Seven Runs, Red Bay, FL
Sunday, January 23, 2005 brint.adams@us.army.mil
Bob and I met at Malbis, combined boats on his truck and headed for Florida at 10:00 AM, with the temperature still in the low 30's and a stiff northerly wind. The eastbound I-10 bridge over Escambia Bay is now open, with some temporary steel spans, although just one lane. As we made our way along the two hour trip, we saw many solitary Black Vultures soaring above in the thermals.
We finally made it to exit 96 and turned south on FL 81, past Red Bay, a small bump in the road, to the Seven Runs Recreation Area. Just before the bridge over the creek, there is a turnoff to the right, down to a little parking lot with a covered pavilion and portajohn. For this paddle, this was to be our upper-end turnaround halfway point.
We continued south on FL 81, just about 0.25 mi., and turned left on Dead River Road, next to a cemetary. After a short distance, the road turns to dirt, which we took for about 3 mi. to the campsite and launch put-in area. Upon arrival, we spoke with some hunters, who were hanging around their campfire at noon, well into their first six-pack each. By this time, the temperature had risen a little to the low 40's, but the wind was not a factor in this heavily wooded area.
We put in and headed left into a large cypress forest with little definition to the creek bed, due to the high water and flooded forest condition. It soon became evident we were going to have a difficult time finding our way, as we cut through and around the many cypress. These were magnificent trees, and even with the high water, there were many very tall and large cypress knees sticking up above the water, some over six feet tall.
As we attempted to find any semblance of a defined creek, we followed a narrow passage with a sandy bottom for some time, with difficult turns and log jams. Unfortunately, neither of us thought to bring a saw along, which would have come in very handy under the circumstances. At times, we climbed over logs, other times went under very low clearances, turning sideways by laying out to the side, almost into the water. Finally, we had to get out and look around to see if there was another flow of water nearby. Bob found another cut about 25 meters away, so we portaged over and put back in. We were confident we found the real creek this time, as we had advanced far enough north above the flooded area, so there was a good current coming down the creek. We advanced upcreek, but found many more logjams. After negotiating a whole series for half an hour, we felt we were almost up to the bridge over the main road, which we could hear in the distance.
So, knowing we would have to do the limbo all the way back as well, decided to turn around and find our way back. Once we passed the point where we portaged to the real creek, we thought it would be easier to find our way back. But we soon found it was just as difficult to find our way heading downstream as up. We fought our way around and through a whole new set of Cypress until we finally recognized some trees close to the launch area.
We decided to travel past to see what the lake looked like below the campground area. The water opened up considerably for about a half mile until we came to the south or east end. We were not exactly sure where the creek joined with the Choctawhatchee River, as we returned to the launch area. This is definately an area we will return to in the spring to explore when the area greens up and water level returns to normal.
On our way back up north to I-10, we took a little detour to the east on Hwy. 181 to take a quick look at Morrison Springs, to see if it was still the same as Bob remembered when he used to dive there back in his teenage years. He said it had changed very little in the past 30 years.
Bob and I met at Malbis, combined boats on his truck and headed for Florida at 10:00 AM, with the temperature still in the low 30's and a stiff northerly wind. The eastbound I-10 bridge over Escambia Bay is now open, with some temporary steel spans, although just one lane. As we made our way along the two hour trip, we saw many solitary Black Vultures soaring above in the thermals.
We finally made it to exit 96 and turned south on FL 81, past Red Bay, a small bump in the road, to the Seven Runs Recreation Area. Just before the bridge over the creek, there is a turnoff to the right, down to a little parking lot with a covered pavilion and portajohn. For this paddle, this was to be our upper-end turnaround halfway point.
We continued south on FL 81, just about 0.25 mi., and turned left on Dead River Road, next to a cemetary. After a short distance, the road turns to dirt, which we took for about 3 mi. to the campsite and launch put-in area. Upon arrival, we spoke with some hunters, who were hanging around their campfire at noon, well into their first six-pack each. By this time, the temperature had risen a little to the low 40's, but the wind was not a factor in this heavily wooded area.
We put in and headed left into a large cypress forest with little definition to the creek bed, due to the high water and flooded forest condition. It soon became evident we were going to have a difficult time finding our way, as we cut through and around the many cypress. These were magnificent trees, and even with the high water, there were many very tall and large cypress knees sticking up above the water, some over six feet tall.
As we attempted to find any semblance of a defined creek, we followed a narrow passage with a sandy bottom for some time, with difficult turns and log jams. Unfortunately, neither of us thought to bring a saw along, which would have come in very handy under the circumstances. At times, we climbed over logs, other times went under very low clearances, turning sideways by laying out to the side, almost into the water. Finally, we had to get out and look around to see if there was another flow of water nearby. Bob found another cut about 25 meters away, so we portaged over and put back in. We were confident we found the real creek this time, as we had advanced far enough north above the flooded area, so there was a good current coming down the creek. We advanced upcreek, but found many more logjams. After negotiating a whole series for half an hour, we felt we were almost up to the bridge over the main road, which we could hear in the distance.
So, knowing we would have to do the limbo all the way back as well, decided to turn around and find our way back. Once we passed the point where we portaged to the real creek, we thought it would be easier to find our way back. But we soon found it was just as difficult to find our way heading downstream as up. We fought our way around and through a whole new set of Cypress until we finally recognized some trees close to the launch area.
We decided to travel past to see what the lake looked like below the campground area. The water opened up considerably for about a half mile until we came to the south or east end. We were not exactly sure where the creek joined with the Choctawhatchee River, as we returned to the launch area. This is definately an area we will return to in the spring to explore when the area greens up and water level returns to normal.
On our way back up north to I-10, we took a little detour to the east on Hwy. 181 to take a quick look at Morrison Springs, to see if it was still the same as Bob remembered when he used to dive there back in his teenage years. He said it had changed very little in the past 30 years.
posted by brint @ 7:26 PM
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