Dance After Dark Photography

Alternate title: Daunting is the St Johns River

This afternoon I took out my Wilderness Systems Pamlico 145T for the first time. I worked until noon and then rushed home to haul the kayak out of the garage and explore. I had been looking forward to my inaugural trip since I bought the kayak on Wednesday, and I very happily carried the kayak to my car, muscled it up onto the roof, and strapped it down. I’ve never been great with knotwork, but I did well enough securing the kayak so it wouldn’t escape in transit. It took about 20 minutes this time, but I imagine that will go faster with practice.

Today I left from Monroe Wayside Park in Sanford. It’s on the south side of the St Johns, where Highway 17-92 and Interstate 4 cross the river. I wasn’t prepared for the multitudes of boat trailers. Every time I visited in the past to see the old swinging bridge that used to carry 17-92 over the river, the park was mostly deserted. There were usually one or two vehicles, but today the parking lot was full and there was a steady line of people in trucks still waiting to offload their boats. Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait to use the boat ramp. I tromped along through the mud, dragging my kayak behind me, and set off upriver. I passed the power plant, the Port of Sanford, and a few riverfront estates. I made it as far as the first big bend, about 2 miles, before the wake from all the passing boats and the very strong winds prompted me to turn back.

I underestimated the St Johns. I was comfortable enough with the kayak, but I had to fight the strong current and the strong wind to keep from drifting right into the main boat channel. With all of the traffic, that would have been disastrous. Staying close to shore was a battle, and even then I had to ride out the wake of a steady stream of boats. On the upside, I came very close to three osprey and saw several others diving for fish about 20 feet away. Today alone I saw more large birds than I’ve seen in all the time spent on the Wekiva.

We’ll assume 4 miles total. According to FitLinxx, which tracks my exercises at the YMCA and lets me manually log things like this, 4 miles of strong exertion equates to about 936 calories burned. And now I’m off to cook bratwurst and Himmel und Erde. It’s German for “Heaven and Earth,” a mashed potato recipe that calls for bacon, apples, and butter.

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