Kayaking the Beautiful Ichtucknee River

March 23, 2023                                               Most Recent Posts:
O’Leno State Park                                           Santa Fe River Sink and River Rise
Site 19                                                                Two Weeks at O’Leno State Park
High Springs, Florida

One month ago today exactly I was kayaking on the Ichtucknee River.  I was out early to miss the crowds and the sun was blinding as I set out from the dock.  I launched from the farthest put in possible in the state park and paddled up the river.  Against the current became very tiring as I neared the top put in where many tubers and kayakers launch and take a shuttle back up. 

The lighting was much better once I was in the shade of the trees that line some sections of the river.

There were several lovely stands of Spider Lilies along the bank.  I liked these in particular with the large cypress as a back drop.

It was difficult to get pictures as I was paddling up against the current, I couldn’t set my paddle down,  so I was particularly lucky to get this kingfisher though it’s not the best shot.  I love their zipping flight and chattering call.

Yes that’s a manatee in ahead on the right.  We passed each other but I wasn’t able to let go of the paddles long enough to get another shot.

First time I’ve ever caught a wood duck calling.

This group was piled up in the center of the river on my way up.  I saw them again on my way back  and assume it was the same group despite the fact that the up and back took three and a half hours.

This was one of the highlights of the morning.  This is how far I am from the egret.  Happily I was able to get myself stopped to watch this breakfast endeavor and my zoom lens allowed me to get the following shots.

Here’s the series that I took of him as he attempted to get the fish in just the right position. According to the times on my pictures, only 30 seconds as I snapped away.

Second highlight was the otters.  How long they are always amazes me.

If the group of turtles in the middle of the river was the pile up then I guess this is a  line up.

The Limpkin has the perfect camouflage in this spot.

The Green Heron is among my favorites of the birds I see in Florida.

And boy was I surprised to see the Wood Stork.  The only place I travel in Florida where I reliably see him is Myakka River and I did not go there this year.  So this was a treat.  Surprised he was all alone.

The Ichtucknee flows into the Santa Fe and if you remember my River Sink/River Rise post (link at the top of this post)  you will remember that this is a limestone karst landscape with lots of sinkholes, caves, fissures and other openings.  The banks of the Ichtucknee are particularly interesting.

I did reach the headspring area or at least as far up as they will allow you to kayak.  I couldn’t get any closer to look around and see if it was the head spring since people were  putting in for the easier trip down stream.  I was very happy to turn around and have a more leisurely look at my surroundings.

No way to take a picture of this low hanging limb paddling up  but I did manage this one before I had to duck to get under.  Not sure what really tall people do here.  But it doesn’t seem to stop anyone.

Most waters are not clear enough and turtles not near the surface enough for me to get pictures of them in the water.  I’ve tried and failed numerous times.  This was stroke of great luck.  I just looked down and saw him and was able to get the camera in time.

An even bigger line up.

At points the Ichtucknee is not narrow and tree shaded.

My egret friend was still fishing as I floated and paddled back.

I have always found Wood Ducks to be quite skittish when I am on rivers or lakes in all states, especially the female.  But this year they were quite willing to ignore me.

On my return the manatee were hanging out by this sign and its reflection really ruined my pictures.  This time the problem was that I went by too quickly to investigate another angle.

The fish near the smaller manatee were not as clear in the water as the turtle, but there were a group of them.

I was able on the return trip to get better pictures of the Wood Stork.  My friend Pam, who actually thinks vultures are cute, should like him.   I find his head prehistoric looking.  He has gorgeous black tipped wings which he unfortunately wasn’t showing to me.

He looks like he’s asking me “What are YOU staring at?”

How about those orange feet and long toes?

I think I just missed a Limpkin bath here.

I saw almost no one on my paddle up but the people on the river increased on my paddle down.  I was mostly floating but lots of folks were actually paddling and over taking me from the put in.   From this shot you can see how shallow the river is.  It seemed the group stopped so this guy could get out and get wet to cool off.

The river water is so beautifully clear.

I felt like it was one of Nature’s blessings after another for me today when  I spotted this Red Shouldered Hawk in a tree above my head.  Then to top that off,  he flew down and gave me a fantastic show of his wings.

The karst landscape along the river looks like caves here.

As I neared the last  take out where I’d come in,  the river narrowed and became more tree covered which I really love.  Earlier as I paddled up against the current I had thought,  “I don’t think I’ll do this again”.  It’s difficult for one person to do the put in and take out here but it was such a wonderful morning on this river that it’s hard not to want to come back.

After such a fantastic paddle, I ended the day with more basketball heaven.  Two games at once.  AMAZING on the road.  But my bracket, Carrie’s and Matthew’s also, was totally busted very early on.  So the greatest excitement was in the upsets in the early rounds.   No number one or two seeds made it to the Final 4 where it became  pretty clear who was going to win it all. 

 

And that leads me to let you know, that those those of you who are tired of my 5 months of hiking and kayaking in Florida will be pleased to know that I start my run up the east coast to spend spring in Virginia with my next post.   No more mention of basketball.  It won’t take me long to catch up to current then.