Skip to main content

TIFU by kayaking with alligators

So my girlfriend and I have recently taken up kayaking in Central Florida. It’s been a great way to get outdoors, get some exercise, and see some beautiful nature. So last night, we decided we wanted to try a new spot rather than our usual go-to. A little variety never hurt anyone, right?

I start looking up lakes in the area and come across this old post talking about Lake Jessup. The post mentioned the possibility of gators, but hey, we live in Florida—gators are everywhere. No big deal. We’re used to the occasional gator sighting while kayaking, and they usually keep their distance. So, without much more thought, we load up our kayaks and head to the lake.

The first red flag should have been the looks we got when we pulled up to the boat ramp. People stared at us like we had just announced we were about to go for a swim with a bunch of angry piranhas. But no one said anything outright, and I figured maybe they were just surprised to see a couple of kayakers rather than people fishing or taking a boat out.

As we paddled out, I noticed how murky the water was. Not too unusual for Florida, but it was definitely darker than what we were used to. There were also quite a few logs floating near the shore, or at least that’s what I thought at first.

We spent a good two hours out on the lake, paddling around and enjoying the peacefulness. During that time, we noticed other people fishing along the shore, but everything seemed normal—no one was acting overly cautious or pointing out any potential dangers.

It wasn’t until we got home and started doing more research that the sheer horror of what we had just done hit us. Lake Jesup is infamous for being one of the most alligator-infested lakes in Florida, with an estimated 13,000 alligators in it. Yes, you read that right—13,000. There are more gators in that lake than there are people in most small towns. In fact, it’s often cited as one of the most dangerous lakes in Florida, and we had unknowingly spent two hours kayaking right on top of them.

When I went back to re-read the post that had originally mentioned this lake, I noticed something I had somehow missed—it was from 13 years ago. Which means either this lake has always been a death trap, or it’s gotten even worse since then.

I had no idea we were paddling around in such an alligator haven. For all I know, we could have been circled by them the entire time, and we never saw a single one. I guess that’s what makes it so terrifying—we were completely unaware of how many predators were lurking just below the surface.

So yeah. TIFU by accidentally kayaking on an alligator-infested nightmare of a lake. Lesson learned—always double-check your sources, do your research, and maybe stick to places that don’t require you to keep an eye out for prehistoric murder logs.

TL;DR: Took my girlfriend kayaking on Lake Jesup without realizing it’s one of the most alligator-infested lakes in Florida. Spent two hours out there unknowingly surrounded by 13,000 alligators. Would not recommend.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TIFU by forgetting my purse and attempting to get fuel

Not the craziest story but hey. I'm obligated to say this was a few months ago but I cringe every time I go past the petrol station . My petrol was getting low, not dangerously so but it said 27 miles left, (oftentimes it then suddenly drops to about 16 for example, and then 5 and then 0 very fast) I didnt have my purse on me as I just didn't need it... Picked my daughter up from school and then went on to collect my 2 stepdaughters from across town and then set off for home. En route the gauge went to 7 and then suddenly it was 1 so I stopped at the petrol station near our house. The petrol was on 0 as i pulled up to the pump and that's when I realised I had no money. I left the kids in the car at the pump and went in to talk to the cashier, it wasn't mega busy but there was a queue, I'd heard that they can help you if you can't pay for fuel. Like keeping something of yours as security. It was an elderly man and he basically refused to help. At this point i...
Post a Comment
Read more

TIFU - Don’t do what I did

On Sunday morning Aug. 24th, I awoke to discover a large blind spot in my right eye, which turned out to be what is called wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). It has resulted in a very significant, permanent loss of vision in that eye. Although I maintain good peripheral vision, whatever I focus on at best is very blurry, and mostly disappears. I can barely make out the large E at the top of the eye chart. If this happens to my left eye I’ll be unable to read or drive. It turns out that I missed the opportunity that I had to prevent this from becoming a serious problem because I failed to report what appeared to be minor changes in my vision. In the weeks prior to August I had noticed that what I knew to be straight lines appeared to my right eye to have a little waviness. I also noticed that the color of my front lawn, which I could see through the window from my recliner,  was subdued, looked almost gray, in my right eye. So I scheduled an eye exam, which revealed the p...
Post a Comment
Read more

TIFU by getting suspended for 2 days by my front office in school.

I (13M) am an African American student at Jeannette junior high who had got suspended for 2 days here. I was in math class minding my business until my teacher had told me to go to the main office, which posed no problem to me. As i went down there, the people of the front office had stopped me and made me get a new ID (yes, we have id's.) so i had asked them if i could maybe do a different alternative and call my mother to let her bring the Id here, even then, the Id isn't that important. So, although i was talking to them in a calm manner and not showing any signs of rebellion, they had threatened to call the police on me without thinking twice before calling my parents. This is where i started getting angry, and even then now the black peers agree that could have been a racially motivated action. They then told me to sit in the office conference room because of that, leading into more anger. They had then called my mother who had came over to the school didn't even let ...
Post a Comment
Read more