Catalyzed by my successful visit to Lake Talquin yesterday (post), I decided to make a trek up the Sopchoppy river in the Apalachicola National Forest this morning. I had never really ventured into the park before and my only experience with it has been my cycling visits to the St Mark’s Rail Trail[ref]If you are looking for a great day trip, I highly recommend this rail trail and St Marks.[/ref] so this was an exciting adventure. Since I didn’t know much about the river including flow and size,
this was a rather unpredictable foray into river kayaking.
On the way there I used Google Maps and noticed this little gem. You know you are in the middle of nowhere when the detour for a location a mile away can take over 3 and half hours! The roads getting here to the launch site were quite good, but I can certainly imagine that finding a viable alternative for a washed-out road would be quite the challenge.
Since my plan was to paddle up the river and then at some point to ride the current back down (you know, the reward for my efforts), I hoped that the river’s current/flow would be on the gentler side. Fortunately for me, the river was just what I hoped[ref]The river had a strong, smooth flow. Perhaps a slower flow would have been nice, I’m certainly tired.[/ref]. I tried my best to take some photos of the trip but I’m afraid that they don’t do the journey justice.
After getting back from my trip up (and down) the river, I spent a few minutes checking out the Florida National Scenic Trail. It follows along the Sopchoppy River for a few miles and I will definitely be exploring it in the weeks and months to come. I also took advantage of the nice weather to do some off-roading with the jeep…
