Kayaking Near Marianna FL

For those of you who don't follow my adventure blog, Northwest Florida Outdoor Adventure, I had an amazing trip on Merritt Mill Pond this weekend. You can view pictures there, on my Suite101.com article and on my Flickr page. If you live close enough be sure to check out the pond. You'll be glad you did.

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A Visit to St. Vincent Island

On Saturday we took a trip out to Port St. Joe along the peninsula down to Indian Pass where the tip of St. Vincent Island lies just a half mile from shore across St. Vincent Sound. The island itself is a National Wildlife Refuge where Red Wolves, Sambar Deer, Red and Gray Fox, feral hog, American Alligator, Nine-banded Armadillo, and Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake can all be found living on the island. Visitors are allowed on the island by day and camping is not permitted. To make getting around on the island easier there are a network of gravel roads traversing the island, however only foot and bicycle traffic are permitted. Visitors can take a shuttle boat over from Indian Pass or do like we did and bring your own kayak or canoe.

Our trip from Fort Walton Beach to Port St. Joe took just under three hours. We arrived early and unloaded the kayaks and gear. It only took a few minutes to get underway and it was a short quick jaunt across the pass. Our group consisted of two Hobie SOT kayaks and two SIK kayaks. It was a green flag day (calm) so the group headed out the pass and paddled along the Gulf side of the island, encountering several dolphin pods along the way, until we were about halfway down before we saw one of the roads (#4) and landed there.

We ate a quick lunch, loaded up our backpacks with water bottles and bug spray and headed in to explore the island. Within just a few yards the sea breeze leaves visitors to the mercy of Florida's brutal heat and humidity. Luckily, having lived in Florida for quite a while, we were acclimated but not happy about it. However, in short order we began encountering the wildlife that St. Vincent Island is famous for.

Our first encounter was with a pack of deer flies. DO NOT FORGET to bring your bug spray with you. Deer flies are nasty, painful creatures capable of inflicting painful bites. We applied our bug spray and pushed onward. Our next encounter was watching a feral pig with piglets crossing the road ahead of us. Next we nearly tripped over a large turtle sitting alongside the road in the tall grass. We took pictures and continued on  to our next encounter with a small group of Sambar deer who bolted onto the roadway in front of us. They were too fast for my camera at the first encounter, but we met up with them again about fifteen minutes down the road and I was able to get pictures as they grazed.

Finally the heat was too much, our water levels low, so we headed back to the beach to cool off and head back to the pass. It was an easy paddle back, having paddled into the wind on the way out, however, once at the pass and with the heating of the day the chop in the pass was a bit intimidating. The SOT kayaks negotiated it without problem, while my SIK kayak had quite the wild ride while I tried to keep the kayak from pitching and rolling in the surf. I wouldn't recommend beginners attempt to negotiate the pass.

I finally made it back to the landing, just a little worse for wear. One of our group got overheated and had to cool down, just another side effect of Florida's heat and humidity. Aside from the heat, humidity and negotiating the pass it was a good trip. We're planning another trip soon with an early start to explore the bay side of the island.

Boiling Creek Revisited — Favorite Florida Float Trips

Once in a while a paddler will come across a river or creek that is so refreshing and pure that it just begs to be revisited. Boiling Creek, located just to the north of the city of Navarre on the Eglin Reservation, is one of these rare gems; a pristine creek of unparalleled beauty and wonder.


The Northern Pitcher Plant in Bloom. (photo by Beverly Hill)

Springtime on Boiling Creek is a magical time. The water lilies, pitcher plants, spadderdock and other wetland plants are in full bloom while flights of damselflies dance in the sky. Osprey soar overhead while secretive otters play hide and seek from the paddlers. Be sure to keep a camera handy. Beauty lies around every bend of the creek, from basking turtles to fish darting through the crystal clear water


Damselfly on a Water Lily. (photo by Beverly Hill)


Water Lily. (photo by Beverly Hill)


Water Lily. (photo by Beverly Hill)


Turtle Basking on a Log. (photo by Beverly Hill)


Aquatic Plants Along Boiling Creek. (photo by Beverly Hill)

For more information on planning a trip on Boiling Creek, be sure to check out this article or read about my previous trip to Boiling Creek here.

Kayaking Along the Emerald Coast

Last weekend turned out pretty good. On Saturday I purchased a Wilderness Systems Tsunami 120 kayak. It's a bright banana yellow (not my first choice, but hey—it was on sale) and I also picked up a kayak cart to help in transporting it when necessary. Then I just had to sit out a rainy Saturday and hope that Sunday would be clear enough to paddle Boiling Creek as planned.

Boiling Creek is a beautiful pristine creek located south of Milton on the Eglin Reservation. The last couple of miles of the paddle is along the Yellow River and although not as scenic, is still a nice place to paddle. I'd heard a lot about this creek in regard to its clear water and vibrant plant life, but I'd never done this particular float trip before and had looked forward to it for weeks. I am thrilled to say that I was not disappointed!

Getting there was a lot easier than getting to some of the other creeks on the Eglin Reservation, and the group that we were traveling with had a good shuttle plan in place so we were all able to drop our kayaks in the water as soon as we got there and head off. Immediately a sense of wonder takes over and it's almost as if you're transported to another time and place.

The water was clear even despite the previous day's rain. Beautiful pitcher plants lined the banks and various types of lilies decorated the surface of the creek. The current itself was slow and easy, allowing me to relax and just enjoy the ride, which was fine. It's easy to get absorbed in watching the aquatic life beneath while drifting along.

At one point an otter leaped into the water between Kris's kayak and my own. It was one of those moments in time that I didn't even bother to fiddle with the camera because I knew I'd never get it focused in time, rather, I just watched the otter swim easily beneath my kayak and disappear into a bed of lilies on the opposite side of the creek.

At one point I angled my kayak in closer so that I could get some detailed pictures of one of the lilies, and to my surprise my kayak started to sing! As the kayak drifted over the top of some of the underwater vegetation, it created the same effect as a bow being drawn across fiddle strings. I'm thinking about christening the new kayak “Siren Song.”

We'd started early to avoid the threat of rain and managed to have a dry trip, even stopping for lunch right before Boiling Creek joins with the Yellow River. This trip has become my favorite float trip by far, even in comparison to Turkey and Econfina Creeks. The sheer peace and tranquility makes it a favorite and I can't wait to get back out there and do it again!

Plan your own float trip on Boiling Creek here.

Kayaking, Snorkeling, and Scalloping

I went snorkeling for scallops this weekend in Port St. Joe and the weather was perfect for it! Our group found the perfect spot to launch kayaks from, St. Joseph Bay Aquatic & Buffer Preserve Kayak & Canoe Launch. Parking was no problem. By sheer coincidence we managed to launch while the tide was in. I usually check the tides, but it completely slipped my mind on this trip.

The most remarkable thing about the kayak launch were the thousands of small fiddler crabs covering the path down to it. I thought my eyes might be playing tricks on me at first; the path looked like it was moving and I could hear clicking noises. As I got closer the chaos continued and I discovered a carpet of fiddler crabs scurrying away from my approach. I've never seen so many in my life!

We put in our kayaks after a brief conversation with another gentleman launching a kayak and then started paddling out into deeper water. Toward the end of scallop season the scallops start heading away from shore and out a bit deeper. Our target was 6-8 feet of water where we'd heard people had been pulling the bigger scallops from. The bigger the scallop, the less scallops you have to clean to get your limit, the limit being 1 pint (cleaned) per person or 2 gallons whole.

I'm not the world's strongest swimmer and I had a bit of trepidation about anchoring in water where I can't touch the bottom. It's hard enough to get in a kayak when it's in the shallows, let alone try to re-enter it when it's in deep water. My kayak is a sit-in, and what I affectionately refer to as a bobber. It's not a low-profile kayak that's made for easy in-and-out access. I'm telling you this because in writing this is called foreshadowing. This paragraph will be important later in the story.

After a few minutes we found a good spot to anchor and hopped in. I have learned from experience that it is much easier to put fins on while in the boat rather than in the water, so I rather awkwardly slithered over the side of the boat almost swamping my little bobber in the process. I put my mask and snorkel on, grabbed a dive bag and my new Canon PowerShot D10 Waterproof Camera and off I went in search of scallops and whatever else might swim my way.

My boyfriend, Kris, was a big help pointing things out for me to take pictures of. He used to be a diver at an aquarium when he was back in high school. He found a Queen Conch for me, a couple of adorable starfish, sand dollars, and a puffer fish. I followed the puffer fish around for quite some time taking pictures, only later to discover that, due to operator error, I hadn't taken a single one. :(

We'd probably been in the water about two or three hours, and as I was happily swimming back to my kayak with a bag full of scallops weighing me down, Kris yells out loud enough for me to hear, “There's a shark in the water.”

Clearly I didn't hear correctly and stopped swimming, “What?”

“The guy in that boat over there,” he says, pointing past me to one of several boats anchored nearby, “is telling everyone to get out of the water because they've spotted a shark.”

I swirled around and looked. Suddenly the other boats were a lot closer than I'd like them to be, but then again, I supposed yelling distance is a good distance. I closed the ten or twelve feet to my kayak in what I'd consider to be a new swimming speed record and somehow managed to not only hurl my dive bag full of scallops onto the closest kayak, but through sheer force of will managed to levitate up and out of the water to delicately plop myself into my kayak.

In truth, I flopped up and onto my kayak like a tired salmon fighting its way upstream. Then I hear Kris tell his friend Stuart, “See, I told you she could get back in her kayak in deep water.”

Normally I'd have some witty and clever comeback, but my next question was, “Where's the shark?” He points to the boat closest to us, maybe half a football field length away. “Alrighty then,” I said. “I'm not getting back into the water.”

I made sure all my arms and legs were onboard my bobber and waited. Our three kayaks were tethered together while we chatted and waited. Kris adjusted the bag of scallops, and as he was dropping it back into the water it grazed my foot (now out of the dive fin and dangling above the water outside of my bobber) and two toes started to bleed. Blood. Great. There's a shark somewhere nearby and my foot is bleeding. Perfect. Can you sense my excitement?

Having an acute sense of survival, I decided that I will not only wait until my foot stops bleeding, but I'm going to have some lunch while I wait for Mr. Shark to get tired of hanging around before I even think about reentering the water.

About an hour later we paddled to a spot just past the boat that signaled the warning and were able to get more details about the shark as we passed them. While they were cleaning scallops a six foot bull shark swam up and circled the boat a few times before disappearing. That's good enough for me. Bull sharks are aggressive and I was glad I stayed in my bobber. Better safe than sorry.

We anchored one last time and did a bit more diving, but it was hitting mid afternoon so we started cleaning scallops (I stayed in my bobber) so we could load up and head back to the hotel. We collected more than the limit and had to put a bunch back. That's okay though, that just means it was a great season for scallops.

Paddling back in was a bit different. When we had first put our kayaks in, I was very perplexed that I hadn't seen the large island that I saw when I looked at the map on Google. Apparently the satellite image had been taken at low tide because the island revealed itself as I was trying to paddle over it. Mystery solved! Luckily my bobber rides high in the water and I only needed a few inches of clearance to paddle. Whew!

We got back to the “fiddler crab” kayak launch, loaded up shop, headed to the hotel, checked in and got cleaned up. Then it was off to “Jo Mama's” for the best brick-oven pizza I've ever tasted. Port St. Joe has a real hometown feel to it, complete with an unhurried, quiet ambiance. You won't find towering condominiums here. This is a destination for people who really want to relax and just enjoy “being.”

All-in-all it was a great trip. We'll definitely be back next year. :)

Scallop photos @ Flickr.

Kayaking in Florida

I've managed to get quite a bit of kayaking in this summer, and I've been paddling all over the Emerald Coast getting photos and material for articles. Best of all I've been having fun doing it and getting fit at the same time.


Right now I have two favorite creeks, but I'm sure one of them will get bumped out of the running later this year if Boiling Creek lives up to expectations. Until then my picks are Turkey Creek and Econfina Creek, the latter of which we'll be doing again this coming weekend. We'll be exploring a different section in order to gain access to more of the springs. I only wish my Canon Powershot D10 12.1 MP waterproof camera had arrived in time. Since I spend so much time on the water, my sweetheart of a boyfriend ordered me one. Alas, it is on back order and I fear that fall and cooler temps will arrive before it does. :(

This past weekend we paddled with a great group of people from the Choctawhatchee Chapter of the Florida Trail Association down Titi Creek near Crestview. The water level was a bit high, but all in all it was a good trip. We plan to paddle it again when the water level is lower.

I've been having so much fun kayaking that I almost haven't had time to sit down and write. I recommend kayaking or canoeing to anyone that's looking to mix fun, relaxation, and a bit of fitness into their routine. It really is an awesome adventure.

Kayaking on Econfina Creek

Eventually I will get around to posting about the Appalachian hike that I went on recently, but right now I'm writing about yesterday's kayaking trip along the Econfina Creek located between Panama City and Marianna, Fl.

It was a bit of a late start. We didn't get into the water until 10:30. The people we were meeting there decided to change their plans and not show up, so it was just me, Kris, and his friend Stuart. The creek was up due to recent rains, but still easy enough to paddle comfortably, and it wasn't long before we'd paddled into the first spring area. This is why we make the trip. Beautiful crystal clear springs! Along Econfina Creek are 11 springs bubbling forth from 36 vents.

We next traveled downstream to visit as many of the springs as we were able to find. The highlight of the trip is a spring system that has numerous vents and is a great place to stop for lunch and a swim, which is exactly what we did. After about an hour exploring the spring, we set off for our pickup point at the Hwy 388 Bridge. Total trip time was about 4 hours.

If you'd like to visit Econfina Creek and explore the springs, contact the Econfina Creek Canoe Livery. Their contact information can be found in this article.