FLORIDA by Bill Evans

In a word, Florida was fantastic!

For those of us who managed to pry ourselves away from Carnival, Walter Tabary led a great trip to the Homosassa Springs/Crystal River area February 21-24. The trip was to have continued another day, but the crummy weather which plagued Louisiana brought tornadic winds to central Florida early Tuesday and with more heavy weather on the way, folks headed home.

Before Tuesday’s storms, however, the group enjoyed two days of superb weather in two of Florida’s more scenic paddling locales, with plenty of crystal-clear water, numerous underwater springs, fish, birds, serpents and, yes, MANATEES!  Lots of manatees!

Gayle and Harry paddle clear Chassahowitzka waters.

Brown, Steve and Walter in Chassahowitzka cove.

Brown Flynn, a guest from Memphis, joined Haystackers’ Florida trip.

Young Double-crested Cormorant eyes passing scene.

Haystacker Joyce Tracey and the group explored Florida steams.

Curious manatees check out Crystal River visitor.

Steve and Walter explore Chassahowitzka River spring.

In addition to Walter, the delegation included Steve Landry, Joyce Tracey, Harry Wood and Gayle Dyhrkopp, Bill and Betty Evans and guests Brown and Penny Flynn from Memphis.

Paddling Day One began on the Chassahowitzka River. Walter led the group on an exploration of several nearby springs, then downriver over varied sub-surface aquatic grasses, past towering cypress and pines, up a narrow chute into a hidden grotto-like area with more springs, beautiful blue-green water, abundant fish including an intriguing, pencil-thin species (I forget the name) and a wash-tub-sized turtle. Joyce, Harry and Gayle elected to wait outside the chute area and were entertained by what they determined to be a bed of snakes swimming back and forth across the channel.

From there, we paddled a mile or so farther downriver with more fish, birds and beautiful scenery before turning into a stiff headwind for the return to our put-in at the Chassahowitzka River Campground.

That afternoon, Walter, Steve, Brown and Bill paddled several miles of the Withlacoochee River out of Inglis, Fla., before the group gathered for grilled steaks, chops and burgers at a riverside home rented for the trip by the Flynns and Evanses.

Day Two was manatee day.  Alerted by Harry and Gayle to manatees they spotted in an upper reach of Crystal River, we put in at a public launch alongside Charlie’s Fish House Restaurant on U.S. 19 in Crystal River. Paddling out past a island crawling with squawking (and less-than-fragrant) pelicans and a point overseen by a handsome osprey pair, it wasn’t long before Harry, Gayle and Steve spotted the first manatees of the day, a pod which cavorted around their boats endlessly.

Heading up into the springs area of the river system, we were met by a continuous underwater manatee procession, enough that Brown, Steve and Walter suited up in snorkeling gear for an up close and personal view of the bulky, friendly mammals. Brown, floating just underwater, was flanked at one point by two curious manatees, close enough for him to reach out and let his hands slide along their backs as the pair swam gracefully by.

Aside from the manatees, a highlight of Day Two’s paddle was exploration of Three Sisters Springs just upstream. To reach these scenic delights, you paddle through a pipe barrier, up a narrow channel, then into the tri-furcated springs area where most of the water is absolutely crystal-clear. The center spring was particularly striking in the clarity of its water. Probably 15 feet-or-so deep, the conical spring area hosted several dark blobs which upon closer examination turned out to be schools of dozens of fish about ten inches long, clustered closely together. By consensus, Three Sister Springs was one of the trip highlights, f’sure!

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