I am looking for the perfect river
Aren’t we all.
The ideal river would have
good current, but minimal white water
deep wilderness - no other people
minimal portages
12-14 days, but this is negotiable
My druthers are much the same, although I don’t require truly deep wilderness and no other people, a scenario which tends to mean far distant locales or fly-in costs. Even if I need to drive for several days and hire a shuttle I would
much rather bring my own boats and gear.
Especially on a long trip. Not just for rental fees incurred; I know my own boats and gear, and have confidence in their performance, and set up familiarity with our tents, tarps and stoves.
It helps that my longer trips (eh, ok, most trips) do not involve moving camp every day, so I can happily stretch out a 50 to 100 mile trip into weeks. Permitted places where I have to move camp every day (or even two) don’t jibe well with my lazy-in-camp style; I feel like I’m under the gun each day, and if I find an A+ site I really love I’m regrettably shoving off too soon.
Nor do places where I have to reserve campsites (or even specific lakes/dates) along my route. Especially if I am already locked into a shuttle or pick up date. Just that end of trip be-there-now deadline is enough of a “schedule”, and I’m really not out there to be adhering to a daily timeline.
YC’s two-fer of classic rivers in Maine fits the bill as well any anything reasonable priced and drive-to-able from (IIRC) your location in Florida, and the trip north might avail some interesting paddling stops along the way.
The per-day permit costs in Maine’s Northwoods can add up; at least with a shuttle you aren’t paying every day to leave a car behind.
I'd recommend the Green in UT but not in summer
The Green absolutely fits your bill except for the no other people aspect; good current, no WW, no portages, and 12-14 days (or longer) is perfect for the 100 miles from Ruby Ranch to the Colorado.
Awesome, amazing vistas and canyons, pictoglyphs, cowboy glyphs, early river runner and explorer inscriptions, ancient granaries and ruins, beaucoup history, side hikes only accessible from the river. . . . .
We’ve done that 100 mile trip in anywhere from 11 days (with several layover days) to 3 weeks (with many multi-day layovers).
Autumn may be different, but at normal April/May levels the current is such that 20 - 30 mile days on the river are easy and untiring.
But not in August.