Santa Fe River Afternoon

I was itching to go kayaking somewhere new, so I headed over to the Santa Fe River. There was a little park and boat launch near the highway 47 bridge. While getting ready to go I spotted what looked like green leaves stuck on the sides of two trees. They turned out to be Luna Moths, which I think were newly emerged. Beautiful! [Gallery]

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I proceeded to peddle upstream against the current, which was pretty brisk at times. The shoreline got progressively more rocky with exposed limestone until I reached an actual rapids. It was all I could do to move against it. Once I passed it I stopped for a rest and then started my lazy float back downstream.

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I stopped frequently to take pictures and explore a bit. The south side is conservation land and the north side is undeveloped. There were LOTS of cypress knees!

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There is no one big obvious spring as far as I could tell, but several under and around the river. The possible exception was a small stream that formed a long skinny island not far from the bridge. The water there was much clearer (and warmer). I could not paddle beyond fallen trees on both ends so I walked a trail along side for a hundred yards or so. It was a beautiful place!

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In addition to the yellow asters shown above there were Spider Lilies starting to bloom and lots of Rain Lilies on the forest floor. This last was new to me. I’m used to seeing them along the roadside after it rains.

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Here’s part of the low-res map I used (upstream is down). The distance from the put-in to the “kink” near the bottom is about two miles. That’s where the rapids are (I think).

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Song of the Broad-Winged Tree Cricket

One of the most relaxing sounds I’ve ever heard occurs late at night in the spring and summer, usually after the frogs settle down. After wondering about it for twenty years I finally know who’s singing… Broad-Winged Tree Crickets! [Oecanthus latipennis]

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Photo Credit: ifas.ufl.edu

Take a listen to this iPhone recording. They sing one continuous note for several seconds. Individuals enter and leave the chorus at random intervals and slightly different frequencies. This is apparently due to slight variations in temperature. The effect is very soothing!

This recording was made in the early morning hours after a rainstorm. About half way through you can hear a freight train whistle in the distance.

Experience with a Hammock Tent

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I went out last night to get some experience pitching and sleeping in my new hammock tent. It came with no instructions and there is only limited info available online. I’m getting better using a bit more tension and added a small relieving line to the fly so it can hang along the side (keeping the netting clear for viewing the trees and stars!). In future I’ll keep it rolled so it stays off the ground. I paddled in the dark to a place I’d picked out. Once you find two trees the rest is pretty easy. In fact, it’s trip-over-a-log easy compared with a surface tent! Plus everything is dry!

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I brought a small towel to wipe my feet before swinging them inside. I like the little pouch on the outside for a water bottle and miscellaneous small stuff. There is also a small pocket in the netting overhead that works well for phone and glasses. One cool thing about all/most of these tents is the way they pack up, basically two narrow funnel-shaped sleeves (called “snake skins”) that pull to the center. Take down is as easy as setting up.

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The diamond-shaped fly has “wings” that tie out sideways. I think this will work well, but you have to stoop to enter/exit. Having recently pitched a conventional tent in driving rain (i.e., everything wet), it strikes me that the above arrangement is far superior. When you hang it and pull back the skins the fly is on top and drapes over the inner tent keeping it mostly dry. That’s the theory anyway!

Update: I slept under the fly during a vigorous rain storm and it was amazing! Not one drop of water got through to me!! It was the driest tent I’ve ever experienced. The only caveat is the rain that night was mostly straight down. It would be a bit more vulnerable with a significant crosswind.