Juniper Creek
Saturday, August 7, 2004 brint.adams@us.army.mil
The meeting time at the put-in was at 9:30 AM, so we left at 8:00 and barely got there in time. From the I-10 Daphne exit 35, the drive will take all of 1.5 hours. We exited at FL I-10 exit 22 and turned left (north) on Rt. 181 to right on Hwy. 90 and left (north) on Rt. 87, to right on Rt. 191 (Shell station) for about 16 miles to just past the bridge, where there is a small canoe sign. The put-in is off to the right, down a dirt road to the creek. We shuttled vehicles to the take-out, which took us backtracking about 6 miles down Rt. 191 back towards Milton, to left on Indian Ford Rd (before you get to Bob's Canoe Rentals), and went about another 5 miles to the large gravel parking lot on the right before you cross the bridge.
There were about 20-25 boats, with a broad mixture of canoes, kayaks of all sizes and shapes and even a couple of inflatables. Linda and I took off early, paddling with Dick & Marilyn, Jim and another newcomer to MBCAKC, along with his two young teenage boys. Most of the rest of the crowd was from the various Pensacola clubs, who took their time getting started and paddled very leisurely.
The cool, clear water had a slight tint of tannin and was very shallow for the most part, with a white sand and river rock bottom. There were many white sandy beach areas around the larger turns, but most were also covered with small worn river rock. The weather was very pleasant for a change in August with the temperature ranging from the mid-70's up to the mid-80's in the afternoon.
We had a very pleasant paddle for about one hour arriving at a large beach area for lunch and swimming. Gary tried out the clay, smearing it on his face, etc. to get the spa treatment effect. We left after an hour and started down the creek for the remainder of the paddle. At about half way, there was the first bridge we crossed under, where some folks left their cars, so they would not have to paddle the whole way to our take-out. As it turns out, I would guess more of the paddlers would have preferred to only go half way, but were committed to push on.
We paddled ahead, dropping boats one at a time from our group and ended up with just Dick & Marilyn and one other canoe and a pair of kayakers. It turned out to be another 2:20 of steady paddling to make it to the take-out, a total of about 12 miles. We loaded up and got away at about 3:30 and guessed alot of the others would not arrive for another 1-2 hours.
It was another beautiful day in paradise, on a beautiful creek with beautiful people!
The meeting time at the put-in was at 9:30 AM, so we left at 8:00 and barely got there in time. From the I-10 Daphne exit 35, the drive will take all of 1.5 hours. We exited at FL I-10 exit 22 and turned left (north) on Rt. 181 to right on Hwy. 90 and left (north) on Rt. 87, to right on Rt. 191 (Shell station) for about 16 miles to just past the bridge, where there is a small canoe sign. The put-in is off to the right, down a dirt road to the creek. We shuttled vehicles to the take-out, which took us backtracking about 6 miles down Rt. 191 back towards Milton, to left on Indian Ford Rd (before you get to Bob's Canoe Rentals), and went about another 5 miles to the large gravel parking lot on the right before you cross the bridge.
There were about 20-25 boats, with a broad mixture of canoes, kayaks of all sizes and shapes and even a couple of inflatables. Linda and I took off early, paddling with Dick & Marilyn, Jim and another newcomer to MBCAKC, along with his two young teenage boys. Most of the rest of the crowd was from the various Pensacola clubs, who took their time getting started and paddled very leisurely.
The cool, clear water had a slight tint of tannin and was very shallow for the most part, with a white sand and river rock bottom. There were many white sandy beach areas around the larger turns, but most were also covered with small worn river rock. The weather was very pleasant for a change in August with the temperature ranging from the mid-70's up to the mid-80's in the afternoon.
We had a very pleasant paddle for about one hour arriving at a large beach area for lunch and swimming. Gary tried out the clay, smearing it on his face, etc. to get the spa treatment effect. We left after an hour and started down the creek for the remainder of the paddle. At about half way, there was the first bridge we crossed under, where some folks left their cars, so they would not have to paddle the whole way to our take-out. As it turns out, I would guess more of the paddlers would have preferred to only go half way, but were committed to push on.
We paddled ahead, dropping boats one at a time from our group and ended up with just Dick & Marilyn and one other canoe and a pair of kayakers. It turned out to be another 2:20 of steady paddling to make it to the take-out, a total of about 12 miles. We loaded up and got away at about 3:30 and guessed alot of the others would not arrive for another 1-2 hours.
It was another beautiful day in paradise, on a beautiful creek with beautiful people!
posted by brint @ 12:07 PM
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