Feeling Adventurous?

Lars Andersen`s Shell Mound Kayak/Canoe Trip

We`ll be leading a tour for the Cedar Key Friends of
the Library on Tuesday, January 21. There`s still plenty of room available if anyone would like to join us.

We`ll be meeting at the launch site, about 1 hour from Gainesville, at 2:00 P.M. The cost for this trip is $29 for "wanna go" and Adventure Club members ($35 for all others) or $15 per person if you bring your own boat.

This talk and trip usually takes 3 - 4 hours.

Description:

Unlike other stretches of the Florida coast, where
civilization has piled like a flood of lemmings ready for a mass suicidal plunge into the sea, nature still rules in the Cedar Key area. It`s a low, wet country where the "shore line" defies definition, changing drastically with the tides. Driving west toward Cedar Key, one hardly notices that the elevation is only dropping about a foot per mile as he approaches the coast. Leaving the pine flat-woods and sandy, scrub ridges, you notice the roadside ditch has become wetter and is filled with a beautiful assortment of wetland plants. You`ll also notice that the pine forest has become a hardwood swamp, loaded with bays and red maples. Nearing the Gulf, swamps give way to salt marshes, and finally water. To the west, beyond a scattering of picturesque, pine shrouded islands lies the open sea.

The hundreds of little islands which line this beautiful coast, range in size from half acre spits of sand, and grass to some which are nearly a mile across, and are home to a diversity of plants with a canopy of tall pines, palms and wind-gnarled oaks and mangroves. In 1867, naturalist John Muir described the coast around Cedar Key as being "surrounded by scores of other keys, many of them looking like a clump of palms, arranged like a tasteful bouquet, and placed in the sea to be kept fresh. Others have quite a sprinkling of oaks and junipers, beautifully united with vines. Still others consist of shells, with a few grasses and mangroves circled with a rim of rushes."

Wildlife watching is great in this area - especially
for birders. Pelicans (brown and white), osprey,
cormorants, gulls, oystercatchers, skimmers and a
dizzying managerie of plovers and waders will keep
your binoculars hoisted. We often see porpoises on
this trip, as well as rays and other fish.

In addition to its richness of wildlife, this area has many archaeological sites. When the earliest Floridians arrived here nearly 12,000 years ago, their lives revolved around following the roaming herds of huge Ice Age mammals, such as mammoths and mastodons. But as warming temperatures brought an end to the Ice Age, so too went the `megafauna`, and the Indians were forced to change their eating habits and life-style.

About 2,000 - 3,000 B.C., seafood began to dominate the diet and permanent villages were established on the higher ridges near the Gulf coast. Central to their diet, were shellfish, proof of which can be found in the large shell middens, or mounds, where generations of villagers tossed their table scraps - mostly oyster and mussel shells. These middens are found on many of the islands in this area, including some of the places we will explore on this trip.

Highlights:

In addition to being a haven for all sorts of water birds and interesting sea life, this trip`s open waters and the chance to do a bit of beachcombing are a nice change of pace from our inland excursions.

Difficulty:

This trip can be moderately strenuous, especially if
there are winds or waves.

What to bring:

Hat, sunscreen, drinks and bug stuff. If you choose to bring camera, binocular and/or field guides, be sure to carry them in something waterproof like doubled plastic baggies or a dry bag.

You will need to bring plenty to drink. You should
also bring some snacks to hold you over.

Wanna go?

If so, please reply to this message and call Adventure Outpost (386-454-0611). We will then sign you on and send you the specifics. Juliana Larson (543-5003) is your contact person in Cedar Key.