Kayaking- Ichetucknee Springs

Ichetucknee River                                                                   3.86 miles

1:52 moving time, 2:14 elapsed time, 2.1mph art speed, 5.1 max speed

We had a slow morning as it was cold out. We drove over to Ichetucknee Springs and left Scotty’s bike at the south entrance of Ichetucknee spring State Park by the bridge. We put in at the North End Launch. There was one other couple putting in at the same time and throughout the day, we passed maybe a dozen people. We couldn’t paddle off into the springs today as they were all roped off with signs that stated reconstruction was happening. I’m sure this river sees a lot of people - it was packed yesterday, so today was really nice. After only about an hour, we wedged our kayaks into some water lilies and ate our lunch in the middle of the river. We saw many turtles along the way, and they just kept sunning as we paddled by. When we got to a wide open, sunny part of the river, we found some manatees. First we floated above 3 of them and then realized there were more just a short distance away. They never cease to amaze me and I really think I could spend hours there watching them. Today there was a baby manatee clinging to Mama’s side. Finally, Scotty said I had to leave. BooHoo! I’m just glad we saw them as it’s not always a guarantee to see them in March. The water was particularly high today as the river spread out into the trees. Around the docks, it was noticeable as the steps and part of the ramps were submerged. We arrived at the South take- out and Scotty rode his bike up to the truck while I walked around the park.

We arrived back at the campground about 2, too early to do another paddle. We cleaned up preparing for an early departure tomorrow. We had dinner and relaxed. We are so enjoying this trailer!

Kayak Trip

Scotty's Bike Trip - 5.6 miles