Author: keelhauler

Whitetop Train Station Visitor Center

I camped behind Adventure Damascus, the outfitter that provided a shuttle up to Whitetop Mountan(3600′), I’m glad I decided not to attempt to bike in both directions like I did 29 years ago. The grade from Damascus (2200′) to Whitetop averages about 2% and the first 5 miles is more than 4%.

In fact for the entire trip I did not pedal more than 1 mile out the the total 17 miles. And the first 4 miles I had to be continually braking. It’s a narrow trail, mostly dirt, full of leaves. It’s really pretty but I was so busy making sure I didn’t crash, I’m sure I missed a lot. There was one other couple on the same shuttle and they took off and I never saw them again. I did pass two strong mountain bikers peddling uphill and two e-bikes going up as well. I can’t imagine dodging hundreds of bikers who do the trail when in season.

Even taking it easy and going slow I finished in 2 hours. I felt safer going faster when the trail got flatter.

Green Cove Station

I guess I’m getting too old for all the maneuvering as you cross 30 bridges making your way down hill.

Section of trail I rode – 21 mi round trip

Monday afternoon I got to the Walmart in Travelers Rest, SC. This section of trail is North of Greenville. 

Trail & Kiosk near a parking lot

Typical Trail Section

Reedy Falls from the trail

Reedy Falls from long bridge over the river

The Falls are right in the middle of their downtown

Savannah Diversion Dam

 I’ve done this trail that runs between the river and the canal several times with Peggy.

To see a map of the canal and nearby trails: Download a map of Augusta’s Trails

For the first 5 miles the trail is dirt and runs between the river and the canal. It may be muddy & have deep puddles after a rain.

Then the other paved trails split off, I took the 3.5 mi River Level Trail which goes to downtown Augusta and has views of the beautiful homes across the river. I did a 16 mi round trip and was on the road to FL by 11AM.

Peggy’s Love Lock

Here is today’s view

View of the homes across the river

I normally would have stayed for 2 days and biked the other trails as well but they were forecasting an afternoon rain and rain on Thursday as well.

So I got on the road by 11am for the 285 mile rainy drive to FL and stayed in my first campground of the trip in Osceola NF, Ocean Pond Campground. They don’t take reservations here and only have about 16 campsites with electric power and water. Because it was mid-week before the start of Thanksgiving week I was fortunate that they had 6 empty sites when I arrived just before twilight. I got the same campsite I had last March.

 

Site 6

So Thursday will finally be a rest day for me, it’s cloudy with a chance of rain but temps in the low 70’s. Finally I’ll be able to grill myself some Salmon & Zucchini.

Ocean Pond Campground is in the Osceola National Forest in Northern FL. See my last blog about why I left early to secure a campsite for Thanksgiving week. The campground totally filled late Friday and I wonder if I would have got a site if I waited until Sunday morning as I originally planned.

We did get almost an inch of rain while I rested, but it was warm and sunny with temps. in the mid-70’s on Saturday morning. 

This map I made shows the options of different NF roads you can use to take a nice bike ride. So today I decided to do the 14 mile loop that goes east to Olustee Battlefield, site of a civil war battle. 

Forest Roads – No traffic and easy to bike on

They have a small museum with some artifacts, and a few canon and a small monument.

 

Nice Sunset from my campsite

Aerial View of Ocean Pond Area

I got here ahead of my plan late Wednesday (11/15) since there was rain forecast up in SC & GA. 

In past years it was difficult to get a campsite here during Thanksgiving week, but I don’t know if the pandemic in 2020 & 2021 changed campers plans because this park was closed at that time. 

There were lots of sites available with Electric & Water when I arrived, but the entire park filled up last weekend. However by Monday 11/20 the park again had lots of available sites and did not fill until Wednesday afternoon. 

The lake doesn’t offer much for me to want to take down my kayak and paddle, since although the area is scenic there are motorboats with fisherman that zip around the lake and it is no fun if it is windy. So in all the years we have been coming here I never attempted to paddle. I did find that the no traffic forest roads were ideal to bike on, but be sure to wear something bright during hunting season.

View from Hog Pen to my campsite

View from Olustee Beach to my campsite

I took my second bike ride, a 14 mi ride on the sandy forest roads, around the lake and stopped at Hog Pen Campground and had lunch at Olustee Beach along the way. 

Missing Peggy’s Turkey Dinner on Thanksgiving 8 years ago

I decided I would stay here for 3 more nights and drive over to Lake City to buy some groceries and then spend Sunday night at a Walmart. Then on Monday, I can get an early start to drive to the nearby Ichetucknee Springs River take-out. It’s easy to paddle for 3 miles upstream to the spring source and then drift back.

It started to rain on Sunday morning and I needed to go shopping and get some groceries, so rather than break camp and drive to Lake City and back, about a 40 mi round trip, I decided to just check out, shop and stay at a Lowes overnight. I could go out to eat for the price of my campsite and get an early start on Monday morning after a short 20 mi drive to the Ichetucknee Springs River. 

The striking clarity of the Ichetucknee River rates it as one of the best, if not the premier example of a spring-run stream in Florida. The park protects 3.5 miles of this cherished river, as well as its major springs and numerous seeps. The clear, cool spring water of the Ichetucknee River travels a couple of miles downstream before meeting the darker, tannic Santa Fe River. 

The current is fast and in the summer it is a favorite place for people to float on inner tubes. So for paddlers it is best to avoid the summer or warm weekends, then you might have the river to yourself. I have always started at the take-out and paddled the 3 miles up to the spring, then you can float back and enjoy the scenery, white-tailed deer, raccoons, river otters, wild turkeys, wood ducks, ibis and great blue herons can be seen from the river along with dozens of turtles on the fallen logs.

Sometime plans don’t exactly work out. On my drive over to Lake City I heard a loud thumping sound coming from a tire. Being a Sunday, not much I could do until Monday morning. I found my 9 year old tire was starting to delaminate, I needed to buy at least 2 tires in town. Sunday’s dinner plan didn’t work either, it was only 1/4 mi walk to the restaurant from my RV but it was raining so hard I decided to have some leftovers instead. Luckily I found a nice tire store right across from the Walmart and they had enough tires in stock, so I decided to buy all 6 tires and be done with it. I was on the road to the Ichetucknee by 10 am. I was on the river after 11 am and paddled to the source of the spring. I did see 3 river otters, 2 curious deer watching me paddle by and hundreds of very tame turtles. None jumping in the water when you paddle by like on other rivers. I also saw more paddlers going downstream, at least 20 in 5 or 6 groups, than I have ever seen before. 

It was a sunny morning but after my big tire purchase I drove to the river and there was Peggy waiting for me to launch our canoe, I wish.

I made it over to Juniper Springs, once a favorite campground of mine. But over the years the Ocala National Forest Park has deteriorated, not the campsites, but the park itself. The best part of the park was this wooden walkway that paralleled the river and was a way to really see the river for park users who were not paddling. The park had volunteers that repaired the rotting boards and it was always walkable. Then some bonehead park administrator decided to hire a contractor to repair it. The cost was very high and they did a few hundred feet and decided it should be totally replaced but they did not have the money to do that so they just closed it. Then they hired a contractor to run the canoe concession, manage the campsites and run the boat shuttle. So they now charge you to put-in, and only do pickups at the take-out rather than letting you run a car shuttle and paddle at your own pace.

It was sunny and warmer on Thursday and just 3 mi from the Lowes was the Cross Florida Greenway, a paved trail that crosses over I-75. It has 4 underpasses for busy roads and only two road crossings on counry roads. It starts at Santos State Park and ends at FL-200. I did it the 16 mile trail from a Walmart on FL-200 to Santos and back. I peddled 32 1/2 miles in 3 hours and then headed to a Walmart in Dunellon for the night and hope to paddle on Friday with Erin & Kathy on the Rainbow Springs River.

 

Rainbow Springs, like Silver Springs used to be a private park and zoo. But years ago FL State Park bought the spring and park in Dunnellon, FL It’s been years since I have been here, I used to camp at the park right on the river but they reworked the campground and we never came back. I camped in a quiet spot at Walmart and got to the park at 8:30am. It is a long walk from the free large parking lot to the put-in ramp and swimming area. I have a nice canoe cart and had no trouble getting my kayak to the launch. There is a nominal $2 fee per person to walk into the park. I walked back and waited for Erin & Kathy to arrive. While they were running the shuttle, I dragged their kayaks down the trail with my cart as well. 

It is only a 5 mi paddle to the free take-out. Many paddlers put-in 1-1/2 mi downstream at KP Hole County Park and paddle up & back to the spring. This is a very popular place to paddle, scuba dive or swim in the 72^o spring water. However the right side of the river all the way to the take-out is loaded with houses, the left side is more wild and scenic.

There is a newer bike trail that connects to the 46 mi Withlacoochee State Trail and crosses the river near the take-out. They eventually plan to connect this bike trail to the Cross FL Greenway that I peddled yesterday.

It is 1-1/2 mi through the camp on the paved camp roads to the Withlacoochee StateTrail. You have three nice options from here, you can bike 11mi to the southern terminus, bike 12-1/2 mi to Brooksville on the Good Neighbor trail or bike 37 miles North to near the Dunnellon. That’s too far for me do I usually just do a roundtrip ride to Floral City and back.

When I got to the park the road was blocked since the EMT’s were waiting for a helicopter to land in the road and life flight someone who fell off a ladder, to Tampa. After they flew away I was allowed to enter the park.

When I looked in the mirror I realized that I badly needed to get a haircut.