8/18/2014 The Happy Paddler

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Paddling and protectingFlorida's waterways

2014-15 ScheduleSuwannee River Wilderness

Trail

October 24-29, 2014

Celebrate Florida's version of

autumn on its most famous

river and two of its beautiful

spring-fed tributaries—the

Santa Fe and Ichetucknee.

The trip spans 65 miles of the

scenic Suwannee River

Wilderness Trail.

Register by: October 10

Dispatches from The Big ApplePaddle Florida Participates in City of Water Day

For the second year in a row, Paddle Florida staff attended the

Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance's City of Water Day on July 12.

The MWA works with several other non-profits in order to stage

this day-long event that focuses on transforming the New York

and New Jersey Harbor and waterways to make them clean,

accessible, vibrant places to play, learn, and work, with great

parks, jobs, and transportation for all. Special thanks to the Long

Island City Community Boathouse for guiding trips on these

waterways all summer long and to Louis Kleinman and Ted

Gruber for being such wonderful hosts. Both the MWA and the

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8/18/2014 The Happy Paddler

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Wekiva/St. Johns River

Ramble

December 5-8, 2014

Work off some of

Thanksgiving's culinary

indulgences with a 30-mile

paddle down the spring-fed

upper Wekiva River to the St.

Johns in a manatee and bird

lovers' paradise!

Accommodations for this trip

include two nights in state

park cabins.

Register by: November 21

Florida Keys Challenge

January 15-22, 2015

Enjoy a true island paradise,

paddling beside sea turtles

and railroad visionary Henry

Flagler's 'Eighth Wonder of the

World' in the azure blue waters

of the Florida Keys. We'll

journey 70 miles beside white

sand beaches, from Long Key

State Park to Key West.

Register by: January 2

Wild, Wonderful

Withlacoochee

February 15-20, 2015

Beginning at Lake

Panasoffkee's Marsh Bend

Outlet Park, paddlers will

thread their way through

hardwood swamps and clear,

spring-fed streams on a 60-

LICCB are creating a culture of urban paddling that is much

different than the environments we paddle in within the Sunshine

State. By traveling to NYC, we hope to strengthen the link between

paddlers in Florida and New York.

Shedding WaterFinal Installment of Matt Keen's River Be Dammed Series

I called it my lake, though it was never fully mine.

Rather, it was mine in the way that oversteps language; the way

that one says “my friend” or “mon ami.”

That lake was my companion. It was where I would find myself on

long summer days between school years. I had 180 acres of

central Florida uplands to wander, yet my steps always

condensed into that one small lilypad-speckled pool of water.

Com*pan*ion. (n). one who is frequently in the company of,

8/18/2014 The Happy Paddler

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mile journey to the Gulf of

Mexico.

Register by: February 2

Dam to the Bay on the

Ochlockonee

March 14-20, 2015

From wild Tupelo honey to

fresh Gulf oysters, experience

the Panhandle's Ochlockonee

River which winds through

state and national forest lands

on 76 miles of Florida's most

remote wilderness river trail.

Register by: February 28

Suwannee River Paddling

Festival

April 3-5, 2015

The third annual Suwannee

River Paddling Festival will

take place at the Suwannee

River State Park near Live

Oak. The festival will feature

supported 12-20 mile trip

options on the scenic

Suwannee and Withlacoochee

Rivers, a concert featuring

some of Paddle Florida’s

favorite entertainers to benefit

waterways protection, and an

opportunity to hear from

regional water and wildlife

experts.

Register by: March 20

associates with, or accompanies another.

It was the vortex of a sandy whirlpool with the aroma of long-leaf

pine and drippings of pinecone. It pulled me inward, closer and

closer, until my lazy summertime orbit tightly circled the lake's

spongy outer edges. [read more1]

The World of Florida is Not This Oyster'sby Gary R. Mormino, Tampa Bay Times, July 11, 2014

Hurtling across grove and bay, Florida's growth machine has

returned. What does Florida do? Florida grows! But pell-mell

growth has inflicted a sense of loss.

The story of Sunbelt Florida is a story of small towns becoming

big cities, orange groves and bean fields emerging as edge

cities, and mangrove keys and pristine estuaries being paved

over for waterfront condominiums.

8/18/2014 The Happy Paddler

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Your Ad CanAppear Here!

Do you provide a paddling

oriented product or service?

Consider placing an ad in our

monthly newsletter, which

reaches over 6,000

subscribers and is growing

every day! Contact Bill

Richards at (352) 377-8342

or bill@paddleflorida.org for

details.

Like Us onFacebook7,075 fans and counting!

Reconnect with paddling

friends and make new ones

on Paddle Florida's Facebook

page. Our daily feeds provide

updates on the news

impacting Florida's waterways

and wildlife as well as our

Astonishingly, Apalachicola has managed to preserve its sense of

place. Poverty and isolation conspired to ensure that

Apalachicola's population (2,600) is smaller today than 175 years

ago. [read more2]

Paddler Profile:Kim Heiss, Gainesville, FL

Where are you from? Your profession?

I grew up in Pennsylvania, but I have lived in Gainesville, Florida

since 1998. My graduate degree is from University of Florida in

Landscape Architecture. I'm a landscape designer at Cottage

Gardens, Inc.

When and how did you become interested in paddling?

My family used to camp in Maine in the summer and we had a

canoe—that was my introduction to paddling. Soon after I came to

Gainesville, a friend of mine took me on one of Lars Andersen's

8/18/2014 The Happy Paddler

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upcoming trips. Send us your

favorite photo depicting

paddling in Florida and it

might be selected as our

'Picture of the Day!'

Join Us on MeetUp

Paddle Florida now has its

own MeetUp page. We've

posted details on all of our

trips for the coming season,

links to outfitters, and plenty of

photos. Join our MeetUp

group and check it out!

Help Us ProtectFlorida's WaterDonate.

You can help us meet our

water conservation missions

by (1) joining us on one or

more paddling adventures

scheduled annually on

Florida's wild and scenic

rivers and coastlines, or (2)

Adventure Outpost trips and I've been hooked ever since. I think it

was on the Ichetucknee.

Where is your favorite place to paddle? I love to paddle from

Shell Mound, near Cedar Key on Florida’s west coast, out to

Derrick Key. I've had great times paddling around the Indian River

Lagoon near Vero Beach. Of course I love to paddle ALL the

springs - Rock Springs Run, Ichetucknee, Juniper Springs. I also

love the high, eroded limestone banks along the Suwannee River.

[read more3]

The Guide's Corner:Stakin' a Claim to the Weed Patch

Lars Andersen is owner and

paddling guide for Adventure

Outpost in High Springs, FL. He

outfits and guides kayak and

canoe tours on over 40

waterways throughout North

Florida's "Springs Country."

Looking back on my life’s path over the last 50 years, I now see it

was inevitable that I became a river guide. Put every job I worked

and every passion pursued into a big pot, add river water, stir and

then pour the mixture into a canoe-shaped vessel, and the glob

will congeal into a funky hat with a river guide under it.

8/18/2014 The Happy Paddler

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donating to Paddle Florida via

our secure PayPal connection.

One of my earliest passions was outdoor survival—especially

edible wild plants. In those days of the early 1970’s, information

about edible plants was scarce. Euell Gibbons and a few others

had written books, but they invariably discussed plants from other

parts of the country. Fortunately, we had our own edible plants

guru right here in Gainesville, a botanist named Margaret Cole.

Margaret was the perfect forager. Not only did she know how to

find and prepare every wild edible in North Florida, she also knew

how to defend her favorite foraging grounds from her fiercest

competitors, her students. [read more4]

Copyright © 2014 Paddle Florida, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:Paddle Florida, P.O. Box 5953, Gainesville, FL 32627

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