Day 51 (a long run and a big ditch)

Daily stats
Start: 7:20 AM-Destin, FL 
Finish: 6:00 PM -Panama City, FL
Time: 10:40
Daily dist: 51 miles
Total dist: 1,467 miles
Companions: None
Weather: Sunny and cooler with a great tail wind from the west
Notes: The longest day (by time) of paddling yet

When David showed up at 6:00 AM this morning to give me a ride back to the water I had no idea this would be the longest day of paddling I'd do so far.  It was only after I made really good time with a strong tail wind across the first stretches of open water that I started considering my options.  Because of the way the campable land is situated, in order to avoid camping illegally on military land it would mean three short days of paddling or at least one really long day of paddlling.  I figured that I was well rested, got an early enought start, had a good tail wind, and would be finishing up inside sheltered waters so why not crank out a really long day today.   

A sixteen mile section in the middle of today's route passed through a dredged out canal I"ve been told is nicknamed "The Big Ditch".  It really isn't much more than that.  It seems as though the original canal was doug and the spoils were piled along the sides creating 20-40 foot high sand and soil banks.  On top of the banks pine trees have taken root and have grown into a dark green forest.  One can almost imagine they're paddling through the Badlands of South Dakota capped with green pines.  It was a rare opportunity to get close to the pine forests that cover much of Northern Florida.  Beyond the wooded banks I could occasionally catch a glimpse of the newer dredged spoils that have been pumped in a sand and water slurry beyond the original earthen berm.  If one choose to scale the steep banks they would discover acres of white sand beyond the row of trees that flank the ditch.  It could make good camping but would be a lot of work.  

Sharing the ICW canal with a couple of yachts

'The Big Ditch' note the dredged sand piles that compose the banks.

The 6:00 arrival into Shell Island (just outside Panama City) meant finding and setting up camp completely in the dark.  I've taken down camp in the dark so many times that it really was no trouble.  Super long days like today however do take it out of me, I am plenty tired and ate a double dinner trying to put the calories I burned back in.  Tomorrow should see the first day back on the open coast I've had since entering Florida waters.  It might be a bit bumpy considering the winds we've been having but I'm looking forward to paddling beside an endlass horizon again.

Still on the water at sunset. Still a bit choppy too.