Palatlakaha River Part 2 -

With fantastic blue skies, a nip in the air and a glassy Lake Minneola before us, the 7 of us shoved off from the Clermont boat ramp shortly after 9:00. From a birds view above, the 7 kayaks breaking water across the morning stillness would have been a most impressive sight. It was no time at all getting to the outflow of Lake Minneola under C.R. 561 and into the winding creek and straight canals of the middle Palatlakaha.

My concern was the water level which was about 6 inches less than when I paddled this section in mid October. Another concern was crossing the flood dam on the southwest side of Cherry Lake. I had the paperwork from Lake County Water Management, but my concern was the ability to disembark on the upside of the dam, as I had only paddled up to and viewed the downside of the dam which appeared very do able. The water level turned out not to be a problem except for about a 300 yard section, the only section that had a canopy of trees.

We had a great group, with Mariam and Curt joining us while the rest were Part 1 participants. It's more meaningful to kayak with great camaraderie. The dam was not that big of a deal. The property was laden with live oaks, so we called it our lunch spot. Ken was all excited about the high bank on the down side and the water depth ideal for a seal launch. Ken had Curt and Bill giving it a try by the time we were all ready to start off again. The 3 of them seal launched in what appeared to be ideal form.

There was slight breeze from the south, and the mid-day cloudless sky made for perfect kayaking. After Minneola, there where 5 good sized long lakes and 3 fairly large round lakes - Cherry, Lucy and Emma. Unlike the lower Palatlakaha, which was made up of large lakes connected by short canals; the middle section had long stretches of canals leading us through the hills north of Groveland where the low land swamp was the context for the waterways.

No one was sure how long the trip was as there were no reset GPS's, but I would venture to say between 10 and 12 miles. Although the canals were nothing to get excited about, the lakes were each uniquely beautiful; some remote, some dotted with homes. At the northwest corner of Lake Emma, we exited the trip on a piece of private property. I had written the land owner, and he graciously granted us access to use it. There are not a lot of people today that would be willing to do that. I think he was quite impressed with our arrival and the gear we had.

Mariam, Cris, Ken, Curt, Mike, Bill and Clark had just another fantastic day out on the water in our little crafts. It was fun and something of a unique accomplishment..

Host: Clark Getz

Ken "doing the seal launch". There are not many opportunities on Florida trips for a combination of slope and water depth. Curt and Bill said they wanted to get out and do it again.

Ken pulling out of his seal launch. Nice job!

Paddling down one of several "gauntlets" of lilly pads in the canals that comprise the Palatlakaha in the swamps north of Groveland. Often times, the water was only a foot deep. In one short spot, the water was about 6 inches deep.

Palatlakaha River Part 1 -

Though everyone drove through fog and low clouds to make the 8:30 launch, by 9:30 the clouds began to lift and blue was breaking out before we reached the opposite side of Lake Louisa at 3.1 miles. Cris, Russ & Lynne, Bill, Ken, Bob, MIke and Clark had a wonderful day on mostly open waters of the Clermont Chain of lakes. With a slight headwind and fair chop we speared out way through the big lakes, and relaxed in the winding creeks and canals in between.

At over 3 miles we made our first stop at a county boat ramp on Crooked River. It was a welcome stretch of the legs and the facility was outfitted with top of the line port-o-lets. It was a great group of paddlers, many whom I have never paddled with before. There was great camaraderie and conversation. The group was well experienced in a number of Florida water adventures. We talked about our prior adventures and the people and hosts that led them..

After the calmness of Crooked River and into the open waters of Lake Susan, within a short time we hit the big waters of Lake Minnehaha which at first was an E-ticket ride on fair swells. About 4 miles after the first stop, we staked out a sandy beach area at the north end of MInnehaha on property that was not occupied. It worked out perfect for lunch. We took our time and enjoyed getting to know one another in conversation about kayaking, jobs, and future trips.

When we broke for lunch, we cruised into Lake Palatlakaha, though not big, it was long. Then from the their you enter into a creek-canal that kept the wind at bay. We did not see any expected gators on this tight stretch of the river, but they certainly saw us. Before we knew it, we entered Lake Hiawatha with the CR 561 bridge pointing us to its exit.

Out from under the bridge, we hit the furry of the swells of Lake Minneola. The citrus tower directly east, the boat ramp south-by-southwest. It was a short jaunt in the best swells we had all day as the afternoon wind has picked up slightly more.

A special thanks goes out to Ken Knapton for allowing the use of this kayak carrying trailer which made the livery much more efficient.

Host: Clark Getz

Cutting across Lake Louisa, the chop not too bad, the clouds gone minutes later

Lynn and Russ and Ken just heading out after lunch on Lake Minnehaha

I yelled "say cheese", and Ken thought I said "raise paddle". Ken makes his special wooden paddle.