Wekiva River, Blackwater Creek

Put the kayak in the Wekiva River at Katies Landing, Sunday, January 27, 2008 and paddled 4 miles downstream to Blackwater Creek. That's the Creek in the first photo.


The day began cool and cloudy, keeping alligators hidden.


Mostly. This is the only one I saw. The sky did clear, and it warmed up this little fella. Not to warm, the high for the day was 66.






















It rained a few inches last week, and it showed in both the water level and current. Good if you're a mottled duck.



















Also good for paddling downstream. It took 90 minutes of easy paddling to reach the mouth of Blackwater Creek, a four mile trip. When I arrived I saw my first boat of the day, and it was downstream, so we did not cross paths.

Blackwater Creek is a narrow waterway that flows from Lake Norris to the Wekiva. I have yaked it in three spots.
(1) From a launch in the Seminole State Forest, downstream 5 miles to the Wekiva and back. This requires a permit from the Division of Forestry. I did it once. Other attempts to obtain a permit resulted in unreturned messages.

(2) Paddling the upper portion of the Creek near Lake Norris.

(3) Entering the Creek where it joins the Wekiva and going upstream.

Blackwater Creek changes greatly with rainfall. I've paddled it when it the water level with low, water clear from the small springs that feed it. I've paddled it when heavy rains make it hit or miss to locate the channel. This trip, the channel was well defined, level higher than my last visit. Banks where I glimpsed large alligators in the summer and fall were underwater.

I planed to paddle about 90 minutes in the creek. I was at the 70 minute mark when I arrived here.








So I turned around.

















A beautiful, serene, paddle.
The great egret above was not bothered by my presence as I moved closer,

remaining focused on its prey.











I also saw hawks, woodpeckers , anhingas and a lone limpkin in the Creek. Saw the splash of an alligator, diving for cover in the shoreline vegetation as I approached.


Out of the Creek, I had to paddle against the current. Fortunately the wind was at my back.
I took this into consideration when planning my day. Nice when the forecast is correct.








Dave's wading birds + sunning turtles = alligators matrix did not compute this trip. As stated above it was cool and they could have been beneath algae mats like this one.



I had noticed the algae on the way downstream. Coming back, I began to see flecks in the water, and wherever there was a blockage in the River, vast amounts of it bunched up. Smelled a bit too. Runoff from recent rain, I'd reckon.


I encountered five motor boats on the way back, no paddlers.


One green heron.
And one otter. Briefly peeking above the surface, then disappearing. Not even an arched back or flick of tail.

A bit more than six hours after I began I landed at Katies Landing, secured the yak and was on my way home.