60 Shine Eye

     Our plan this morning is to drive to Baker Ford and swim in Baker Ford Hole  near the canoe landing but arriving at Baker Ford we change our minds.  Baker Ford Hole is big, stretching almost half a mile but there is no beach, just a steep muddy bank into the water and that isn’t very appealing.

    We decide to try Shine Eye instead just about 5 miles farther south (from St. Joe) on Highway 65, turn east on Shine Eye Road just north of the river.  The dirt road is in good condition all the way down to Shine Eye a little over a mile at river mile 96 and passes a couple hiking (or horseback riding) trailheads along the way to the bottom.

    The parking lot is pretty big, with room for probably 20 cars in the grassy area, and there are already five or six here when we arrive.  Also at the parking area is a vault toilet and what appears to be one lone designated campsite.

Shine Eye

    Before pulling out our gear we decide to go do some exploring since there are four or five trails leading off into the woods from the parking area.  Apparently, all trails eventually end up on the huge gravel bar, I mean humungous.  On the upstream end of the gravel bar where we first enter it’s 100 yards or more of big river rock to the water.

    There are people scattered around with some elaborate day-camps including tents, large sun-shelters, tables and chairs even a couple hammocks.  We wander downstream and as we do the gravel bar gets smaller, the ground underfoot also improves, now with smaller rock, gravel and even some sandy areas.

    This downstream end of the gravel bar is where we want to be, so we find a trail at this end, and bring our stuff down to a nice sandy spot next to the tree line with some good shade.  While at the truck getting our gear, we notice the parking area is filling up fast.  I’m quite pleased, I think we got the best spot on the beach, a little far to the water though, about 100 feet.

    ‘Shine Eye’ as this hole is named for a type of minnow, isn’t nearly as big as the gravel bar that wraps around the point.  That said it’s still big at almost two hundred yards long and about 50 feet wide across the river to Little Bluff.  The water is great, I find an area where I can’t reach the bottom, so I’ll say the depth is around 15 feet.

Shine Eye before the crowds descend

   More and more people continue to show up, and now there also seems to be a constant stream of canoes and kayaks headed downstream, it seems endless.  I’m not counting but I’ll bet at least 200 boats pass by Shine Eye today.  It also seems like around 200 men, women, children and dogs are spread out on this beach.

    But like I said this is a big place, so it takes quite a few people before it feels overcrowded.  But with the noisy kids, barking dogs and competing music, we might as well be at the public pool.  There will be very little connection with nature today, it’s kind of sad, if you could overlook all the hustle and bustle this really is a very pretty area.

    I wander down the beach trying to escape the crush of ‘humanity’ but it’s no use as others must have had the same idea, people are everywhere.  I come back and after another quick dip I see a large extended family of ten have set-up next to us, they have a ton of stuff including snorkel gear, fishing gear, 6 or 7 inner tubes, two coolers and a loud blue-tooth speaker.  The oldest of the group grabs his fishing pole and I’m assuming his grandson and heads down to the water, and I notice a woman down at the edge of the hole also fishing.

    And the craziness just gets worse, downstream from us maybe 50 feet are three extremely overweight individuals, they were here when we got here.  But now a very heated argument has erupted, and they are loudly throwing insults and profanity at each other and everyone else within earshot.  People are starring but no-one seems to care much.  I ask Kat if she’s ready to go, she says that she’s surprised I lasted this long.

   As we’re loading up the stuff in the truck an NPS maintenance man shows up to clean the restroom, I go over to chit-chat.  He tells me the restrooms on his route get cleaned daily, I tell him, he is doing a fine job.  I ask if Shine Eye is always this crowded, and I point out ‘today is Monday after all’.  He says Shine Eye is pretty popular in the summer and if I think this is crowded, I should check it out on the weekend.

    Needless to say, Shine Eye won’t be getting any points for popularity, but for accessibility I’ll say a 4, the road is in good shape all the way down and the walk to our day-camp was short and easy.  The amenities are also impressive another 4, the swimming hole is one of the best we have seen, and this downstream end of the beach is pretty nice as well.  A shame it is so popular, it really is a nice place, we’ll probably never come back.  A very respectable score for Shine Eye: 8