Weekend Paddle on the Ocklawaha

>Hello all,
>I just read Sandy's account of the Suwannee hike and was thinking that last
>weekend was a better one for us outdoor trekkers than the one before.  We
too
>had a "Hog Island experience" scouting the River for this last weekend.  We
>ended up out on the Rodman Reservoir with dark fast approaching, having
>missed our first channel and unable to find Orange Springs Landing.
Luckily
>some fishermen came along and led us in the channel.  If you are in a Kayak
>your low position on the water works against you there, as the channel is
not
>well defined and standing up in a kayak is something I am still waiting to
do!
>But this last weekend with 20 paddlers between our church outdoor group and
>the Otters went very smoothly.  The only encounters that marred the day at
>all were the airboats, but then one came flying (almost) out of our channel
>just as we were approaching it.  You couldn't miss it!
>The day was beautiful and the fall color along the river is still quite
>spectacular, especially when combined with the fall blooming purple asters,
>yellow swamp daisies and abundant bird life.  Pleasant company and a great
>trip!  All but 2 hardy souls (Ku and Herve) took out at Cypress Bayou and
>those two paddlers made the final part of the trip in about an hour and a
>half.  We put in at Eureka by the barge canal bridge and proceeded north
for
>about 6 miles with a stop at a landing for lunch.  We put in at 10:30 and
>pulled our boats out about 2pm.
>Thanks for all the help and support on this venture, especially from Ku!
>Mary Bahr;-)
>

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