Day 53 01/27/2010
Daily stats Start: 6:15 AM -South of Tyndall Airforce Base Finish: 2:30 PM -South Apalachicola Bay Time: 8:15 Daily dist: 38 miles Total dist: 1,525 miles Companions: None Notes: Clear, calm, and great paddling.  sunrise on the time zone line 6:00 AM or 7:00 AM I’m not sure The sun rose at 7:00 AM on the bow of my boat and 6:00 AM on the stern as I crossed the line into the Eastern Time Zone this morning already an hour into my day. This was the first morning in the last several that my tent wasn’t already shaking in the wind when I woke up. So I wrapped up my gear cautiously not wanting to alert the wind gods to my presence and have them unleash their blustery wrath. The seas had calmed overnight and I launched easily into one foot surf. There was a puff of a northwest tail wind all morning as I paddled on the outside of the St. Joseph Peninsula then as I rounded the corner at Cape San Blas and grabbed a photo of the lighthouse there, the winds went flat. Figuring I better make hay while the sun shines I stayed on the water and extra hour and a half and made good time all the way to Little St. George Island on the west end of Apalachicola Bay.  lighthouse on Cape San Blas I could have kept on paddling but after two long hard days me and my gear were beginning to show some signs of wear. I spent the afternoon rinsing gear, tuning up my cook stove, changing batteries in my headlamp, lantern, and SPOT device, and figuring out why my VHF radio suddenly couldn’t find the weather reports. After all of that I turned to doing a little repair work on my feet as well. After all the walking yesterday, (some in my paddling boots, some barefoot, and some in sand covered sandals) my feet were rubbed raw and blistered in several places. Thank goodness I’m sitting on my rear all day instead of walking. The camp site I ended up at tonight is probably the best I’ve had on this trip so far. I’m set up amongst sand dunes on the end of a peninsula looking west across a half mile of shimmering blue water at the uninhabited and tree covered St. Vincent Island. For the first time since I was on the river there are no signs of human habitation or development anywhere in site. It‘s just me the sand, the water, and the dolphins hunting in the channel. It’s amazing.  Sunset from camp on day 53 Tomorrow promises to bring a bit of a head wind once again so I’m going to get as early a start as possible to try to get as far east as I can before it catches up with me. Bigger winds and rain are in the forecast Friday and Saturday but I think I have a plan to deal with that. It might get interesting but should be fun. Commentslyn stachovak 01/27/2010 9:57:37 pm Oh don't say things could get interesting, fun I can live with, but interesting? Hope you're not out of internet or cell service so you can post tomorrow. I'm going to want to see what you thought could be interesting and fun! Andy 01/28/2010 9:36:16 am Keep paddling Jake, I want to see pictures of Miami. Steve H 01/28/2010 10:05:36 am Jake, 01/28/2010 11:36:04 am That part of Florida is one of my favorite places. Anxious to hear your plan and see how it works out for you! Jeff Pauze 01/28/2010 5:19:05 pm Came across your adventure slightly by accident, I was investigating the possiblity of doing this trip myself, you are my new hero and this site has been bookmarked so I can follow along. I did notice your trip plan is bypassing trent/severn from trenton through Georgian bay in favor of the Lake Ontario to Deroit route. Not questioning your reasoning for this as you have clearnly planned this trip, I only mention as I grew up in GB area and have heard from other loopers that this was one of the highlights of the trip. I may be biased, i did my first Kayak solo trip this year from GB to Lake ontario about 500k. I now have the kayak bug which is why I was looking for info on the Loop. 01/28/2010 8:52:03 pm No doubt, that the panhandle of Florida will be one of the most spectacular and beautiful places during your trip. I hope you beat the wind coming out of the East. Paddle until you win the battle!! BananaTom 01/28/2010 10:27:25 pm It appears you are in the "Plantation" area of Saint George Island, awesome history there, of which, only a few realize. Jan Kleck 01/29/2010 7:36:35 am Now, we are getting a major winter storm. Bright sunshine this morning. Not so by later in the day - they are talking about very difficult travel - if not impossible - for several days. Take care - may the winds be good to you! Jan Kleck 01/29/2010 7:42:15 am I am also waiting to see what you consider "interesting"! Actually, it could be anything that has to do with life! Leave a Reply | Best of the Blog
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