All that Chazz!

Chassahowitzka Spring.

The morning after our arrival was quite chilly and breezy, but sunny. After breakfast we packed some sandwiches for lunch and walked down to the boathouse to rent a canoe for the day. On our previous trip we had explored Baird Creek all the way up to its source at the Crack. We asked the attendant for suggestions about new creeks to explore and tide information. He told us that any of the other creeks downstream were worthwhile, and that the winds had been so brisk that there was very little perceptible tide, as the wind pushed the tides out. "Be sure to check out Snapper Hole, where the manatees hang out," he said.

We paddled across the basin of the main spring towards the Seven Sisters. A fallen tree trunk had created a new archway entrance to the springs there--I've been wanting to take a dip in the deep blue vent there, but it was too cold for swimming today.

Herb entering the Seven Sisters.

The Seven Sisters Springs.

The area seemed shallower than we remembered, and it was impossible to navigate around the other end into the canal, so we turned around and continued downstream.We explored a short creek on our right with three lovely homes with boathouses, any one of which I'd love to call home--what a setting! Swamp lilies bloomed along the edges of this creek.

Homes on a creek.

It took some effort to paddle downstream, because the flow seemed to be against us, indicating an incoming tide (despite what the guy at the boat rental had said). We found several other people on kayaks at Snapper Hole, with a small pod of manatees. There were two youngsters who were very curious. One of them hammed it up for us, turning belly-up with fins and mouth in the air, making sucking sounds. He repeated this performance every few minutes, to the delight of all onlookers.

Playful manatee.

Baby manatee sneaks up on Herb.

One of the baby manatees came over to check out our canoe, and seemed delighted when Herb leaned down to pet him. He went under the canoe and then swam back to check me, and I didn't miss the opportunity to also pet him. Ahh, such bliss--that's one for our bucket list!

We played with the manatees and took photos for a long time before continuing down the river. We paddled past Baird Creek, seeing many birds: cormorants, pelicans, herons and little blue herons. The Chass widens as one approaches the tidal zone, and now the wind was picking up.

Cormorant

Little Blue Heron.

A bit farther down we put into a creek on our right to tie up the canoe and have lunch. Three kayakers were leaving, and we asked them if they knew where we were. "Potter's Creek," they replied and told us they had seen some sea otters upstream. We finished our lunch and decided to go up Potter's Creek a bit.

Lunch on Potter's Creek.

We paddled across a wide basin with strong current (probably another large spring there) and were entering a sheltered forest, but Herb's hands were starting to develop blisters, so it seemed wiser to  head back at this point. It was getting late and it would be hard paddling getting back.

Upstream on Potter's Creek.

As we were coming back across the wide basin, we spotted a tiny head near some reeds--a sea otter! We'd never seen one before, never even knew they were here on the Chass.

As we observed, another otter surfaced several yards away, diving and surfacing repeatedly, seemingly playful. Herb surmised that perhaps the tiny head we'd seen first was a baby and its parent or parents (there might have been two otters, it was hard to tell) were making this elaborate display to lead us away from their young.

Getting back to the main river after leaving Potter's Creek, the force of the wind hit us like a hammer. We struggled to move forward against the current and wind, trying to hug one shore and then the other while avoiding the motor boats and their wakes. It was quite a workout, interrupted by short breaks for photos. We made it back to the boathouse around three-thirty, exhausted--we'd feel it in our muscles tomorrow.  But what an extraordinary day--all this wildlife on the Chazz!

The Four Amigos (pelicans).

For more photos of our day on the Chazz, see my flicker album here: The Chazz Two.

Slogging on the Chazz

The Chassahowitzka River

I wanted to explore the wilderness around Crystal River. Talking to the volunteers at the Wilderness Refuge one day, a lady suggested we canoe or kayak down the nearby Chassahowitzka River (the "Chazz" for short) to a side creek where there is a place the locals call "The Crack" at the headwaters of the creek.

It was early afternoon when we rented a canoe at the Chassahowitzka Campground at end of the Miss Maggie Road (they included a small hand-drawn map of the area for our benefit). They told us they had no kayaks available on slow weekdays. That proved to be lucky for us, as it allowed us to explore the creeks at low water.

First, we paddled 100 yards upstream to the springs that feed the river. It was hard to tell exactly where Chassahowitzka Spring was--a first magnitude spring. Presumably it was the first deep pool with a strong current we traversed. Further upstream to the left there was a set of "unnamed springs" that the canoe rental guy referred to as Seven Sisters--a series of vents of varying sizes. The water here was crystalline, one to two feet deep, and the pools startlingly blue-green.

One of the Seven Sisters vents.

We turned around at the uppermost vent and started back downstream. Groups of pelicans flew by, some landing on the water near us, others on trees. Further down the river a flock of vultures perched on a dead tree; blue herons and cormorants fished the banks. A fisherman was working his net in the middle of the river. This was the real old Florida!

 As we made our way toward Baird Creek, we encountered a couple on kayaks who entered the creek ahead of us. They had trouble getting by the shallow mouth marked by a small island, but soon they outdistanced us as we labored through the shallows. We met them again not long after--they'd had to turn around when the course became too narrow for their paddles. The canoe allowed more room for maneuvering, so we were able to paddle upstream almost all the way to The Crack.

We paddled through places with currents strong enough to make us work really hard, through a wide, deep blue-green pool (later I learned this was called Blue Springs), and channels so narrow our canoe got wedged between the banks. We kept paddling through beautiful, thick Florida jungle, seeing wading birds. Where was this mysterious Crack? We met a small group of canoers heading downstream and asked them. Their leader said we were very close, but would likely have to walk for the last few hundred yards.

 

Eventually we ran aground--it was time to ditch the canoe. Herb sank knee-deep into black mud as he was trying to pull up the canoe, but managed to not lose his shoes. We persisted and sloshed ankle-deep in the warm, clear water the rest of the way, until we finally came across The Crack.

The Crack was a few feet across by some thirty feet long, and who knows how deep? The bottom couldn't be seen--it cut across a very shallow swimming hole decorated by a fallen palm trunk that had been carved with initials for apparently a number of years. We couldn't linger very long as it was past four then and we had to return the canoe by five. About this time a few insects began to appear--I can just imagine what they must be like in the summer months.

We high-tailed it out of there and back to our canoe. Later Herb said he hadn't had this much fun in a long time--there might be something in swamps after all. I think Swamp Girl (his nickname for me) has made a new convert!

Herb at the Blue Crack

You can see more photos of our Chazz Adventure on Flickr.