For nine days I paddled. Stroke after stroke after stroke. Sometimes through fog so thick, you couldn't see the land. Was that land? Hardly. Salt marsh is no-mans land. Halfway between liquid and solid. Sometimes I paddled beneath the blazing sun. Sometimes it was against 20 mph winds. Other times the water was like glass and the sky brilliant blue streaked with torn clouds. I paddled for 100 miles from the Aucilla River to Suwannee, along Florida's Nature Coast. This is one of the nation's hidden gems. In the old growth subtropical hammocks hides stories forgotten for a half-century, stories of war and struggle. Now, new stories are being created on new foundations, stories of adventure and perseverance.

I am one of the few who have completed the entire trail. With the help of my friends, Tom Hart, John Moran, and George Tortorelli, I was able to complete one of the most remote coastal adventure excursions in the country.

Immerse yourself in the adventure. Read my EZP blog. See Florida's exquisite Nature Coast and why it needs to be protected.

 

Eric Zamora