3-11-12 WEEKEND ADVENTURE (lotta pics/video)

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red_yakker
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3-11-12 WEEKEND ADVENTURE (lotta pics/video)

Post by red_yakker »

My buddy Seth was in town this past weekend, but because of the wind, we decided to change up our regular fishing plans and do something a little more adventureous. We planned to paddle down the Wacissa River from Goose Pasture to its intersection with the Aucilla River at the Races (3.5 +/- miles), then paddle up the Aucilla to the landing at Half-Mile-Rise (another 1.5 +/- miles). I had been into the swamp just down-river from Goose Pasture before, but this was my first trip all the way through it. :o
The river breaks up into countless streams almost immediately upon entering the swamp. There are plenty of fallen trees, stumps and rocks to maneuver around, through and over. We saw where people had floated through with a chainsaw in the past, but it appeared that we might have been the first ones to do that particular stretch in a few years at least. We encountered 4 alligators along the way (that we saw at least), all sorts of birds, turtles, fish, etc....., and only saw 2 or 3 beer bottles/cans and not a single other person the entire way.
We made our way through the swamp in about 2 hours, passed the Slave Canal and started making our way towards the Races. That last 1/8 mile of the Wacissa, especially with the water this low, is the closest thing to rapids I've ever floated down! The "rapids" end with one final drop into the Aucilla river! :P
We took a moment to celebrate after taking that final drop, and to call our people and let them know we were alive. When I got off the phone with my wife, seth was chilaxing on a rock right in the middle of the falls. He said, "C'mon buddy, paddle over here and let's chill on this rock for a minute." I nervously paddle up to the churning water thinking to myself, '"I wonder how my kayak will react when I hit that hard part of the current." Well,..... not to good. The front of my yak whipped around, throwing me off balance and causing me to roll slightly. Once I started to lean, there was no stopping it. I rolled my kayak for the first time ever from the seated position! I lost my Costas, but was able to recover everything else. :(
We made the short trip up-river to the landing and headed back to Goose Pasture to pick up Seth's truck. We had made the trip in about 4 hours, but it felt like we had done about a weeks worth of work. It was the most fun I've had on my kayak without a rod and reel. I highly reccomend it to any of you yakkers out there looking to change up and do something different.
Here are some pictures for your enjoyment, along with a map showing our route.
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The gods do not deduct from man's allotted span the hours spent in fishing. ~Babylonian Proverb
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skitterwalk
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Re: 3-11-12 WEEKEND ADVENTURE (lotta pics/video)

Post by skitterwalk »

I love that paddle! The rapids are always fun, nice pics and videos man.
BloodyChamp
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Re: 3-11-12 WEEKEND ADVENTURE (lotta pics/video)

Post by BloodyChamp »

If that last stretch of Wacissa isn't rapids, then I don't want to see rapids lol! That far down it's actually more to do with tidal influence that the actual river level. A blogger who I read back in the dial up internet days actually proved this when he was mad that that last cool rock wasn't visible several times after the first times he paddled it. I only know what I know about the rapids from trying to paddle up them 1 day. I obviously failed lol! And the time my old man took us down years ago wasn't much better. So I've still never been all the way through even though I've fished the water that the rapids connect to a million times.
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