Launched at the Chassahowitzka River Campground. Nice campground too. As soon as we put in, a dolphin swam right up to the side of our kayak and checked us out. We were five or more miles inland at that point. The river is exceptionally clear with very little current, some development on canals just upriver a bit from the launch but otherwise beautifully wild. Lots of wildlife, as we got near the Gulf we spotted some manatee feeding. The water was murkier in this tidal swamp so we didn’t get a very good look at them but a few times they raised their tails out of the water. We managed to find the narrow opening that led back into the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge and a lovely spring called The Crack. Deep turquoise water and a nice swimming hole but the channel back in there is sometimes so narrow we had to pull the kayak along using vegetation because we couldn’t paddle. An amazing adventure. We also stopped to talk with a friendly local who was standing in the shallow river beside his little runabout casting a net for mullet.
