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| Pileated Woodpecker |
Today went on a solo paddle at the upper section of the Wekiva River. Put in at Wilson's Landings and also that was my Take Out spot. It was supposed to be windy today and thought that the Wekiva River confines would make the paddle easier. Well, it was windy and it was good to paddle in a closed area so it was the right call.
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| Coots |
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| Wilson's Landings |
Put In/Take Out: Wilson's Landings in 387 Malekean Trail in Sanford (FL). It is just the second time I use this location. It is not a bad facility but is not as good as Katie's Landings. Here you had to carry/drag/cart your boat for maybe 250 ft. When you use this location will enter the Wekiva River South of the SR46 bridge over the river. This section of the river is open and depending on how thick is the vegetation, will have to look twice for the main channel. I pushed my way thru a thin layer of aquatic plats today. There is no charge to use the facilities but, watch out, getting in or coming out of the kayak may be tricky.
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| Green Heron |
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| Little Wekiva River |
The plan was to paddle to the confluence of the Wekiva River with the little Wekiva River. The previous time I did paddle here missed it but a friend sent me a pic of how it looks. Only problem is that it was a few months ago and I did not do my homework so had to trust my memory for this one. Have to say that I did find the confluence but at the time was a little tired and decided to try the Buffalo Tram Primitive Camp site and see if it was empty. Just wanted to stretch my legs and rest a few minutes. Made it to the camp site and spent 30 minutes there but when it was time to go back the weather turned ugly. The confluence of the Little Wekiva and the Wekiva River is about 20 minutes down the river from Buffalo Tram. When I made it there it looked like was going to rain at any moment and the wind was strong. So after less than 5 minutes on the Little Wekiva decided to turn around.
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| Eastern Phoebe |
The Wekiva River is clear and it is not too fast nor low. On my way up river had the river to myself, well...almost. Saw a couple in a canoe just before arriving to Buffalo Tram. That was not the case on my way down when saw two large groups of kayakers and three motor boats coming up river.
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| From the Wekiva River looking into the Little Wekiva River |
Did You Know That? The Little Wekiva River is about 15 miles. Did a research and found this link. It is interesting since I was wondering what type of river this Little Wekiva River is. Check it out:
Little Wekiva River.
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| Little Blue Heron |
And your favorite part of the Views From Our Kayak posts. Summary time. Here are more pics of what I saw today:
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| Ibis |
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| Pileated Woodpecker |
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| Wekiva River |
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| Pileated Woodpecker |
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| Anhinga |
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| Eastern Phoebe |
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| Limpkin |
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| Green Heron |
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| Turtles |
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| Gator |
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| Red Shouldered Hawk |
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| Immature Little Blue Heron |
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| Immature Little Blue Heron |
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| Turtle |
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| Green Heron |
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| Great Blue Heron |
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| Anhinga |
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| Downy Woodpecker |
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| Downy Woodpecker |
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| Red Shouldered Hawk |
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| Red Shouldered Hawk |
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| Red Shouldered Hawk |
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| Great Egret |
And that is it. Missed a pic of an eagle and an osprey. Actually, it was the highlight of the day. The osprey was carrying a fish when the eagle came out of nowhere and started the pursue. Actually the osprey let the fish go and the eagle grabbed in mid air and flew away, with the osprey now in pursue. All happened too far for a pic. Did shot a few in desperation but did not come right. Anyways...thanks for reading and see you soon in another Views From Our Kayak.
Great pics, as always! One day, from my living room window, I saw an eagle try to take a fish from a Great Blue Heron. He failed, and I failed to get a picture.
ReplyDeleteI launched once from Wilson's and doubt I'll do it again. A better place to launch from (easy as Katie's) is Wekiva Falls Resort. They charge $5 to launch, but it's worth it. They open at 0800 but if you get there earlier they don't mind if you pay on your way out. When you go through the gate, take the first right, then stay parallel to the canal till you see all the rental canoes and that's the launch. Across the footbridge, clean restrooms. I don't mind paying the $5 once in a while for an easy launch, a mile closer to the confluence with the Lil Wekiva than Wilson's Landing, and a safe place to leave my car.
I am not too warm and fuzzy about Wilson's Landings. Having Katie's less than a mile away I would rather launch from there. But the strong wind and how broad is the Wekiva River in this section were a factor to launch from Wilson's.
DeleteI will follow your advice and next time will use Wekiva Falls. That and a new kayak, better for longer trips. My small Tribe is not that good to paddle long distances against a current. That is why I do not go to places like Weekie Wachee or Juniper Creek often. Am looking forward to go shopping for a new one. Any advice on that?
This was really helpful. I've been trying to research access to the Little Wekiva River and I can't quite find anything that is concrete and gives you the details on how to get there. Your blog entry is the closest I've gotten to the details I'm looking for! It seems a bit mysterious!
ReplyDeleteIn reference to your kayak shopping-- I haven't owned a lot of yaks, but I do love my Ocean Kayak. It's the Venus II. Bought her used on Craigslist. It's light enough for a woman to carry on her own-- though I still have a bit of a hard time wrangling it alone. It's about 40 pounds and has tons of interior storage. Oh and it's a sit on top. It's very stable. I've never capsized and I've done quite a bit of paddling-- including some precariousness on Juniper Creek's strainers. Love that yak. Happy paddling, Joanne!
Oops, I just noticed Luis is the post I was responding to-- not Joanne. So I guess my response about a yak for women doesn't really help :) Happy paddling to all, nonetheless. -Kelly
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