delta.
Saturday, October 16, 2004
By Brint Adams brint.adams@us.army.mil
This trip brought out both old experienced paddlers as well as newbies on a magnificent morning in the delta. We had a total of nine boats and eleven paddlers take advantage of the perfect weather. The temperature started out at about 68 degrees and when we returned was about 75 degrees with a slight southerly breeze and absolutely clear sky.
After our put-in at the old Riverdoc's parking lot, and with a low tide, we paddled lazily eastward down Pass Picada past the restaurants and turned north up the Apalachee River. The tide was low and still dropping as we entered Whiskey Ditch along the west side of the Apalachee about 0.75 miles north of the turn. Along the way we saw Blue Herons, White Egrets, White Ibis, Cormorants, various terns, gulls and ducks.
Once we turned into Whiskey Ditch, we also saw about ten White Pelicans in migratory formation as well as a Red Tailed Hawk circling overhead. As for foliage, the burr marigolds were everywhere in full bloom and glorious. There were also water hyacinth blooming as well as a plant with groupings of white petals along a straight vertical stalk which I believe is duck potato.
With the water low and still flowing out, we paddled to the small lake at the end where we stopped for a few minutes before our return. On the way back, a 4" bass jumped into our canoe in order to get his picture taken. Once back on the Apalachee, a larger mullet jumped over the middle of our canoe right in front of my face.
This was just a great time to be alive and enjoy the outdoors in the lower Alabama river delta.
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