On this day, I headed out to Orange Lake, in the town of Orange Lake between Ocala and Gainesville, off US Highway 441. I launched at the Heagy-Burry ramp, a county park. It has a concrete boat ramp, a floating dock, a few picnic tables, and a porta potty. There’s a restaurant next to the park and a convenience store about a mile down the road. Pretty laid back atmosphere. If you’er into clubbing, you’re in the wrong place.
At times, Orange Lake has open waters and has lots of areas to explore and fish. That’s how it was on this trip. At other times, the lake can be clogged with floating islands of tussock and water weeds. Until recently, the Heagy-Burry boat ramp was completely clogged. Apparently, the lake was sprayed with herbicide to kill some of the weeds. Mechanical chompers were also used to tear apart the tussock mats. Debris from the tussocks was everywhere, but paddling around was still easy. This is definitely not a swimming lake!
I wanted to get sunrise photos so I had to get to the lake early. I think paddling in the early morning when the day is fresh is the best time. It’s also cooler which is a major consideration now that summer is almost here. With a heat index of over 100 degrees in the afternoon and no suitable place to go for a refreshing swim, early or late day paddling is the only way to go.
I paddled out to one of the smaller floating islands to capture the sunrise. With heavy clouds on the horizon, the sun did not become visible for another 10 minutes. The Redwing Blackbirds, Ospreys, Anhingas, and Herons made their presence known. The Limpkins were very vocal but I didn’t see them as they were hidden in the tall grass of these islands. Orange Lake has its share of big gators, swimming along with just their nose and eyes exposed. When you’re in a plastic yak just inches above the waterline, those gators can look even bigger! Lucky for me, they’re not interested in skinny old dudes with no more sense than to paddle into an alligator’s home turf looking for a good photo.
I started paddling around 6:15 AM and was pulling out at the boat ramp around 8:30 AM. The heat was just starting to set in, but I got out on the lake for the best 2 hours of the day. I paddled about 4 miles, but could have done more if I weren’t taking pictures.
Maybe humans are just the pet alligators that God flushed down the toilet – Chuck Palahiniuk
crossingcreeks 