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the map shows the creek connecting the two lakes and passing through the middle of the gardens, but I guess that's just not a big enough waterway to have folks pass through. Or people were messing it up or getting out in the gardens, which is probably the main reason they blocked it off.

Thank you for watching, this trip was very easy and I highly recommend it. The sights were beautiful but coupled with the smells and the feeling of the temperature changes and natural sounds, it really is an amazing day trip. I lived on a boat for a few years and although it's pretty cool, there are a lot of disadvantages of it too. I think the fantasy of it is better than the actuality of doing it :)

Lol, yeah the names reminded me of Grandma and Grandpa's dog "Dinky" :). The Cumberland Island trip just got postponed but I'll get to it soon for sure. Hopefully in two weeks

yeah, it's crazy how much the water levels can fluctuate over the course of a year. with the big rain from the hurricane and the past few weeks of storms the water levels have come up significantly on Tooke Lake. not back to normal, but not so noticeable

not really but there is a sand trail that folks have made from 19 down to the lake on the north side of Camp AWyle. it's by the billboard. it's not a legal access point and the FWC will give you a warning the first time they catch you down there. as for the fishing, it's really not that good unless you want to catch your daily limit of turtles :)

Thank you, and I just subscribed to your channel as well and I'm looking forward to checking out your videos

It WAS a pretty cool spot with the boardwalks. If I was rich, I wouldn't mind a spot in a community like that. I remember doing hikes on the boardwalks as a kid and probably why I appreciated that spot the way I did :)

@@sailingslowmotion that's what it reminded me of too...our family hiking trips

Thanks for watching and I'll check out your TH-cam channel as well :)

Lol, we will have to do a trip together sometime and get you comfortable around those wild beasts :). They do freak me out when they bump me but It's more of a surprise "jump scare" than actual fear.

I'm looking forward to doing it again and seeing all the alligators concentrated back into the river banks. Should be a whole new experience

Thank you so much! I really did have a great time making this one :). If you get on the river soon, you will probably make record time with flow as fast as it is. When I pulled out at Snook Haven I watched a guy put in and head upstream (headed to I-75) and could barely make headway against the current. The Trip in the Compac 19 is going to awesome, I just hope the weather holds out for us. There will be a couple more kayak trips before then too :). Thanks again for your support

That's an awesome comment! Not only is it informative, but it also paints a true picture of the wildness of the river. Thank you so much, and I'm glad you enjoyed the video

I wasn’t yelling at the tv saying “don’t waste your drone batteries, it might be the only way way to find your way back!” Definitely I wasn’t thinking that 😭

lol! I actually thought the same thing!! :)

Thank you so much! It was also one of my favorite trips so far. The withlacoochee is such a wild river to explore and never disappoints. On some sections of the Myakka they only allow 30 people a day to pass through to keep it pristine. I'm pretty sure the section I want to do passes through that section. I still need to do some more research on it, but shouldn't be a problem this time of year and with the flooding

@@sailingslowmotionyes to continue from the upper lake to the lower myakka lake you need to let the rangers know, generally they ask hikers to come back to the ranger station and confirm they made it out safe. But if you plan to continue down the river you need to inform the park rangers that you wouldn’t be checking out and will be outside of the state park by nightfall and not camping on state park territory. Obviously it’s for liability, but for your own safety too. I’m just glad Casey wears a life vest so “his torso can be recovered” ☠️😭😅

Thanks for that info. I'll reach out to you soon to make arraignments for Myakka but as of today, the road into the park is still flooded. looks like it will be going down soon though, so hopefully later in the week will work out for the trip. # glad you liked the life vest comment, it WAS a real thought :)

ah man, I just saw this comment. Somehow it was in the folder of answered questions. but to answer you, I was out there last week on Wednesday and Thursday (the 21st and 22nd). I hope your trip went (goes) well and you show(ed) those new yakers a great time :) I'm glad my video gave you an idea of conditions to expect while out there. safe travels

Thank you so much! I might be stealing some of your editing styles, but this video was a blast to make. Experiencing the river this flooded was a real treat :)

Yeah, me too 🤣, It was a great trip though and functional test of my gear for the upcoming Myakka river trip. I think I could have edited the video down by a few more minutes, but folks can fast-forward I guess :)

Ah, thank you for that added info. I was just going off the flood report I received, but it's good to know that I won't have to wait 100 years to do a similar trip :). You live in a beautiful spot and I look forward to paddling past you again someday :)

@@sailingslowmotion even at regular level this area is a wonderful paddle!

Paddling along the hiking trails - taking shortcuts through the forest to try finding the actual river- this was a really unique and fun video!

Thank you, and as always it was nice to have coffee with you and watch it together

Sweet, it works! 😁

Glad to hear I'm not the only one :). Thanks for watching and commenting

Thank you, it was awesome having the whole place to myself, it really had a different feel then the last time I was there. I'm hoping for Myakka next week, but it depends on flooding. I might have to wait one more week to get that one done, but it's going to be a great trip

Yes you do :). There are a lot of great places to see within an hour or two's drive from us. Also a lot of down river stuff too where it's not a lot of physical effort to enjoy. We (CAW) did a kayak trip to the Chaz a few years ago, maybe we could set something up again when the weather is cooler and more enjoyable

I'm excited for the Myakka river too. I just saw that it's pretty flooded right now. Might have to check it out in person before attempting the overnight trip :). Thanks as always, and I hope I can pave the way for you to do an adventure after watching one of my trips, that would be cool to hear about :)

Ah thanks :). Yeah there aren't a lot of them, I actually tried to find out how many saltwater springs there are, but couldn't find the answer. Just that some coastal springs are saline. Thanks for watching, and I love you too :)

Yeah, I was thinking the crabs might have been dumped from a cooler after they spoiled in the heat. Just a thought, but a waste of lots of crab, whatever happened.

Thank you so much, I'm glad you liked it :). I'm really excited to do the inside route in the kayak next year. I've been working hard at getting my skill level up enough and I'm about ready. Should make for another good video :). Thanks again for watching, and I'm glad to have another international subscriber. That's pretty cool :)

It's been a learning process over the past few months, but yes, I'm getting really comfortable with it :)

Lol, yes actually, after watching you cook your chilli dogs at the end of your video is what gave me the craving 😁. Thanks again Matt for watching, and I'll ride out a storm someday (I have that itch to do so now) 😄

Ah thanks, I'll have to look up the lightning well, it makes sense with all the shells around with holes in them hanging off the trees. And yes, I'm glad I didn't go to Egmont or spend another night out there. It's hard to listen to the safety conscious side of my brain sometimes, but I'm learning to do that more :)

If the weather is crazy on start day, they delay for a few hours or go to plan B start across the bay. It's happened before and always a possibility. As for weight, I carry pretty close to the load I'll have then, so the kayak responds similarly to how it will then. But I really do need to put my body through back to back long days to ensure I'm physically ready

That peddle power can really move a kayak! I've been on a Hobie TI and with just peddle power, we were cutting into the wind and waves with surprisingly quick speed. Thank you for your continual support and encouragement, it means a lot

I agree, I've been there several times but always straight to the beach :). It was cool exploring around the interior waters

Thank you, I had a great time out there :). I still kinda wish I had stayed through the Tropical Storm but I think the surge might have been higher than the island, so probably a good thing I left

@@sailingslowmotion I think so too

Disregard. I just saw 1:32:47. Reefing.

:) yes, that's my reefing line. It came in very handy a few times on the Everglades Challenge

Ah, took me a minute as I made this video a few months ago, but that is a topping lift because I was keeping my boat at the marina and would drop my mainsail when not in use. It's there to keep the boom from falling to deck and to keep the boom out of my way when the sail is down

@@sailingslowmotion ok thanks. I'm new to the WR17; not much experience. I suppose a lazy jack would do the same thing?

Yes, and others have set up a lazy jacks system that works really well for them, and if I was going to leave my boat set up for long periods of time, I would do that too.

Thanks for noticing :) I just got back from my Fort DeSoto trip and while I was out there, I got myself into some decent choppy waves, and although I was cautious of the situation, I wasn't scared of it. I'm glad I still have 7 months to get proficient before the next Everglades Challenge but confident I'll be ready

ain't that the truth :) lol. thanks for always watching and commenting even after we watch the video together. It means a lot to me

lol, yeah the Weeki Wachee is beautiful and probably why it's so busy. I don't blame anyone for getting in the water, especially when the air temp is so hot, and the water is so cool! Those manatees are a strange creature, I always get a kick out of seeing them :). Thank you for your continued support

Yes, it was a great experience excluding all the people. The sights, sounds, smells and feel of the water were amazing :). The depth was quite variable from just a foot deep across some spots to at least 10-15' in others. Crystal clear water though and I could see the bottom no matter what the depths were :)

Yeah, I won't be revisiting that one anytime soon :). Thanks for watching and commenting

I remember when the park was sending double the allowed boats, I couldn't imagine what that would have been like. I'm out at shell key now. Lot's of storms around and the big one coming up on Sunday. Not sure how I'll play this one out, but I'm hopeful the weather is good enough to visit Egmont key tomorrow

@@sailingslowmotion yeah, they are predicting that tropical depression will be around here Sunday morning. It’s going to be wet and windy if it does. Stay safe out there.

Lol, you ain't lying 😂. Thanks again for watching and commenting

They say that on the weekends you can walk up and down the center of the Weeki Wachee and never touch water with how many kayaks there are :). It was still pretty :)

funny you said that. I was thinking an amateur like me I would be afraid to hit someone. lol

With the outgoing tide and heavy flow of the spring, it wasn't brackish for very long at all. The sheepshead fish and mullet don't seem to mind the fresh water much at all as I've seen them at all the springs that outflow to the Gulf. In fact it was clear water by the time I got to Rogers Park. You can check a map, but it's just past the canal neighborhood. Thanks for the tip on using the legs with more rotation. I'm leaving for a three day Kayak trip in a few hours and I'll put that into practice

I'm doing great and living my best life :). Thank you for watching and for the encouragement

Oh yeah, most of the lake is pretty shallow right now. There are two deep spots over on the "beach' side, one about 5-6 feet deep and the other one is the spring and I have no idea how deep that is. When I made this video I was experimenting with a camera float. The darn thing kept spinning away from wherever I wanted the camera pointed. I was just joking that the camera thought that whatever was "over there" was more camera worthy than me :).

lol, thank you, I appreciate that. I'm still learning the editing side of making videos but gathering the content has been a lot of fun. I hope I continue to get better and make even better content in the future.

Pulling the kayak from a lead line is a great idea. I've been holding onto the side and kicking my legs, but I think "towing" it would work better. I'll give that a try next time and see how it works for me

Oh yeah? Thanks for watching and commenting :)

Lol, I know right!?! It seemed like every time I wanted it the camera pointed at me, it swung around. It was just a piece of foam board so I could yell at it too much :)

I hate when long comments get lost, sorry that happened to you but thank you for the summarization. I really do appreciate all the information you pass my way and I owe my current and future abilities to you.

@@sailingslowmotion it was good to edit it. on the re-entry, i like to put my chest on the back deck, swing a leg over and straddle like a surfer in the line-up, actively use my paddle (surprise!) and work my way into the cockpit. legs get in when they get in and there is no shame in paddling with your legs out. the surfski mantra: when in doubts legs go out! this can prevent you from sitting upright and may encourage you to arms paddle, so use care.

Okay, I wouldn't have thought of that. I was just trying to get in before doing anything else. Making just getting my butt in the seat is an easier goal