Daily Double: Econfina River campsite

The NOAA marine weather forecast talks of a storm coming through on Thursday and Friday. Winds will reach 20 to 25 mph on Thursday with gale force winds and heavy rain that night. Friday is similar, with a cold front moving in. We have planned for paddling in 15-20 mph conditions, and our itinerary allows for zero days (no miles) when the weather is more severe.

We sat in the tent last night considering options.  Pinhook camp appears to be at the edge of the trees, but the next campsite after that is several miles up the Econfina River.  That sounds more protected, but means we do double miles, though not excessive. The campsites are small and by reservation only, and we are reserved for Pinhook. Econfina is probably vacant but we are not sure. We opt for the extra miles and decide to use the good weather on Wednesday to get a day ahead, so that we can hole up.

As we packed up, Joe with the St Marks National Wildlife Refuge stopped by to make sure we had heard of the storm. He cautioned us to expect heavy rain, and also warned that if the winds are from the north they will blow the water out into the gulf exposing a large mudflat. We need to make sure our plans account for low water. While we know to take tides into consideration, the idea that winds can drop the water level by a foot and leave an exposed mudflat for a mile offshore is new to us.

We caught the ebb (outgoing) tide to ride out of camp, though we faced a 0.7 knot current against us in the gulf. We both just got into a rhythm paddling and went several hours without a break, and averaged nearly 3 mph. While we knew from months of chart study how shallow the gulf is, it still seems baffling that we can be in three feet of water two miles offshore.

We realize that the push to get to safe ground means we do not have time to explore up the numerous streams. But we camped up one stream last night, will go up another tonight, and still have many days in the Big Bend area. And actually it felt real good to just paddle. It has been too long, since we haven't had time to paddle since the beginning of November, six weeks ago.

We again get help with a flood (incoming) tide pushing us up the river to camp. Only an hour of light remains to land the boats and make camp. The landing is a bit tricky with a muddy scramble up a couple of feet.

The Econfina site is gorgeous, with tall cabbage palms and short palmettos, mixed with pine, tupelo and even a couple of cedar. The site is new one, having been moved further upstream to a drier location. Billed as a primitive campsite, it has a tent platform built as an Eagle Scout project and an unused fire ring and grate. We make camp, again finishing in the dark, and drop to sleep easily.

 

Distance 16 
High 72, Low 34  Clear
Wind 5 mph