Months ago I told my parents that I was going to run away from home. I wanted to kayak the Suwannee River. Tim rolled his eyes at me and Patti said "Okay, you'll die out there". This is an over simplification of what happened but it's how I remember it and I do not want to be corrected. I wasn't offended by their reaction because it would be a little unsafe to go on my own considering my ability to injure myself and I come up with a lot of ridiculous plans that I almost immediately forget about. This ridiculous plan stuck though.
I was born and raised in Florida and have heard all my life about “the historic Suwannee River”. It’s my favorite mile marker on my trips home from college and it winds from Okeefenokee Swamp all the way down through central Florida past some of the springs my parents took my brother and I to play in when we were younger. Interestingly, it also is one of the major water supplies for the state of Florida and therefore I have probably been sipping on it my whole life. So when people call it the "historic Suwannee river" it is with good reason!
Early next week Patti will be dropping me off in Fargo, Georgia to begin the 225 mile paddle to the Gulf of Mexico near Suwannee, Florida. My friend Abby, who I met when I went to visit my cousin Morgan on the Appalachian Trail, is going to be coming along as well. Having a paddling buddy really comforts my parents in regards to my safety (as far as strangers and my ability to injure myself are concerned) but does nothing for my personal concerns about being impaled by an over enthusiastic sturgeon. Given the current water levels (56.93 at White Springs) we should be able to finish within twelve days.
The planning is done, the launch date is set, all that's left is to stock up on sunscreen, bugspray, and food.
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