Inverness
This trip was a repeat- I have paddled these waters before, but no trip is an actual repeat is it? Rivers always change, and each trip to these same rivers offer a different feel and experience. That was very evident this time. I had done Gum Slough for the very first time about 3 years ago with a friend of mine from work and I came away very impressed and vowed to return. I regret that I haven't returned sooner. This river or slough travels 4-6 miles(depending on who you ask) from a spring source deep in the Sumter County swampwoods and flows into the Withlacoochee River, a long, dark blackwater river that runs through West Central Florida. It can run real shallow, so it is best to paddle Gum Slough when water is a little higher, and for this year in Florida, that has been no problem. The definition of a slough can mean: a ditch, backwater, swamp river, place of mud and mire, or whatever you can imagine a slough to be. However, it is a body of water so it counts! To me, it is a wild and remote spring fed river that changes personality from a cypress hardwood swamp like Hillsborough River and morphs into Rock Springs Run, as it runs through thin channels of water weeds, hyacinths, or like I call it: lettuce or lechuga. Only Juniper Creek has more personality changes. This time, I am joined by a good friend of mine, James Ross, a young husband and father of two young children, so I have to make sure he returns alive in this wild place. I also will take the battered and definately not beautiful Big Daddy, my 17 foot canoe, to which I have added five new fiberglass patches since its last trip to Rock Springs Run. I have also secured a permit to camp at Potts Preserve,8500 acres that offer a few spectacular camping spots as well as hiking and biking trails. The first time I paddled Gum Slough, I stopped here for a rest and I vowed to camp here. It is owned by SWFMD, Southwest Florida Water Management District. It costs no money and you apply for a permit online. It was available for two days only this week in the middle of hunting season, so I applied immediately.
The weather forecast called for sunny skies and a full moon on Wed. night with increasing clouds moving in on Thurs. We arrived at the Potts Preserve gate at 9:50 am, and after a war with the stubborn combination lock, we entered the preserve via a scenic and bumpy road. We arrived shortly after, at a sign in station for hikers, horse riders, and bikers. The sign in sheet was a little troubling: the last page had been ripped in half and there were comments like, "Kill the police", "I hope those three policemen are found dead", and one hiker wrote in the comment section, "This place is scarry". These sentiments were punctuated by two bullet holes in the plexiglass cover over the trailhead bulletin board! Did I mention that it was hunting season here? But hunting for what?I add "I hear banjos" to the comment section. After a few nervous glances and laughs, James and I pressed on to the campsite; a lovely spot right on the tannin stained Withlacoochee River, that was as picturesque a site as you will ever see. The entire property on the river was beautifully maintained; a gorgeous looking meadow with the grass cut short, with a distinct, tall slim palm tree standing between the campsites sold me on this place immediately. It looked like paradise. The shoreline featured a small sandy beach and rows of cypress knees around it. Over on the North side of the camping area stands a 10 foot tall Indian midden or mound. We had a picnic table that was canopied by palm and cypress trees and a nice fire pit with a flip over grill. We even had an additional bar-b-que grill behind it. The bathroom looked, from the outside at least as a nice facility,a fine looking concrete structure, but upon using it for my pre paddle pee break, it was just a glorified port a let. The smell was horrendous!There was no running water, so I was glad I purchased my 2 gallons of water.
We set up my new tent that the Rosses had given us for Christmas and it was massive and a bit complicated to set up: an eight man tent with a porch, two different kinds of poles and curious looking corner joints. A hour learning curve was required. Another camping party arrived after we put the finishing touches on the set up, so we looked like pros. It was a family of four: mom, dad and two small kids and two dogs.They seemed nice.
Finally, at 11:40, we shoved off towards Gum Slough,whose confluence lay right across the campsite. It's fairly easy to find, especially with Potts Preserve as a landmark. It enters the Withlacoochee from the East and winds into a canopied, dark jaunt into the Sumter Co. woods. Immediately, the dark, black water of the Withlacoochee begins to clear up and you can see the bottom 6 feet down. The river winds South a bit then turns back Northeast; we pass a small section where the sun breaks free of the thick canopy overhead and spy a small alligator sunning itself amongst the thick lettuce. We enter the thick canopy again, where we continue against a modest current for an hour or so. The river here is about 20 feet across and it gets clearer as you go further upstream. Huge cypress trees line the banks, which are covered with cypress knees, so it is hard to find a "smooth" place to pull your watercraft onto shore and rest. This slough is also an obstacle course as we weave through and around submerged branches and massive logs that are barely under the surface. A giant great blue heron flies ahead of us, stops until we catch up and then flies ahead again. There always seems to be a feathered escort up these rivers.
We break free of the canopy and enter an area that widens to about 40-50 feet across and is marked by several smaller channels forging their way through the hyacinth lettuce.Two distinct cypress trees that look a little like the oriental style bonsai tree, mark the beginning of this section. The water is beautiful and clear with plenty of eel grass waving in the increasingly stronger current. The water is a crystal clear, aqua blue color and it can be quite deep in sections, a contrast from the shallow water heading up in the canopied section. We pass a lone house on the North bank, a beautiful home that has a dock right over the river. The owners have found true paradise and no neighbors for miles. 2 hours into our paddle, we start to see some limestone on the banks. We pass a beautiful, pristine spring marked by a boil on the surface of the water. Gliding over it, peering into the clear depths, we see the spring about 15 feet down with a cloud of orange colored bream darting about. The air smells fragrant,floral even. I remarked to James on a few occasions on how the air is "different out here". The river then passes into a section where we have to negotiate a maze of small limestone boulders-true spring country. We pass around a bend that is heavily bordered by cattails and lettuce, and at last, after 2.5 hours upstream, a cabin appears as a ghost through the trees ahead, signalling our arrival to the headsprings.But something is different today. The area has about 5 small boxes that are held in place by PVC pipe. There is a sign that explains that these are research boxes from the University of Florida. It appears that the university has set up shop here to measure salt content and discharge flow from the springs. At the second cabin, we see about 10 kayaks on shore and hear voices inside the cabin. We retreat down river a bit and enter a small run to another secluded spring named Alligator Spring. This spring area is only about 15 feet across and about 8 feet deep. The banks are muddy, but we find a fairly good option and pull the canoe over to give our butts a break and to do some snorkeling. It smells of sulphur here because of the mud.Sadly, the spring is covered with a lot of algae,meaning a probable high nitrate content. I slip into the cool waters and scan around me for reptiles! Apparently, this spring was named after a 10 foot alligator who used to lie at the bottom of this spring. That was from a description 15 years ago or so.No alligator.I dove down towards the vent of the spring which was beautiful. Upon surfacing, I was chilled to the bone and decided to end my dip. This area is covered with trees and secluded.A very wild and remote place for a dip. We enter the canoe again , go down the small spring run, and pull over in the shallows for a well deserved lunch break. The highlight is that I try out my Life Straw, a water filter that looks just like a big, thick, blue straw. I prime it by placing into the water and suck on it a few times until delicious , cool spring water enters into my mouth.I take a long drink and it tastes suprisingly better than my water supply I've been drinking upriver. Time will tell if this device truly filters out 99.99% of all bacteria. I wait for giardia to hit, but it doesn't!
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wild beauty of Gum Slough
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trying out the Life straw near Alligator spring
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earlier trip on Gum Slough
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After our feast we head downriver with the current for the pleasure cruise home. We pass all the usual landmarks and take in the beauty. We pass the only house on the river on the right and I remember that the true channel of Gum Slough lies to the left of us; we have to find the channel or forge our way back on a new and seldom/never travelled avenue. We miss it, and soon enter an unmistakeable stretch of wild that I've never seen before. I spy a little cut through the forest to our left and we enter a very narrow passage. Something ahead and to the right of us glides across the water pushing an enormous amount of water behind it, creating a massive wake. It is a huge alligator. I only see the head, which is absolutely gigantic. This could be a 12 footer! It hurries towards a bank to our left and disappears in shallow water; the undisputed king of this neighborhood has appeared!
As we head further downstream, we have to exit the canoe several times to portage over logs and other obstructions, as the water grows more shallow and the river more narrow. After struggling this way for about an hour, I come to a grim discovery: we have to turn back. We have to once again , negotiate this obstacle course and retrace our journey back to known landmarks- the house if we have to. We once again, exit the canoe and pull it through the shallows over logs as our feet sink in the mud, often to our knees. The inside of the canoe is filled with branches, twigs and mud. We continue upstream and James notices a familiar bonsai/cypress tree. Not convinced where we are, I decide to push on until we see the house again. We turn around. It is getting late, about 5pm, and if we make another wrong turn, we might be faced with the reality of spending the night in the swamp. I remember passing a small cut to our left earlier, and I believe that to be our turn. This time I take it. We find some markers on the trees and follow them. After an hour, the river is still about 20 feet wide, and I am finally convinced we're on the Slough again. The light grows brighter up ahead through the canopy and after another hour we are back on the Withlacoochee and at the campsite; we've spent 6.5 hours or so on the river! A great day.
We pull up to the small beach and stretch. I soon fire up my small pocket rocket, boil some water, and soon James and I are lounging on campchairs eating chicken flavored rice. Early evening is here and some stars peak out. It is going to be a beautiful, clear night with a full moon. We start on the fire and soon have a big bonfire going. As darkness falls, fireflies come out and dance around the meadow, hundreds of them. The neighbor's kids are shrieking with delight and it echoes across the river. Birds begin their symphony and the gators grunt. The sounds of the wild are upon us. It is glorious. Less glorious is a trip I have to make to the outhouse, but the coolness and chill of the air take a lot of the horrific stench out of the concrete bunker. Soon, the moon rises over the trees and backlights the treeline behind the meadow. It looks very eerie and spooky, but peaceful. The constellation Orion twinkles over head. I have a very peaceful rest that night as the owls and gators serenade me to sleep.
3/24
The next morning we eat breakfast and break camp. Afterwards we take a nice, almost 4 mile journey on the Withlacoochee. Downriver from Potts, the river widens to about 100 feet across or so and then splits off in a few narrow directions or small streams that are bordered by weeds.The river bank is covered with the cylindrical cypress knees. It is a pleasant and refreshing morning and the fisherman come out to seek largemouth bass and stumpknockers. The river is shallow and dark. The Withlacoochee is a 100 mile or so river that originates in the Green swamp and eventually heads North into Lake Rousseau near Dunnellon. It changes character a few times along the way from a narrow stream to a wide cypress lined darkwater river that enters many lakes. Only three springs that I know of flow into it: Gum Slough, Blue Spring, and Rainbow Springs.
This ends a great trip to a very beautiful and virtually unnoticed part of Florida. Potts Preserve is a very well maintained campground and for the price to camp(it's free!!!!), you can't beat it. There are no ammenties here; no running water, probably no toliet paper-so plan accordingly. You can apply for a permit online by searching Potts Preserve. I got a response in three days. Listed on the website are dates that the preserve will be closed.
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