Silver River

The boat ramp at Rays Wayside opened back up on Saturday, April 18.  Time to paddle the Silver River before more people find out.   To late. At the last traffic light on Highway 40,  2 pickups with kayaks pull out of the Winn Dixie parking lot. Darn.   Entering the park, another pickup, with kayaks, behind me.  In the lot, maybe 10 vehicles with boat empty boat trailers at 7:15 AM.

In the canal at 7:34, before any of the kayakers.   A motor boat was behind me, it went down the Silver River, to the Ocklawaha River.  No fishing on the Silver River

The very rare, headless wood duck

The Silver River is low.  That, plus not getting the usual boating activity for the last month, has it very clear.  Or had. Got busy later in the day. But on the way up, I had it almost to myself.  A couple in a johnboat motored past me

Always nice to see a deer.

The campground launch site

Also nice to see monkeys

A Chorus Line

Me and my bluegill

Or brim, for all y'all native Southeners.  Chain pickerel, below

I paddling along the right bank, checking out the springs on that side.

Over the main spring. AKA Mammoth Spring 

It was nice not having to keep an eye out for glass bottom boats. Or, any boats.  The couple in the jon boat, had already left

Investigating the springs on the opposite side of the River as I headed down stream

I entered the Fort King Paddling Trail and headed back up stream.  Before late 2013, when the State took over the Park, there was no kayaking here.  Just a "jungle cruise" tour boat.

River photos. Out of order.

Back to Paddling Trail pics

First kayakers since leaving Rays Wayside.  And, a glass bottom boat.

The biker on the bridge is a Park volunteer.

Crowd at Mammoth Spring.  Time for me to go

Restore the Ocklawaha

I no longer had the River to myself

There was a LOT of traffic on the River.  Kayaks, paddle boards, motor boats.  More jetskis than I have ever seen.  Shouldn't they be doing endless circles on some lake?  Rays Wayside may have opened, other area ramps, on the Ocklawaha River, have not

Landed at 1:27.  Almost a 6 hour paddle

Normally, I would vist one of the springs in the Ocala National Forest, after a Silver River paddle.  But they are all closed.  Instead, I stopped at a Florida Trail trailhead, on Highway 19

The closed sign refers to the bombing range in the Forest.  I was not going that far.

Sink hole

Turned around, here.

Deer moss.  I have yet to see a deer, in deer moss.

Two sinkholes, on each side of the trail.  Seems to me, that means the trail will collapse here one day

I did step over this log.  More like, sit, straddle and shift.

I waved to the camera

Half hour walk