Canoeing the Hillsbourough River, Tampa, Florida

12/14/02 - Sargeant Park to Morris Bridge Park

It was pretty chilly for Florida. I came down to Tampa to visit Dana expecting temps in the 70s at least. What I was greeted with was more like mid 50s...with a wind. Brrrr. Not exactly perfect canoeing weather. To make matters worse, it had rained for a couple of days prior to my arrival and the Hillsborough River was way up over its normal level.

Undaunted, we arrived at our outfitters, Canoe Escapes (www.canoeescapes.com) early in the morning, ready for our trip. After checking in, we received our paddles and lifejackets and boarded the little bus. Our trip was to take us from Sargeant Park, past Morris Bridge Park, and on to Trout Creek Park a total of 8.5 miles. Our guide and driver told us the trip would take approximately 4 hours depending on our paddling speed.

According to Canoe Escapes brochure, Sargeant Park was once the location of Possum Jones' Fish Camp. It's now a beautiful picnic area with a nature boardwalk and fishing pier. We pushed off from the launch and were immediately enveloped by a thick canopy of Oak, Cypress, and Spanish Moss. Our trip was to take us down the Hillsborough River to the left, but instead we turned right to go upriver and explore Flint Creek. We had already spotted several wading birds when we came upon a huge tree that was literally filled with Vultures. One of them sat statue-like on a limb overhanging the river with his wings spread out, not moving. At first we thought he was dead, then we saw him move. It was weird, though. Like Dante's "Inferno": Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter. I hoped it wasn't a bad omen.

We turned back around and headed back down the river, passing the fishing pier and several more birds. Dana had been here once before and kept remarking how high the water was. As our trip progressed, you couldn't help but notice that it looked like we were navigating a swamp, not a river. The high water had overflown the banks and we could hardly tell where the channel was. Several times, we meandered off course amongst a stand of trees and had to claw our way back to the river through brush and debris.

There were also several areas we had to leave the river channel and go around obstacles such as fallen trees or thick, inpenetrable stands of lilly pads. The outfitters had tied plastic ribbons around several trees and limbs marking where the channel was, which really helped. We remarked that it was sort of like canoeing's version of hiking cairns.

One thing we discovered was that it only took a couple of quick digs with my paddle to get us going pretty fast. The canoe was very maneuverable and aerodynamic. If I had wanted, I could have just sat back and relaxed; between the current and Dana's occasional stroke with the paddle, we had all the momentum we needed. But I was pretty cold and I wanted to stay active to keep my blood flowing. A couple of times we got too much steam going and Dana crashed the front of the boat (and me) into tree limbs or a log. He kept laughing as I ducked through the limbs. But by and large we managed to navigate pretty well and Dana proved to be an able oarsman.

It's hard to believe that we were only a few miles away from a huge city. When we were on the river, it felt like you had gone back in time and were a hundred miles from anywhere. Adding to the isolation was the fact that we hadn't seen a single solitary soul except for a lone fisherman back at Sergeant Park. If it wasn't for the birds, we would have felt very lonely!

Before long we passed an old logging tram trestle and Dana said that Morris Bridge Park was just up ahead. This area of the Hillsborough River State Park was formally a logging and farming site before becoming Brown's Fishing Camp. It's now a picnic site crisscrossed with hiking trails and fishing spots. As Morris Bridge came into view, we maneuvered toward one of the docks. We planned to get out for a quick bathroom break before continuing on down the river. At that point we heard someone beyond us in the parking lot yell, "Hey! Come down here!" We looked at each other, puzzled. "Who are you?" we yelled back.

"It's your driver from Canoe Escapes!" We pushed off and went 100 yards down to the next dock. "You guys are going to have to get out. The Forest Department has closed the river and all the parks due to the high water." The water was so high that several signs and structures were barely visible. So our four hour trip had been shortened to two, thanks to all the rain. I don't think either one of us was very upset, though, because it was so cold on the water that two hours was plenty. And, being the good guys that they are, Canoe Escapes refunded half our money!

I don't want to leave you with the impression that the trip was not enjoyable. In fact, it was a neat experience with all the birds and trees dripping with Spanish Moss. On a 80 degree day, it would be great. It was just a little too chilly to be out on the water.