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Exploring the Waters in Changing Seasons
Hello "wanna go" crew,
This weekend we'll be winding our way through the very heart of the Viva Timucua story--both geographically and figuratively.
On Saturday's (10/12) Ichetucknee River trip, we'll pass the site* where many of Alonso's Timucua ancestors first encountered white men. That sad day came in 1539. Twenty six years had passed since de Leon informed the world of Florida's existence and, so far, the only follow-up visits were those of slave raiders. These small, relatively infrequent expeditions probably stayed just long enough and penetrated inland just far enough for the raiders to capture their quota of slaves. For the Potano and other inland Timucua chiefdoms, Spaniards were the stuff of traders tales and nightmares. That all changed when Hernando de Soto and an army of conquistadors landed at Tampa Bay and set off on an overland expedition up the peninsula and through the heart of Timucuana. Fortunately, the Timucua didn't have enough food stored to sustain the army of marauders. They moved through the area in a matter of weeks--just long enough to kill many of the natives, eat most of the food they had stored to survive the winter and permanently altered the geo-political structure of the entire region.
On Sunday's (10/13) upper Santa Fe River paddle, we'll pass the site* where many of Alonso's ancestors had their last encounter with white men. One hundred and ninety years had passed since de Leon and 163 since de Soto's rampage. It was now 1702 and Timucuana was a mere shadow of its former self. The village of Santa Fe de Toloca, on the south bank of the river that took its name, had served for much of the previous century as an important "link" in the chain of Franciscan missions that stretched across North Florida from St. Augustine to the Tallahassee area. Many of Alonso's family, including his parents, had spent their lives in this mission village, hunting, fishing growing corn and other crops while, simultaneously being forced by the missionaries to abandon their traditional beliefs and customs in favor of those of the Spanish. In the early 1700's, English raiders with Creek Indian allies torched this village and all the others along the mission Trail. Timucuana was now completely void of the people who had lived here for thousands of years. Survivors of the raids had no choice but to establish villages near St. Augustine and the protection of the Castillo San Marcos. It was they and their offspring who boarded those ships alongside Alonso Cabale in 1763 and sailed for Cuba.
* Note - nothing visible remains of these sites but beautiful forests.
Here's a rundown of this weekend's exploration through the Timucua heartland - Viva Timucua!!
- Saturday, Oct. 12 (9:00 AM): ICHETUCKNEE (short version - 2 hours)
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We'll be meeting at 9:00 AM at the Ichetucknee River, about 45 minute drive north from Gainesville. The fee is $35 for "wanna go" members ($45 for non-members) or $25 with your own boat ($35 for non-members). * NOTE: There is an additional $5.00 per person park entrance fee.
The meeting site at the river is about 30 - 40 minutes from Gainesville. We'll be on the water for about 2 hours. It's all downstream. ** RESERVATIONS REQUIRED!
Description
Ichetucknee is one of the stars of Florida's "Springs Heartland." When you see it you'll understand why. While its crystal clarity and lush growth of submerged vegetation is typical of Florida's 900+ artesian springs, the fact that it maintains this clarity for its entire six-mile run to the Santa Fe (compliments of nine named springs and a number of unnamed ones), is exceptional.
Ask a hydrologist and he'll tell you Ichetucknee's story begins long before its emergence from its namesake spring in a namesake park. He'll tell you about its springshed--the underground equivalent of those above-ground watersheds so nicely diagrammed in our grade-school texts that show rain water running down hills and valleys into rivers. If he's feeling brave, he might begin at the beginning, describing a time when Florida was under a shallow sea and animal remains settled on the bottom. This accumulated and compacted for millions of years to form a layer of limestone 1,000 - 2,000 feet thick in places. He'll tell you about the vast network of hollow channels that formed in this rock and now carry underground streams and reservoirs of water called the Floridan Aquifer. It is water from this aquifer that makes up the bulk of water gushing from the springs of Ichetucknee.
By this point, our impassioned hydrologist will likely be alone--maybe with one or two sympathetic companions. If you happen to be one of them and foolishly feign a remnant of interest, he's likely to continue with a description of some creeks in Lake City that disappear into sink holes and join the underground channels of the aquifer as they course towards their eventual reemergence at the Ichetucknee springs. He'll watch your eyes as he makes this last statement to make sure you understand the implications. "Everything that washes into those creeks goes into the aquifer--our drinking water!" he'll say. "And some of it will emerge at these springs, where it will pass through the gills, wash the leaves and quench the thirst of every living thing it passes between here and the Gulf of Mexico." These springs aren't the beginning or the end of Ichetucknee's story, they are the middle--a brief interlude while the Big Girl does a set change.
As it gushes from the head springs to begin its six mile journey toward Santa Fe river, Ichetucknee begins as a narrow stream threading between 15 foot high walls of limestone. Sculpted by quick flowing water for thousands of years, the rock formations along this stretch are a wonderful contrast to the scenery we typically see on other Florida rivers. Soon, the high banks move further apart and become obscured by a fantastic variety of aquatic plant life and trees. Another mile and several springs bring us into a nice cypress forest which lines the river for the rest of the way.
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By the end of the six mile run (a couple of miles beyond where we'll end this trip), the Ichetucknee's springs have combined to form a substantial river which adds nearly 233 million gallons of water to the Santa Fe river every day.
Wildlife
On its relatively short run of six miles, Ichetucknee passes through a surprising diversity of habitats. In the first quarter mile, it wends narrowly under a high canopy of bald cypress, ash, red maples, hickory and basswood. The lower shroud of redbud, Virginia willow, swamp dogwood and salt bush is crowded, in many places by a tangle of climbing hemp, ground nut and dodder vines. Phoebes, vireos and prothonotary warblers love this area, when they are here.
Fifteen minutes into the trip, we enter a broad wild rice marsh, where a nice mix of submerged and emergent vegetation supports a birders dreamscape of ibis, cormorants, anhingas, wood ducks, wood storks, great egrets and limpkins. Some summers we spot an occasional roseate spoonbill. When the river is running at above average levels, manatees ascend the river and are usually spotted in this marsh section.
An hour into the trip, you'll enter a more mature, high-canopied river forest of bald cypress, ash, red maples, tupelo, water oaks and hickory. Pileated woodpeckers, as well as a few smaller members of the woodpecker clan, like this area. Watch for barred owls, red-shouldered hawks, prothonotary and parula warblers and listen for yellow-billed cuckoos, tanagers, and red-eyed vireos.
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River otters are commonly seen in all sections of the river. Equally common, though less commonly seen, are beavers. After being trapped out of Florida in the 19th and early 20th centuries, beavers have re-expanded their range. The southern extent of their range is now the Suwannee and Santa Fe River basins (of which Ichetucknee is a part). The fact that they were here before the trappers arrived is confirmed in the river's name. "Ichetucknee" is a Seminole name meaning, "place of the beavers."
For many paddlers, the highlight of paddling Ichetucknee are its turtles. Suwannee cooters, yellow bellied turtles and others crowd nearly every large log along the river. Watch the river bottom for dark, fist-sized loggerhead musk turtles. Conversely, alligators are scarce. We haven't seen a gator on one of our Ichetucknee tours in over two years.
History
Over the past 12,000 years, these waters have quenched the thirst of an amazing cast of characters beginning with the Paleo-Indians who left traces of their passing in the river bed and surrounding countryside. For hundreds of years Timucua Indians from the nearby village of Aquacaleyquen enjoyed coming to drink this water after a hard days work, as did Hernando De Soto, in 1539, after a hard day of storming the village and kidnapping the chief and his daughter.
In the 1600's, Franciscan priests from the mission San Martin, which sat alongside the river a short distance below the head spring, baptized Timucuan converts in these waters. In 1704, this same water was used by Georgian soldiers to wash the blood from their hands after raiding and burning San Martin. Seventy years later, we can safely assume that Daniel Boone filled his canteen with Ichetucknee spring water as he traveled the ancient trail that passed near the headspring on his search for a Florida homestead.
But, that was the past. All we know of the future is that a small band of nature lovers is going to paddle down these same clear waters this weekend. Wanna be one of them?
Difficulty
Ichetucknee is an easy river to paddle with a light current that does most of the work for you. It's a bit tight in the first 15 minutes, so beginners might bump into the bank a few times as they get the hang of it. But it's all in good fun. Besides, going backwards once in a while allows you to see parts of the river the rest of us usually miss! ;o)
Here's a link to a page that includes a Youtube video of paddling Ichetucknee. (Thanks to Coleen Degroff for sharing this): http://haileplantationrealestate.com/gainesville-life/another-great...
Our website description:
http://www.adventureoutpost.net/Tours4aNew.htm#Ichetucknee- Sunday, Oct. 13: SANTA FE RIVER - OLUSTEE CREEK
This one is only a 35 - 40 minute drive north from Gainesville. We'll be meeting at 10:00 A.M. The fee for this trip is $39 for "wanna go" members ($50 for non-members), or $25 with your own boat ($35 for non-members). We'll be on the water for about 3.5 - 4 hours.
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Description
On this trip we explore the quiet, upper reaches of the Santa Fe River. Beginning just above O'leno State Park, we paddle upstream against a very slow current to the confluence of Olustee Creek, one of the Santa Fe's main feeders. It's a small, winding, high-banked creek which will not appeal to those interested in wetland communities and/or easy paddle trips. We usually don't go far up Olustee, especially in low water.
there's the possibility of seeing wood ducks, deer, beaver, otter, and even a few capybara?!
Wildlife
There's a fair population of deer in this area, but high banks discourage them from spending much time at the riverside. There are some 'gators - especially one sizable fellow whose lair is in the area near the confluence of Olustee Creek and the Santa Fe. Of special interest are capybaras, a number of which have escaped into the wild reaches of the upper Santa Fe and lower Olustee basins. I first spotted one in the mid-1990's. Since then, I've been sent nearly a dozen reports of sightings from other paddlers and boaters. These huge rodents (the largest in the world) are native to South America, but judging from the reports, are finding life in North Florida to their liking.
History
The first section of this trip takes us up a remote section of the Santa Fe River. When Hernando De Soto came through in 1539, the ancient Indian trail he was following forded the Santa Fe here. The village of Cholupaha, which is mentioned by the expedition's chroniclers, was situated on a high hill, and commanded a beautiful view of the river valley.
In the early 1600's, there was still an important village here, called Toloca. Spanish missionaries established a mission here as part of the chain of missions which stretched across north Florida from St. Augustine to the Tallahassee area. This mission, named Santa Fe de Toloca, was the namesake for the river.
The name Olustee was immortalized on Feb. 20, 1864, when Florida's largest battle of the Civil War was fought near the stream's headwaters, far to the north of the Santa Fe, at Ocean Pond. When the smoke cleared from the battlefield, nearly 300 men lay dead - 93 rebels and 203 from the Union side. Nearly 2,000 more were injured. The Battle of Olustee was a victory for the Rebel forces, but it would be a short-lived celebration with the confederacy losing the War a year later.
** FOR ALL TRIPS **
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED for all trips! You can make a reservation any time before 5 PM the afternoon before the trip. HOWEVER, there's no guarantee that - a.) you will be able to contact us, b.) that there will still be spaces available, c.) we have not already left the store with the boats. The earlier you call, the more likely you are to secure a spot.
- All reservations must be secured with prepayment, using cash, check or credit card (by phone is OK). -
CANCELLATIONS: You can cancel up to 24 hours before the trip and get a full refund. After that, your payment is forfeited.
Wanna Go?
- If so, please Call us at Adventure Outpost (386) 454-0611 and we'll get your payment information and give you trip specifics.
- If you're not sure, write or call with any questions and we'll be glad to answer them.
- If not, do nothing. By not responding we'll know you want to pass on this trip. You won't hear from us again until your next trip notice.
Thanks,
Lars Andersen
Adventure Outpost
18238 NW Hwy 441
High Springs, FL 32643
* No trees were destroyed in the sending of this contaminant free message, though a significant number of electrons may have been inconvenienced.
Comment
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Comment by Michael Levin on October 11, 2013 at 12:45pm
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My pleasure, Lars! Your writing is just the ticket for Zoobird. I'd be joining y'all this weekend in my "new" vintage 17' Grumman canoe a friend gifted me (!) but I'm headed for the Lone Star state manana until next Sat. Have fun and please keep up the writing. We LOVE it.
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Comment by Lars Andersen on October 11, 2013 at 11:38am
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Thanks for posting this, Michael. I'll post my write-up explaining the background behind our Viva Timucua series and what we will be doing to commemorate the 250th anniversary of when the last Timucuan Indians left Florida. I'll post that soon. Thanks, Lars
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