Back on the road again: Spring Warrior campsite

As evening approached yesterday and we readied to spend the third night at this tiny campsite, up paddled two kayaks. Clint and Cory, clad in shorts and a jacket, arrive from Aucille Launch. Since we held back from paddling today, tonight the camp is reserved for them. Liz had thought they would not launch given the weather and we could probably stay. But they are very friendly and quickly sort out a place to tent.

They report that the conditions are not too bad. They had a tailwind and mild chop so needed some boat control but nothing too hard. We were disappointed to hear that conditions were that mild. We could have easily paddled. Now we are on the same schedule as Clint and Cory so we decide to paddle a double today to get back a day ahead of them and not be in their way.  Good grief, another double!

Clint has done ultra-light backpacking and applied that knowledge to kayaking. That is encouraging. We spend so much time tending to our mountain of gear. I long for simplicity.

We start the day with a special treat. Liz hiked in with hot coffee and hot breakfast. Yes!  Trail Angel! She wanted to get video footage of paddlers in the new campsite.

We take lunch at Rock Island, and then paddle on to Spring Warrior. Pretty uneventful. Cloudy moderate breeze. Cold.  The water on day one was 65F. Today it was 46F. Being so shallow it changes temperature very rapidly. We arrive at sunset and quickly set up camp in fading light.

We are pretty spent and asleep before 8PM.

Distance 22.5 miles
High 61, Low 24   BRR!

Wind 5

Another zero day: Econfina River

The weather forecast last night and this morning is unchanged with 20 mph winds through the night. We will take another zero. We take the opportunity to rendezvous with Captain Mike to swap some gear, putting the warm weather stuff in a package for him to mail later and loading up dry and warm stuff.

Captain Mike thinks that we might be able to paddle today, with some protection from the NW winds. We could take a 20 mph tailwind and current and get a free ride out to the next campsite on Rock Island. The winds calm the next day to allow us to get back inshore. However Liz is much more concerned, and points out that Rock Island is very exposed. We opt for caution, and will need to paddle another double someday to get back on schedule.

We catch up on the blog and work some sewing projects to modify bags to fit the boat better. The day is sunny all day, though there is wind up in the trees and it is cold.

Mileage: 0
High 56, Low 31
Wind 15-20, gusts to 35 

Invisible Storm: Econfina River campsite

We checked the weather forecast last night and it hasn't changed much. We be staying put at least Thursday and maybe Friday too. We'll hope for a local paddle early in the day before the rains comes.

The morning comes with little fanfare at all. Knowing we are taking a zero, we get out of the tent slowly. A wind will rise, and we will think "here it comes". And then nothing. The clouds roll in only to disappear again. We paddle down to the State Park to mosey around. We make a nearly silent paddle, careful that each paddle entry and exit make no sound. Many birds are still in the trees. Don't they know a storm is coming? This is the day of the storm and, well, nothing. Okay, there are palm fronds dropping out of trees, but we have had that at every campsite in Florida, even before we started paddling.

We chat with some fishermen arriving from the gulf. They report that it is very rough out there, even in their boat, and they make sure that we are not going out in our kayaks. Looks like storm has indeed arrived and that we are so well protected we could not tell. Regardless, we stake out the tent with storm lashings and prepare for wind and rain. At about 4PM the first drops fall and we hurry into the tent. By 5PM the torrents hit the tent hard enough that a mist sprays right through the rainfly and tent. 

The storm has arrived.

Mileage: 0
High 73, Low 41 clear changing to stormy
Wind 15-20, gusts 25-30

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

Beginnings: St Marks town to Ring Dike campsite

As I stand at the St. Marks dock, looking at the salt march spanning to the horizon, I am filled with emotion.  All of the dreams that led to the planning has led us to this point in time and space. All of the leaving jobs, closing up the house, and farewells to friends and family have left an imprint that I feel at this moment.  As we take that next step into the unknown, I know that we are prepared in body mind and spirit.  I inwardly mark this time with gratitude and get on with packing the boats.

It wouldn't be a kayaking trip without noting that it took forever to load the boats.  It did. 

Final Preparation

Dang, it is nearly showtime.  Are we ready to do this?

My head says there is still a ton to get sorted.  My heart says chill out, we're going to be fine and we can figure out the loose ends enroute.

How did this get so complicated? On our World Trip we moved toward simplicity, abandoning all posessions and embracing unpredictability.  We felt great release, calmness and peace. The thru hikes were also rather simple, once the basic logistical plan was in place.

Why is this one so different?

New Orleans

We stopped in to New Orleans, since neither of us had ever been there.

Lots of fun just stepping from one club to another to find so many different kinds of music. Jazz, Blues, Rock, Cajun bluegrass, oldies, you name it.

It turns out we are not young anymore.  We skip two venues because they are so loud. We don't want to keep up with the one drink minimum at each place (and fortunately most places let us by). We stay up super late, but are in bed by 11.

Lots of fun. Glad we stopped.

Road Warriors

One thing that Fran and I learned when traveling ten years ago was to go slowly, meet local people, and learn the story of a place.  So we drove straight through from Portland to visit my Dad in Indio, and then from there straight to Louisiana in under three days.  Huh?

Our thinking was that we know the west coast, and we spent a full winter roaming the desert southwest. But the South will be new to us, so that is where to spend the time before we start paddling.

As we left California, most of the places along the route were recording temperatures above 70F and nights in the fifties.  Yippee!

Imagine our surprise sleeping in our summer bags under the stars the first night at 24F!  Whoops.

Solar Kayaking

Early in our preparations (like six months ago!), I indentified the need for remote recharging. Unlike thru hiking, we have some electronics that we will really depend on. We must be able to get marine weather forecasts so we know when to stay off the water, we need the VHF radio in case of emergency, and we really do need a GPS in some of the confusing areas such as Ten Thousand Islands.  We will have more than one device for each of these critical needs, since we are dependent upon them.

Then there are other electronics, such as the digital camera, the tablet, and two cell phones.

How do we keep these charged?  There will be occassional town stops to resupply, but can we reliably find someplace to plug in seven devices, and then hang around for several hours?  And can we reliably minimize the use so that the batteries in all of them last up to eleven days between stops?

Our bags are packed and we're ready to go...(sing along) we're leaving on a kayak, don't know when we'll be back again. 

The last week has been hectic to say the least. Such a whirlwind of activity and saying good  byes ...

Sewing drybags. Why does every journey start with a sewing project?

It's Friday. The Adventure Begins!

The plan says we leave on Friday. The calendar says it is Friday. We are on the road! Yea!

But something doesn't seem right. I don't hear the engine running. I don't feel the car bouncing on the roadway. There are pictures hanging on the walls. Fran, why are there pictures hanging in the car?

T minus 7 days and counting

We leave in seven days.  Gasp.

So much to do.  The house has been transformed into a bunch of heaps.  There is a pile of stuff that needs to get finished and turned into neat set of bags that can be stuffed into a kayak.  There is a pile of stuff (and even more intentions) for the RV.  And then there is the thru hike.  We are trying to plan for three different adventures simultaneously.

Yikes!  But good progress today.

KAYAKING:  The spare kayak paddles now have the Solas tape, so we can spot them in case they drift away, and the spare paddles are now locked down on the deck with paddle britches. My pretty wood Greenland paddle has new fiberglass and resin reinforcement and needs sanding and spar varnish. We have a new rain fly for kayak camp sites.  We opted to skip any camp chairs.  We need to redo the attachment for the bilge pump inside the kayak, and figure out how to store enormous bags of water. Fran has made up some dry bags, and now we need to start packing them to see what fits and what doesn't.  And I need to mount the solar panels and battery.  The VHF radios are tested and recharge okay from the GoalZero solar setup.  Ditto the new waterproof camera (Olympus 820).  At some point the enormous piles of stuff throughout the house have to fit into those little bags and get stuffed into the kayaks.  That might be akin to putting 50 pounds of sugar into a 20 pound bag. Another review of the itinerary happens tomorrow.  And we are about to start reaching out to local kayakers in Florida that we might be able to paddle with.

Ahh.  Breath.

RV:   There are lots of potential RV projects.  Ryan has been really helping out on that.  We're adding solar to the RV, as well as an inverter.  I converted all of the lights to LEDs. We're swapping out the cooktop for a full range with oven. We're still working on making sure the new tablet can work as a wifi hotspot for the RV.  And there are tons of little things like moving over the ladder to bunk, repairing some seals, equipping the rig with all the water and sewer hoses, ...  Those of you who have RV'd can fill in the rest of the list. Oh, and at some point in the next few days we need to quit fixing and improving and start packing.

Whatever gets done, gets done.  And however much that it, it is good.

HIKE:  The thru hike prep is the easiest.  After two previous long hikes, there isn't much more to do.  The shoes are on order, a set of DriDuck raingear is ready for the wet east coast, and the new pack cover needs exchanging for a different size.  Nothing much else to do.  That's the easy one of the three adventures.  This is almost as easy as just throw the pack together and head out.  Ah, isn't backpacking grand?  Less is indeed more.

Do we sound frantic? Hey, I thought retirement was supposed to be mellow?

T minus seven day, and then all WILL be calm on the western front.

Our Home Away from Home

Ah yes, the RV.  Isn't she lovely?

She doesn't have a name yet.  You might have to help me on that one.

It has everything, including the kitchen sink.  It's 23 feet long with a slide out, so there so much more room than the Spiritmobile.  And...tall people don't have to duck their heads when they walk through the cab.   But it's still small enough to be the perfect cocoon to snuggle into when Rod's on the trail.

Progress

A week ago I worried that we would not be ready for this adventure in time.  There is so much to figure out:  What do we do with the house we live in?  How do we get ourselves and the kayaks to Florida?  Fran wants a small RV while I hike, so we need to get it and undoubtedly make mods such as solar panels.  Are our kayaking skills ready?  What all do we need for the kayaking section, where do we buy it, and how do we stuff it all to the boats?  What is the itinerary - where are we actually going to paddle and hike, and what are the dates?

Plans are coming together. Maybe they will come together in time?