The Silver River

Water clarity- 10 (this river is my ‘benchmark’ for all others)

Natural Quality – 9 (only the traffic noise took away here)

Difficulty – moderate to advanced

Wow, I wouldnt’ve guessed a day in the kayak could be so nice – as a kid growing up our family use to ‘float’ some nearby Florida springs several times a year (Rock Springs near Orlando), I still get cold thinking about that water.

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I don’t know if we shivered because of the temperature – or in anticipating an alligator (which never came).  We would usually just snorkel or float past then, but this is the first time I have been back in a few years and the first trip riding spring water with my kayak.

I headed to the boat ramp to meet my cousin whom used to swim those springs with us, and being an early-bird for about everything I was at the ramp at 630.   Our communication had been a little shady with me traveling over the past few days – so I really wasn’t sure if she could make it – but I hoped so.

I waited until nine am and knowing that if she could make it she would catch up with me so I shoved off, might have waited a little longer but some guy started talking and wouldn’t shut-up – he talked for an hour as I waited, I just wanted ‘peace’ (short stories aren’t bad) - it was time to shove off.

So I left the ramp and paddled up the Silver against the stream, really not too bad just a matter of keeping to the inside of the curves and outside of the main current, I paddled for hours – but never noticed anything but how peaceful and natural it all was, no fishing, no big boats, no noise…..  Turtles and birds did not always leap off of the stumps as I passed, I could usually get within two feet, on the return float I got even closer.

With the crystal clear water the turtles that were in the water just appeared to be suspended below me, large dark fish idled along the bottom and ‘lazed ‘ in the clear sandy areas of the bottom, gar passed inbetween.  The cormorants (yes I know the other name for them) would dive and swim after a fish, all easy to see from above.  It was possible to see thirty feet down, the nooks and crevices added to the character of the bottom while the current moved the occasional seaweed like a slowly waving flag on a warm summer day..

The natural peace of it all was everywhere – the shorelines were filled with cypress trees and their knotty protrusions, palmetto bushes, tall oak trees, and dead lifeless ones too.  I passed complete trees suspended under the water, it all had that three dimensional feel to it (like Tahoe) – a different view in volume that’s for sure.

The time went by pretty fast, before I knew it I was hearing the voices of the glass-bottom boats describing the scenery to the tourists, so I floated along and listened….

At the mouth of the springs was the main park, coming by kayak as I did it was necessary for me to stay in the water, to do otherwise I could be charged with trespass – but that was fine, I just opened my Subway sandwich and began to simply ‘go with the flow’…… and I did.

For the next three hours I peacefully coasted along, only seeing two other kayakers and a troupe of ‘bantering’ monkeys along the way.

Now I had a little calibration and a single ‘beverage’ in my pack to keep my Sandwich cold, with the sandwich consumed – I thought “What the heck?”

Proper disposal required.

as I floated along……………..

It was really peaceful leaning back with my feet up and atop the kayak, enjoying the natural beauty of it all.  With the bright sun I noticed my shadow moving along the creeks sandy bottom below the clear water – the setting was comfortable to say the least.  As I basked within the wonder of it all, something made me think of killer whales coming up on their prey – and then I thought about the alligators.

Now the Native Florida Black Alligator is not an aggressive beast, we can live in harmony and do – I saw three on this date – still, I did put my feet back in the kayak.

Actually, the ‘banter’ from the troupe of wild monkeys got my attention more than the ‘gator,’  – there really was a natural cycle going on here and it was great to be in position to just ‘listen in’ to it all……

Reluctantly I made the turn back to the boat ramp around 4 pm, it was a really incredible float….

worth every moment….,  (more Silver River picts)

Fall/winter/weekday are positives, insects are minimal – larger animals moving slow….. traffic low.

Holler if you want company…. (tomhaynie@yahoo)

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