Paddle: Rock Springs Run

Rock Springs Run and the Wekiva River is one of the finest paddles in Florida. Ironically, it is less than 15 miles from downtown Orlando. The "Real Florida" is not as remote as many folks would think. For the last paddle of their trip, we took Jim and Ann down the Rock Springs Run, just north of Orlando. We put in at King's Landing, about 1.5 miles below the spring head. We then paddled upstream about 1/2 mile along the recently cleared Emerald Cut. We stopped at the point where a downed tree blocked further upstream access. We turned around and enjoyed a leisurely float down the run. Near the end of the run we paddled upstream once more into Wekiva Spring. We took out shortly thereafter at Wekiva Marina. This a very popular run, but we were the only ones on the river this day. Heaven.

We saw a number of fair sized alligators. On one log, we saw three young gators stacked one on top of the other. Momma was watching from the bank about 20 yards back. We passed very close to another very large alligator on the bank. As we passed he slipped into the water, but instead of disappearing, he swam towards our boats and then stopped and waited for us to leave. This is fairly unusual behavior and not a little disconcerting.

We worked Jim and Ann pretty hard this week. We paddled 4 of their 5 days, and got up pretty early each morning. We did some upstream runs, some windy runs and some long runs. This practice is not unusual for Dorcas and me, but Jim and Ann are not accustomed to this kind of abuse. They thought they were on vacation. In recognition of their spunk and grit, Dorcas and I presented Jim, Ann and Sunshine with a certificate for successfully completing and surviving Myron and Dorcas' Central Florida Week of Rivers 2008. Congratulations!